The rift between developers and management and how to bridge it

The rift between developers and management and how to bridge it

I just started a new adventure: Being head of engineering in a software startup in Berlin. Being a team lead before some things changed. But what changed the most? Having the almighty power? Hm... a little. Being the big boss? Sure, why not. But indeed it changed my point of view regarding my work.

Back then I was a passionated developer. I loved seeking for new technologies and staying always in tune with modernity. And now? I still do. But becoming a mediator between management and IT department I discovered a new side. A dark side? No, simply another one: The business side. Of course I was aware of this before. But this was just a blurry thing somewhere at the horizon on the other desks. These guys talked about numbers and money and all that.

Developers love developing. Managers love making money. How can money be earned? By creating business value. How can business value be created in a software startup? By creating great software that solves customers' needs. So what is the problem? Is there a problem at all? I can tell you, there is:

Management's point of view: You want to release new features and improvements as fast as possible. Because there is this challenger you need to beat out. And your developers are wasting time, right?! Wasting time with useless tests and so on! So you push them to increase speed by any costs.

Great, now features are pushed out like hell. But at some point it gets stuck. What happened? Well, your developers hacked around, ignored best practices, skipped tests. Now you have a software which is hardly maintainable and even harder to extend. Every small change takes a lot of time. By the way: Your developers are demotivated and looking for new jobs.

Ok, that was the management’s perspective. Developers' point of view: You develop features and improvements. You are using all these proven paradigms out there, newest and best technology, writing so many tests. From time to time a member of the management comes in and asks how it is looking. Who do they think they are, right? You are working agile - It's done when it's done!

At the end you created the shiniest software you have ever seen. It is so shiny you can barely breath. By the way: There is this challenger that beat you out. No one will ever see your software. Ah - And you can look for a new job.

Sure, these are the worst possible cases and I never saw them happen. But I guess you see the problem. How can you solve it? It is that simple:

Developers, think about that your task is to create business value. Developing is just a side effect. At the end your company needs to make money out of your work. So keep an eye on the time. That's how it works.

Management, think about that business value needs well done and sometimes even shiny software. Every passionated developer wants to build great software. Give them some freedom. Otherwise you will loose them sooner or later. Yes, that takes sometimes longer but you will get sustainable software you can build on. That's how it works.

Conclusion: No business value without good software, no good software without business value - Keep this in mind.

I hope I could give you a small insight to the other side of your company. Now it is up to you: What do you think? What is the way to go?

要查看或添加评论,请登录

社区洞察

其他会员也浏览了