How to Increase Productivity of Software Development Team?
Time and money have long gone hand in hand. The less time we waste on unproductive work, the more efficiently the team, is. Projects gain on quality. The business works better- and faster income indicators grow.
As a rule, it is not so difficult to organize the work of a small team. You can easily understand that it is ineffective. You can change something quite quickly. Team leaders often face the problem of poor quality distribution of time and tasks. Especially when it comes to large teams. Here are some tips for you on how to increase the productivity of your software development team:
What makes developers different
Almost no one believes in the stereotypical image of a programmer. A messy desktop (both real one and computer) and in an old sweater with big glasses. Each developer is an individual. But still, among many representatives of this profession, there are still common features:
There are many tech people among them. People who are passionate about technology or something else. They can be fans of their business, they know how to work “in the stream”. If you do not support them, you are more likely to experience negative consequences.
There are quite a few introverts in the ranks of developers. But not those who are embarrassed to communicate even with their old colleagues. Introversion most often manifests itself in matters of publicity. Programmers are rarely ready to become media personalities. They won’t address the audience on behalf of their company. Accordingly, this imposes certain restrictions on PR activities or marketing.
You need to understand that all the above is not a generalization of „all one size fits all“. Such an attempt can end badly for the leader. Consider the individual characteristics of each of your employees.
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What management principles do we adhere to improve developers productivity?
Do not raise your voice and do not delegate tasks in a dictatorial manner.
Employees are not accountable for every second of their working time. There is automation, but it is not robotic for people and does not resemble an army system. After all, you have a private free business in the IT-sphere, not a correctional battalion.
You should support any activities of an entertaining nature.
Support everything that improves the mood of the team. A healthy team environment is more important than short-term false productivity. Your employees may be accurate in reporting. But at the same time, they might work in a burnout mode. Then we call it false productivity.
Take into account the opinion of employees
When making important management decisions, always take into account the opinion of employees. For example, you are deciding to work remotely 2 days a week. Make sure to ask your dev team if they agree and which days they want to spend working from home.
Set clear and understandable goals
There is a survey in the book “Balanced Scorecard. From strategy to action. ” by Robert Kaplan and David Norton. They mentioned that only 7% of the employees understand their company’s business strategy. Only 7% can say what they must do to achieve corporate goals.
There is another study Final Destination: Organisational Transparency ClearCompany. It says that 44% of office workers generally have an idea of what their company is striving for. Your employees don’t understand what you want from them. What kind of productivity can we talk about at all?
You, as a leader, must articulate the goals of your organization to your subordinates. The development team must understand what you expect of it. How completing their small individual tasks helps the company to make global plans a reality. If they do something without even understanding what they are doing, their motivation will remain low. Set clear goals in order to notice developer productivity increase.
Spend less time in meetings
If you want to improve developers’ productivity save their time. Hold meetings only if they have a clear purpose and agenda. Make sure that meeting times are comfortable for most people in the team. Organize meetings either at the beginning or at the end of your workday – but not in the middle. Another option is to exclude live discussion. Use instant messaging or video conferencing instead.
Pay attention to the development of employees
New knowledge keeps the team in good shape. It ensures the professional updating of the developers. Thanks to it developer productivity increases.
Make sure to not build a corporate school with strict regulations. Don’t force employees to study tons of literature. Everything should happen in a relaxed manner. Let the developers set their own priorities. Let them choose the best lms for rto and improve their qualifications. They must realize that they need it, not just the leader.
Paint the office
It may seem like a trifle. But research suggests that office wall color affects the productivity of your employees. University of Texas researcher Nancy Qualleck proves it. She made the research. Effects of nine monochromatic office interior colors on clerical tasks and worker mood. She found that white walls are bad for people’s ability to focus.
She put three groups of workers in rooms of different colors: red, white, and blue-green. Subjects from the white room made the most mistakes when completing tasks. Red and blue-green seem to have helped employees be more effective.
Another Blue or Red study? Exploring the Effect of Colour on Cognitive Task Performances. From the University of British Columbia. It showed that people in rooms with reddish tint are better at performing routine tasks. These tasks required attention to detail. Blue, on the contrary, stimulates creativity.
So keep that in mind when you’re finally going to do some renovations in your office. No matter how silly it may sound. Colour can improve developers’ productivity.
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Conclusion
Developing innovative products is a fun process that engulfs a programmer. The need to search for new solutions fascinates the specialist. It makes him work 24 hours a day with the greatest productivity every minute. But is really true? – Of course not! The fight for productive work requires decisive measures. And the first one who should think about them is a team leader.
