If you have an incredible product idea that you want to bring to life, you need a software development team. It is integral to note that every great product starts with people. The role of the software development team will most likely determine if a project is successful or not. Thus it is imperative when designing the team to be very cautious.
Remember that a good development team involves more than recruiting experienced developers. In most instances, you will require a team of specialists with diversified knowledge in the programming of languages and other specialized skills. Also, you can consider outsourcing some other roles such as it outsourcing.
Arguably, the size of the development team will determine the time and effort you will dedicate to ensure the line of communication is open. Also, it will depend on the customized needs of the project.
When designing your software development team structure, it is crucial to consider factors such as:
The Type of your Project
The first step is to determine the type of your project. Depending on the complexity of the project, you can select the ideal team structure. For instance, if you plan to launch a new product, you will require a large team to make the project a success.
The Timeline of the Project
Smaller projects are expected to be completed within a shorter period, while large projects may take months or years. Depending on the timeline of your project, you can plan accordingly the number of members required to make it a success.
Budget of the Project
Budget is a very integral factor when it comes to a project. The number of your team is highly dependent on your budget. Some projects will only require one or two developers, while others require more than five developers. You should research developers salaries and offshore hourly rates.
Types of Team Development Members you Require
Each project requires a complete development team with different roles. It is imperative to understand the members of the development team and their various roles.
Generalists
If the project you are starting does not require specialized skills or technical knowledge, you can hire generalists developers. They are the best for general tasks that require a short period to be completed. Also, compared to other types, they are cost-effective options. These developers have a wide range of knowledge that offer flexibility and work best on small to medium-sized projects.
Specialists
They have a very high level of experience and knowledge in specialized fields. If you have a project or product requiring specialized technical knowledge, time, and effort, the specialists are the best to handle such delicate projects. However, you will incur higher costs to hire them.
Hybrid Team
A hybrid team involves hiring both specialists and generalists. If you have the required resources, the hybrid team is the best to ensure that you work faster. They are also very convenient for complex and large-scale projects.
What is the Ideal Software Development Team Structure and Size?
As stated earlier, the team structure is highly dependent on the size of your project, timeline, and budget. If you have a large team, it is imperative to divide them into sub-teams so that the job is conducted efficiently.
Also, large software development will require you to incorporate various management tools such as Trello, Redmine, Jira, Asana, among others.
Jira is a well-known project management tool that is quite effective in delegating tasks to your team members and helps in tracking time.
Some of the essential roles on every project team include:
Project Manager
A project manager is responsible for controlling the workflow. They are in direct communication with you and help keep you updated on the progress of the project. It is the role of the project manager to ensure that all team members are working towards the objective of the project.
UX/UI Designer
The primary role is to find ways to make your products appealing and user-friendly. They create the user interface such as the color schemes, imagery, icons, and buttons that makes a website outstanding.
Software Developers
The software developers’ main role is to write the project’s source code. They have an in-depth understanding of various programming languages such as Python, Swift, and Java.
A frontend developer helps develop the part of the website that users interact with directly such as JavaScript, CSS, and HTML.
The backend developer helps develop the database and server where all information is stored for apps and websites. They use programming languages such as Java, Python, Ruby, and PHP.
The full-stack developer is involved in developing client and server-side software. Thus they can perform the role of the frontend and backend developer.
QA Tester
The quality assurance tester’s primary role is to find any bugs in the software development code. They report any problems in the user interface that they discover.
DevOps
Their main role is to offer the necessary support to the software developers in the development process. They provide additions to your team and any other resources that are required. After the product launch, their main role is to monitor the product life cycle.
What is the Best Software Development Team Methodology?
The development team has very many members, with each having special roles. They are some practical frameworks that can ensure teamwork is managed efficiently. The following frameworks will help you build software development team.
Agile
The Agile Manifesto is dedicated to ensuring that developers are hardworking, flexible, and prioritize the clients’ requirements. The two popular frameworks for managing the team are Scrum and Kanban.
Scrum
Scrum methodology requires every team member to set different goals attached to a time frame. The time frame should always be less than one month. The progress of the team is checked during the daily scrum meeting. After the sprint review, the team members conduct a sprint retrospective to gauge their performance and suggest ways to improve the project.
Kanban
It is a unique framework that will allow you to be very transparent about each step on the team’s workflow. The Kanban evaluates the steps needed to complete a given task. It will enable transparency in the team members. It is more focused on the visualization of functions.
Waterfall
It has 5-7 linear phases, which include:
- Documentation
- Design
- Implementation
- Verification
- Maintenance
The project limits customer involvement. The client is only involved at the start and end of the project. Thus it can result in future conflicts, and the framework is only appropriate for small projects.
