How We Avoid Underperforming During War

Who knew my newsletter would have a topic like this a year ago ??But here we are sharing the unique experience of a Ukrainian software development company. It’s partly my way to reflect on what we faced and what’s there to do when news is disappointing.

A lot of people who were outperformers are now getting things done and feeling content. For instance, the article on the popular tech website DOU interviewed 200 IT specialists to ask how their productivity changed. It is expected that changing environments influence mental health, hence affecting concentration and productivity.

As we were adjusting to the new reality, a few helpful processes were put in place.?

Have Back-up Plans

Similar to having memory backups in case something happens, Incora created plans for emergencies on projects. Software developer asked for a mental leave? Have an employee that can take over for some time without putting strain on his resources. The office can be a target during the next weeks? Organize remote work, ask colleagues for temporary shelter, rent coworking space with a basement, etc.?

Also, a huge part of work during the war is providing a safe space with all the capabilities. Returning to the office was a choice we made to make sure everyone can work and deliver.? Generators, Starlinks, power sources (lots of chocolate and coffee too ??) were necessary to keep the machine running.?

Create and Encourage Volunteering Initiatives?

Devs, QAs, DevOps, Marketing, and Sales are first and foremost people worried about their future in the country. Being involved in regular volunteering helped us be responsible and understand our part as a company.? Lately, we contributed to joined projects with Lviv IT Cluster, donated to coworkers and friends, organized events to raise for army needs, and an auction to cover urgent requests.

That’s a go-to method for connecting team members in times like these and creating a sense of meaningful activities. A few team members mentioned that their motivation is higher as they want to donate as much as possible and keep growing. By helping others we help ourselves mentally, so why not.?

Provide Meaningful Feedback

It is really helpful in the usual software development cycle but it gets vital during turbulent times. If the productivity or quality on a software project drops, mention it and be clear that you are interested to help. I decided to leverage both positive and negative feedback, and be as precise and timely as I can.

There’s no use saying “You wrote unreadable code” or “This estimate is way too stretched”. Get familiar with the code, ask why such a decision happened, check on best practices and comment on ways to solve. Constructive feedback keeps the team’s minds occupied by algorithms rather than news and negativity.?

Insist on Open Communication and Discussion

That’s what we always did at Incora and we plan to continue. Keeping everyone informed was a priority when the war started. It was chaotic at first but soon we set up the system of sharing the news in chats, updating on ongoing projects, and creating support mechanisms for the team.

Incora Talks is something we do at least once per month to discuss important topics, share company updates, and listen to general moods or common issues. We don’t have a long process of getting the CEO to listen, it’s easy to have 1 on 1 meeting.???

Analyze before the Blaming Game?

The blaming game isn’t unheard of in software development. Developers had to squeeze in record times, QAs spotted bugs but reported them in the wrong priority, or DevOps blamed the dedicated team for poor processes. Although we’ve been there, it’s not productive in the slightest. During war underperforming is common but it doesn’t have to bring conflicts and an unhealthy environment.??

So, management came up with a short plan here:

- describe the issue

- ask for perspective

- make the problem your enemy, not the team members

- analyze what could we do to avoid it in the future?

Wrap Up

Despite the war, Ukranian software development companies are doing everything to help businesses. The strength of the community is shown by the IT Army, people who switched laptops for guns, and a new group of apps that popped up in the russian-Ukrainian war. While we are moving toward victory, why not create cool applications?