If you’re a manager of software developers, you’re probably concerned about making sure your team provides value to your clients. Ensuring your customers are happy has likely been a top priority from day one. The question is, how can you be sure you reach that goal?
One way is to keep your development team working as efficiently as possible. Help them prioritize their tasks. Walk them through how to maximize their time. With some guidance, your team will be top-notch. Keep reading for some tips on how to make better efficiency a reality.
1. Allow for Downtime
It’s tempting to think that being efficient means working at top speed all the time. It doesn’t. Sure, there will be times — security breaches or bug fixes — when your team needs to jump into high gear. If they work this way all the time, though, they’ll burn out and make mistakes.
Instead, as part of your project management practices, be sure to build in times for slowing down. These will give your team a chance to carefully work through their tasks. They’ll miss fewer things, and there will be less backtracking. Plus, dedicated focus time will make it easier for them to figure out how to handle any new projects.
2. Create Detailed Tasks
Sending your team off in a vague direction is a recipe for disaster — or at least a lot of squandered effort. Be sure to give your team all the information they need to do their jobs well. Short, high-level descriptions of requested tasks aren’t enough. Your team will waste valuable time asking for more details.
Whenever you create a task for your team, be as specific as possible. For example, include feature specifications, user stories, and mockups. Doing so will give your team a clearer idea of what to do. As a result, the project will take less time and require less rework.
3. Prioritize Tasks in the Backlog
Every development team has a backlog. It’s not a bad thing — think of it as your team’s to-do list. Having one helps keep each developer as efficient as possible. When they finish one task, they simply pick the top one on the list and get to work.
You can go a step further to maximize efficiency by routinely revising your backlog. Remove project features that are no longer required or are otherwise out of date. If your clients’ priorities change, reorder tasks.
The size of your backlog can also reveal whether your team is falling behind. If that’s the case, talk with your team to identify any problems and brainstorm solutions.
4. Clear Up Obstacles Quickly
Your developers can be the fastest on the block. If they don’t get quick answers to their questions, though, their speed may not matter much. Having to ask for clarifications or additional information can leave an important project on pause. In the worst-case scenario, it can grind everything to a halt, leaving a customer unhappy.
Avoiding this problem may take a little effort. Be sure you’ve thoroughly discussed a project with your client. You need as much information from them as possible about their priorities and what they’re looking for. Then, answer any questions from your developers in a timely manner. Fast responses are key for continued progress.
5. Keep Things Brief
As coders, your developers would rather spend more time doing the work than talking about it. Still, they need as much information as they can get to complete their tasks. To satisfy both of those goals, set up short meetings that have clear agendas. Only invite necessary team members and keep the conversation on task.
Having an agenda helps push the project along. Team members should be allowed to determine for themselves which meetings are relevant to them. The people who will be directly impacted by discussions can sit in. Everyone else is free to continue with the tasks at hand. It’s a good way to maximize each developer’s time.
6. Empower Your Team
As the manager, it’s your job to lead. That doesn’t mean, however, just implementing your own ideas. You must be open to suggestions from the members of your development team. Consider developers’ ideas carefully even if you don’t move forward with them. It’s a great way to make your team feel valued and empowered.
Give your team a voice in a project’s direction. When things start to slow down, they’re in a good position to identify logical solutions to problems. They know the specifics of the project and can likely suggest the best workarounds. Their proposals can increase efficiency and get everything back on track to meet a deadline.
7. Leverage Their Expertise
Even though you’re the manager, there’s a good chance some of your developers have more current skill sets. This is especially true if you’re hiring new grads. Rather than ignore their knowledge, embrace it. It can be a big advantage for your team and make your work more efficient.
When you have a new project, ask your team for their input. Their suggestions can lead to a much better user experience. Plus, acknowledging team members’ expertise goes a long way to making them feel even more valued. An employee who knows you see their worth is frequently more motivated to work hard and over-deliver.
A software development team is always knee-deep in task-oriented work. As their manager, it’s your responsibility to help them check off each item on their to-do list. If you follow these suggestions above, you can have one of the most efficient development teams around.