5 Traits of World Class Software Development Teams
Software is all pervasive and becoming a key driver of industries in the digital age. Everything you do today revolves around technology in some way or the other. Even the most traditional sectors like agriculture, mining and natural resource industries are increasingly adopting software and technology for day to day operations.
Software development is an innovative and creative art that creates technology to reduce human effort, increase automation and maximise output. The speed and agility with which a team can create world class solutions increases its chances of success manifolds. Speed matters because things change fast and no one wants outdated stuff in the digital world.
A world class software development team has the capability to create things that can disrupt the entire industry. Take for e.g. how AirBnB team created a room sharing portal that has transformed the travel industry, how ride sharing apps have changed the transport industry, how Whatsapp has changed the telecom industry.
Here we look at some of the traits of software development teams that create world class products and solutions:
1. Passion :
You cannot build anything great without passion and energy. Great software teams care for what they are doing. They put their energy and effort into everything they do. They are passionate about solving something, creating something that impacts people and do excellent work.
When teams are passionate about their work, it shows in the kind of products and solutions they build. They take extra care to ensure things they build, stand out. They also learn more, work harder and do everything they can to keep raising their level.
2. Ownership :
You cannot build anything significant, if you don’t take ownership of what you are doing. Great professionals and teams are accountable. They take ownership and pride in their work. When you are building something great, it occupies you all the time.
Great teams manage their work and never need to be told what needs to be done. They organise themselves to take care of everything that matters for the project. They do what brings true value for their clients. It creates a world of difference where you are focused on creating great value rather than just spend office time looking busy but not doing anything substantial.
3. Quality Solutions :
There are plenty of software solutions available for everything under the sun today. To stand out, you need excellence. Great teams understand that to achieve success, you need quality. These teams push themselves to deliver top quality solutions. They are always on the lookout for areas where they can improve.
A top quality solution solves a problem for the customer. The team that solves the problems puts effort in building the solution with absolute care and attention. The best teams are known by the products they built. For e.g. Mac team slogged day and night to build a device that put them on the world map. Amazon was built with lot of enthusiasm and zeal; it changed the way people buy things.
Great teams have the ability to deliver solutions that are meaningful, creative and solve hard problems.
4. Technology, Tools & learning :
Software is constantly evolving with changing technologies. What is good today will get outdated tomorrow. The solutions that companies build need to adapt to the changing technology, else they become obsolete.
Great teams understand that the technology and tools that are required for building excellent products and services. They are aware of the industry trends, learn and share things with each other to keep themselves updated.
Learning is an integral part of successful teams; they are always willing to explore new technologies, tasks and challenges with an open mind. They experiment and learn all the time to improve things they are doing.
5. Trustworthy & Reliable :
A great team wins the trust by delivering what they promise and doing so with very high reliability. When a team shows that they can be trusted with projects and will ensure successful outcomes, they attract opportunities for greater success.
Software development is often driving critical elements in an enterprise, dealing with secured data and running end to end operations. Great software teams are dependable. They not only score high on ethics, but also complement that with exceptional execution. They meet the needs of the project day in and day out. Infact, they do everything they can to go over and above what is needed from them. They beat deadlines, understand priorities and deliver the goods with amazing consistency.
Conclusion:
This is an amazing time for software development teams to experiment and create world class products. The surge of mobile internet and cloud computing have increased the reach of products/services like never before. The best software development teams believe in their mission and build remarkable solutions that people adore.
Software development teams can create a massive difference with the work they do. If the teams are committed, work hard, love what they do and have the required skills, nothing can hold them back. The digital technologies are reshaping many industries and software companies are playing the lead role in this transformation.