When it comes to software development, managers have many moving pieces to juggle, no matter the size of their respective teams. However, a few tricks and best practices can help keep managers organized to deliver on time and within budget.
Step 1: Understanding the Scope
An essential item a manager needs to understand before initiating a project is the scope. Managers have to be sure that they grasp what’s expected and what resources they have access to deliver. They should also look at the particulars, including budgets and resources. By having a clear scope (with all stakeholders in agreement as to the deliverables), if scope creep seeps in at any point, the manager can simply circle back and remind higher management (or clients, or other stakeholders) of the agreed-upon tasks and how adding in new elements will change the time and budget constraints.
A Good Manager Supports Their Developers
For the most part, developers want managers to recognize their capabilities and take a hands-off approach. As a manager, you’ll have a good idea of your team, but if you want your developers to get the job done, it’s best to trust them. There are levers in place to ensure the code quality (via pull requests and the peer-review process). On top of that, developers tend to love what they do.
The real secret is that every developer is different. Some need music to get into the zone. Others need quiet. Some thrive on breaks. Others work for long stretches and do not want their “flow” interrupted by meetings or other items that pull them out of their code.
As a manager, figure out a way to set the developers up for success by embracing their approach to work. Then, trust in the review process and let the project go. You don’t need to have your hands on the wheel at all times!
Trust, But Verify
A good manager trusts their team; however, that doesn’t mean you don’t have ways to check in on the work to make sure projects aren’t running off the rails. Git is designed to allow managers to pull reports and see behind the scenes what work is being done (or not) and by whom. As a manager, while allowing developers to “do the work,” you will still be responsible for assigning and re-assigning tasks. Be sure to look for worrisome trends such as:
- code hoarding
- knowledge silos
- long-running pull requests
- expanding refactoring
- late pull requests
- self-merging pull requests
- rubber stamping
- sub-par product ownership
- over-analyzing
- over-helping
- high churn
Embrace performance reviews and use those as an opportunity to measure performance and identify/address problems.
Remind Yourself: Quality Over Quantity
Throwing more developers on a project doesn’t necessarily mean getting more done. They may slow things down as they try to get up to speed. Likewise, loading task after task after task on the backs of your developers and expecting them to power through can lead to burnout.
Don’t measure progress by how much. Instead, work to increase productivity by reorganizing tasks into smaller bite-size pieces. Make sure you have a good mix of experience levels so that newer developers can learn from more seasoned pros, which will help grow your team’s overall experience level.
While it may seem more straightforward at times to put your most experienced developers in their favorite area of code and allow them to power through, you’ll be inadvertently creating knowledge silos. If you ever find yourself without that specific team member one day, this could be a problem. It’s much easier to go slower and help all team members move around the codebase, so the overall expertise improves.
Remove Non-Development Work From Your Developer’s Plates
If a specific activity doesn’t involve writing code, do what you can to remove it from the hands of developers. Time sinks – such as non-technical meetings or administrative work, take developers out of their flow and slows down the development process.
As a manager, prioritize their tasks for them. Give realistic deadlines and be clear about requirements. If you can, be a gatekeeper between your team and stakeholders, which can easily take a developer or two off task with “special requests.” This will help you ensure the deliverables are up to expectations and avoid scope creep.
A Good Software Development Manager is a Good Listener
Inevitably, developers will still have questions about the project even with the most explicit directions. After all, development is an ever-changing, iterative process. Being up-front by gathering requirements before the start of the project and soliciting your developers’ feedback will help them feel a part of the process. Their insights and critiques can also help you and the stakeholder(s) find potential holes or issues before agreeing to a deliverable and deadline that may be way off.
Celebrate as You Go
Great developers facilitate growth and celebrate wins. Happy developers see their work makes a difference and understands how to recognize success. As a manager, you can foster goodwill by taking an interest in personal growth and publicly acknowledging some stellar work. Whether it’s public (like in a stand-up) or private (in a one-on-one), make sure your developers know you see their excellent work and that you appreciate the hours they are putting in in the service of larger project goals.
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