How a full stack team improves efficiency

Traditional development teams often divide responsibilities between front-end and back-end developers. While this specialization can bring deep expertise, in a startup context, we need to optimize development cycles and work with a smaller, cost-efficient team.

Full-stack developers are professionals who possess both front-end and back-end skills, enabling them to work across various layers of a tech stack, from user interface design to server management.

Why front-end and back-end are entangled

Here is a simple example of how printing a simple "subscribe" button on screen works.

The front-end app will first need to check if user already subscribed. If not, it prints the subscribe button. When the user clicks, the front-end sends a message to the back-end.

This simple process requires two endpoints (a function in the API that the front-end can call), and the state of the front-end app is directly controlled by the back-end, hence it would require much coordination from both developers in a traditional team.

In a full-stack team, it can be delivered in a few minutes by a single developer without any unnecessary delay.

Furthermore, the responsibility of this feature is owned by a single developer or a single team, and not shared by two different teams, eliminating the need for back-and-forth synchronizations and subsequent delays for problem-solving.

Here is how a full stack team can improve efficiency :

1. Reduced Communication Overheads

A full-stack team eliminates the need for constant back-and-forth communication. Since full-stack developers understand both sides of the stack, they can handle tasks end-to-end, making decisions faster and avoiding unnecessary delays.

2. Faster time-to-market

With less time needed for communication between each team, each developer can take on one feature and move quickly from planning to execution.

3. Improved Problem Solving

Full-stack teams are better positioned to handle agile workflows, where frequent iterations are crucial, responding faster to customer feedback.

4. Cross-functional Understanding

Full-stack developers are inherently versatile, often moving between different parts of the codebase. This versatility allows team members to better understand the entire system, from the client-side user experience to backend data handling. A full-stack team fosters collaboration across roles because each member has a holistic view of the project.

5. Better Collaboration

Their deep understanding of the project stakes allows for more thoughtful architecture and design decisions, reducing technical debt and minimizing rework down the line. Developers are empowered to contribute meaningfully in different business areas, driving the company forward more efficiently.

6. Cost Efficiency

Rather than hiring multiple specialized teams for front-end, back-end, devOps, ops, SRE, database managers… a full-stack team consolidates these roles into a smaller group of versatile developers, improving productivity. In a startup, you don’t need to divide these roles into multiple teams !

7. Scalability

As the team grows, full-stack developers can take on leadership roles, bridging the gap between different specialized roles.

As the project grows, I sometimes bring in a junior front-end developper in the team, only for transforming mock-ups to React code / HTML templates, to save us some time and optimize costs. In this situation, only a full-stack developers can take on the role of lead developer, guiding decisions that impact the entire project’s architecture.

By streamlining communication, accelerating prototyping, and offering versatile problem-solving skills, full-stack development teams are becoming essential to staying competitive for companies seeking to innovate faster.

As a full-stack engineer, I help CEOs and founders build impactful and innovative tech products from 0 to series A. I am part of a startup accelerator and collective of product-oriented entrepreneurs.

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