Software Development Team Management: Where to Start
Any project is the result of many specialists working together. Let’s say you’ve found funding for a project, found the people who are going to implement it, and now you need to figure out how to channel their talents in the right direction. The project will be handled by designers, editors, front-end and back-end developers, and other specialists.
Of course, project managers (PMs) are needed to manage the project at the operational level. A project manager sets tasks, controls execution, solves problems, and makes sure that the client receives a quality product by the deadline. In turn, the technological part of the project needs the wise oversight of the chief technology officer to shine. However, you, as an owner, still have a number of important roles to perform. And that’s exactly what we’ll talk about today.
1. Choose a methodology
The composition of the team, the order, and even the timetable are depending on the chosen methodology. You can choose Waterfall or Agile. They serve to build your team’s workflow in a certain way.
With Waterfall methodology:
The team will work strictly according to the terms of reference (ToR). The result you get in the end will be exactly as you planned at the beginning.
With Agile methodology:
The team will be able to solve issues ‘on the go’, adjust to the market, and change requirements. The result you get may be very different from what you expected but more suitable for the current market.
If you need to quickly launch the MVP version of the product and understand the direction in which you want to develop it, choose an Agile methodology.
2. Conduct a Discovery Phase
The Discovery phase is gathering information about the idea, formalizing the product requirements, testing the business hypotheses, formalizing the solution. Only after that, you can estimate the cost of both the initial version (MVP) and further development.
It is also called the “zero” phase or “Phase 0” because it is not a development yet, but only preparation for the project launch.
In a short timeframe (2–4 weeks), you should generate a mini-analysis of the future application. On the basis of these data, you can already make an assessment and make a decision about further development, and in the case of the project launch, these data will form the basis of ToR.
3. Develop the ToR.
This is a very important point. In this case, you need to conduct analysis, prepare the ToR, draw prototypes. These will be the first stages (sprints) of your product development.
However, the situation is not always so clear-cut. In the case of a start-up, for example, managers want to reduce the time and cost of the analytics. They need to start with an idea, visualize something, figure out the top-level architecture, determine what features can and should be implemented immediately and in the future. And most importantly, find out how much the development will cost and last. In such situations Discovery fase from the previous point is indispensable.
4. Plan the project together with your team
Your team is the experts who deliver the task. It’s up to them to determine how long the project will take, so involve your colleagues in the planning. This way you’ll get a realistic estimate of the task. This is especially true if you’re not a technical person, as many processes seem simpler than they are. Team members who have completed similar projects are able to accurately estimate time costs, take into account details and see complexities.
It also adds motivation and responsibility to the team. They don’t work according to your plan, but according to their own: they stick to the deadlines they proposed.
5. Prepare for 1:1
Plan in advance in your calendar and have regular 1:1 meetings. The frequency of meetings can vary, but on average it is sufficient to meet once every 2–4 weeks with office staff and once a week with remote staff.
It is best to prepare for the meeting in advance: keep a separate file for each employee and prepare personalized questions depending on what has happened since the last meeting.
It’s important to understand what motivates a person. For example, some people want stability, some people want to be in control, and some people want to be noticed and given positive feedback. Identify what the person needs and give it wherever possible. Then the employee will be more motivated to work.
6. Do a retrospective
This doesn’t seem to be so important, because in the flow of tasks there’s no time to look back. The new seems to take precedence over the old. But this is not entirely true: hindsight is necessary in order to learn useful lessons that will help us work more effectively on the next projects. That is, we look back at the past in order to be better in the future.
In retrospective, you can find out the team’s impressions of the work and gather ideas for improving processes.
The way you manage the development team will affect the end result. However, it is much easier if you have a good team of experienced developers by your side. You can get such support by collaborating with developers from regions with a high level of customer focus, e.g. Eastern Europe. You can get consulting assistance and experienced specialists, with whom you will create the product of your dreams. With UNITEDCODE’s unique service, you will immediately have access to a lot of developers from Eastern Europe. Contact us and we will help you select professionals for your project.
