Using Junior Developers Effectively

Bring on the mentors. (and Full Stack Seed)

When it comes to software development projects, utilizing junior developers can be a double-edged sword. On one hand, they can save the project money, but on the other hand, without proper guidance and management, they may end up costing the project money in errors and inefficient solutions over time. So how can we make the most of their potential while minimizing the risks? Let's explore some strategies.

It's important to acknowledge that many junior developers are perfectly capable of putting together a solution. They can write code that achieves the desired outcome. However, where they often stumble is when the software grows or needs to be maintained. This is where the goal of the code becomes crucial.

The?goal of code should be twofold:?to achieve the?desired outcome?and to ensure its?maintainability. In other words, code should not only do what it's supposed to (maybe we should test the code?), but it should also be understandable when there's a problem or a new requirement. Additionally, it should be easy to change without breaking (we should have tested the code).

While junior developers can fight their way to a result, achieving?maintainability takes time and experience. It involves reworking written code once it's in place to clean it up. Expert developers typically prioritize getting the code working first and then cleaning it up later. Leaving code or architecture messy is what we call a "bad code smell," which not only?slows down further development?but also leads to?future mistakes. Junior developers haven't yet built the intuition to detect these smells, so it's best to have them paired with a senior developer or mentor.

Mentoring plays a crucial role in utilizing junior developers effectively. It involves inspiring developers, demonstrating development practices (such as planning, architecting, coding, debugging, and testing), and introducing more academic concepts like algorithms, patterns, and strategy. Mentors share valuable insights like "Keep it simple," "Don't repeat yourself," "Don't optimize early," "Naming is hard," "Copy-paste is dangerous," "What happened to OOP?" and more.

However, mentoring can be time-consuming. It often requires reviewing work and making numerous edits. One of the best tools for mentors is providing a framework or example code. By doing so, junior developers have a well-defined starting point and can learn what's expected of them through examples. This not only streamlines their work but also sets clear expectations.

Full Stack Seed

That's where Full Stack Seed comes into the picture. It's an ideal platform for working with junior developers because it provides a framework and examples. With Full Stack Seed, senior developers don't have to spend time building the framework from scratch. Junior developers can start with working code, leading to faster and cleaner work.

Other frameworks serve this purpose, however, of course, I'm biased since I built and groomed FSS for the purpose of enabling junior and senior team members to work together. Team communication takes time and working sample code is worth 1000 words.

Some Guidance

1. When starting a project, using cheaper or younger developers will often slow your delivery down because there is much decision making and mistakes have a downstream ripple effect. Later in a project the code patterns are established and junior devs have samples to work with.
2. Junior developers are effective in environments with strong mentorship or well-established frameworks and code patterns to follow. Scrappy startups will often get throw-away code from junior devs.
3. Avoid assigning junior developers to long-lived code without proper mentorship and review. Otherwise, you risk slowing down the project and incurring higher costs, potentially necessitating rewrites.
4. Don't overload your senior developers with too many junior team members. Effective mentorship takes time, and overwhelming senior developers may lead to reduced value and compromised project safety. Additionally, senior developers may become disengaged as their preference lies in building things rather than solely teaching.
5. Beware of fast and intelligent junior developers. While they may appear capable and gain trust quickly, they are still prone to mistakes due to their limited experience. Their abilities make them "good enough to be dangerous."
6. Quality mentorship is a powerful motivator for any developer. It will lead to better code and a positive work environment ... which also leads to better code.
7. A smart junior developer, properly mentored, can be your best investment. By training them on your product platform, they can become experts in your tech stack and provide exceptional value to the team at an affordable price. This allows you to expand your team within budget constraints and cultivate a strong talent pipeline.

While junior developers can save a project money, their inexperience can lead to errors and inefficient solutions over time if not managed correctly.?By focusing on achieving both the desired outcome and code maintainability, pairing junior developers with experienced mentors, and utilizing tools like Full Stack Seed, projects can harness the potential of junior developers while minimizing the risks associated with their inexperience.?

https://fullstackseed.com