Programmers recognize a successful software development team when they see one, but what is it that defines them as such? How can we label a particular group of professionals as “successful,” and how can we prove that we’re not wrong?
Experts agree that the best way to think about this is to forget individual teams and to realize that everyone who might put their hands upon the source code is part of the team. This way, critical elements that set programmers apart from each other becomes clear. Here are the three most outstanding qualifications that define a successful software development team:
Elegant solutions and maintainability
Only through hard work, learning, and research, a software developer learns to choose the best and most elegant solution for the task at hand. It is apparent for a seasoned programmer whether a piece of code was written by an amateur or by someone who is already an expert.
Beginners may think: “My algorithm yields the same result. Why is it not good enough?”, and it can be good enough to complete the task but perhaps not so much in the eyes of experts.
The idea is that coding is like writing a book. One that has read or written many books can tell how much background the author has. It is more than just delivering a message or completing a task; code must be maintainable. In a production environment, every line must be written with another software developer in mind. In reality, software engineers spend more time reading code than actually writing it.
The same goes for maintenance, as it is more common to maintain old code than to write new procedures from scratch. A successful and efficient software development team has this perspective at all times, as it is common for teams to maintain and retake old projects.
A confident development team
About 3 out of every 4 projects fail, mostly because the team is not fully aware of how it is that the project is expected to work out. How is any project expected to work out? One can divide its short and long-term objectives to then create roles and delegate tasks.
A clear road map and specific expectations work wonders towards forming a successful software development team and, consequently, building team confidence. By determining what must be done from the beginning, you can choose which developer is the best fit for each role.
After you’ve started to work, it is important to keep track of how the goals are being met and which ones are falling behind. That’s where development methodologies come into play. Nowadays, agile development seems to be the trend and with great reason; the Agile Manifesto (which is where the term comes from) goes to great lengths to illustrate the importance of keeping tabs on each task and on having frequent meetings with the whole team.
In most projects, and specifically in agile methodologies, the team must have a leader. The leader should be the one who knows exactly which is the next goal and how to reach it. Leaders unify teams and boost their confidence as they inspire a sense of direction and purpose.
Make use of organizational tools
There are hundreds of tools available to help organize teams without hassle. Without question, one of the most powerful tools available is a whiteboard, as it helps visualize tasks and whoever is responsible for each one.
A method similar to using a whiteboard is known as Kanban, made accessible through the use of online apps such as Trello. A Kanban has teammates putting up sticky notes in three columns: To-Do, Doing, and Done. This is a highly effective and visual method employed by many successful companies; and luckily, it is insanely easy to implement and master.
