Software development can be difficult
If you have a software development team in your organization you have probably already learned that software development can be difficult.
Projects are often late, deliverables don’t always meet the expectations, and other companies are poaching your best people.
And if you talk with individual team members, they might tell you that management is clueless about how the software is built. They feel that their hard work is not valued. The unreasonable expectations set by their bosses kill their motivation.
But we can make it better!
Obviously, there are many challenges in the software development process. I have faced many of them while managing projects for one of the finest development agencies in New York and leading the product team for one of the best DIY mobile app builders in the world. Most of these challenges are surmountable. It may take time and effort but it always pays off in the long run.
If you are looking for help in making your software development team more efficient and reliable, I would love to hear about your struggles and help you overcome them.
Let’s make software development easy for you
Use this opportunity to schedule a free 30 minute consultation. I’m confident we can come up with at least one actionable item for you to make the first step in the right direction.
In the meantime, you might be interested in a talk I gave at Webcamp Zagreb 2015.
I shared my experience transitioning from a development role to a management role and how my views on software development have changed over the years. The goal was to help developers better understand their managers and remove some of the friction from their collaboration. I also shared my thoughts on what makes a great developer and what makes a great leader.
(please note that the slides are unfortunately a bit out of sync in the video and lagging behind the talk)
I also wanted to share with you a short list of books that shaped my views on leadership and team work. Some of the ideas in these books may be far out of your or even my comfort zone. But I believe it is important to expose ourselves to new ideas and then pick and choose what feels best for our teams and organizations.
Must read for all team members
- How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie - the basics of social interactions
- Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity by David Allen - the basics of self-organization
- Team Geek: A Software Developer’s Guide to Working Well with Others by Brian W. Fitzpatrick, Ben Collins-Sussman - learn to employ good and recognize bad practices of teamwork and team leadership
Must read for team leads and executive roles in the organization
- Turn the Ship Around!: A True Story of Turning Followers into Leaders by L. David Marquet - how to lead effectively, for managers and team leads
- Measuring & Managing Performance in Organizations by Robert D. Austin - learn how not to turn your performance metrics against the success of your team and the organization
- Reinventing Organizations: A Guide to Creating Organizations Inspired by the Next Stage of Human Consciousness by Frederic Laloux, Ken Wilber - a provocative and inspiring perspective on managing modern organizations; offers a lot of techniques that you can use in your team even in a traditional hierarchy
If you have any questions, or you would like to comment on my talk or any of the book recommendations, please send me a message:
I’m looking forward to hearing from you!