The software market demands cutting-edge goods and services from companies to maintain a competitive edge. Consequently, software development can only survive if it continues to evolve and does so rapidly.
So, how can you make your development operations more effective? And, improve the productivity of your development team.
Invest in developing a dedicated team
You can further improve the productivity of your development team by using project management and related tools. And, leveraging world-class skills. But how, in a world of tech talent shortages, you might ask?
It's easy. All you have to do to overcome these shortages is to take advantage of the world-class talent that already exists offshore in emerging tech economies like India, the Philippines, and Singapore.
Most think this means outsourcing. Outsourcing is an excellent option for short-term projects and brief pipeline bulges, but the problem is that these developers never actually work for you. On the other hand, offshoring allows businesses to hire engineers that fit your corporate culture and principles better, enabling you to improve the productivity of your development team.
Don’t increase hours, reduce them
Studies actually indicate that reducing working hours can boost productivity. It is believed that working fewer hours a day can improve the productivity of your development team. Instead of ten inefficient hours, developers perform well with eight.
First, find out which tasks take the longest before determining how long your development team should work. Then automate simple tasks, such as unnecessary emails. Scale back your use. Make a rule that emails are of secondary importance and turn to tools for instant messaging like Slack for essential communications. Incremental things such as these can improve the productivity of your development team.
Improve concentration for better productivity and quality
A company that prioritises quality over quantity will see higher production rates. Start by improving concentration. Some people can focus during conversations, while others are easily distracted. Reduce distractions from instant messaging, emails, or status updates when they bring no real value.
For example, video conferencing is common when collaborating with remote teams. If there is too much noise, your remote team won't be able to hear your explanation on a crucial piece of code. So, you can improve the productivity of your development team by doing such things as providing noise-cancelling headphones for all your developers. Even minor adjustments can make a tremendous difference in creating a distraction-free workplace.
Train your current employees
It is common for employers to expect their employees to learn the newest programming languages, skills, and technologies on their own. The problem with this approach is that they don't have the resources to do this alone. And, experienced engineers often become too accustomed to a particular coding language and become resistant to independently making changes.
To improve the productivity of your development team, you should therefore invest in training for your current employees to keep them up-to-date on the latest technologies. You can even go so far as to schedule soft skills training sessions on management, leadership, and interpersonal communication a few times a year.
Hold shorter sessions with fewer distractions
Getting over a distraction and concentrating on what needs to be done takes 25 minutes. Unfortunately, distractions may prevent developers from working to their full potential. This is why shorter sessions are always better than longer ones.
You always accomplish more when you stick to a shorter but more rigid timetable. The time you save by having shorter meetings gives you more time for other activities.
Improve the productivity of your development team: in summary
When productivity increases, enterprises can produce higher quality products and services. This can be a tricky proposition in the West because there is a gradual increase in the price of software development services and a severe shortage of engineering talent.
Your business should aim to improve the productivity of your development team by looking offshore. And by choosing offshoring over outsourcing, you can gain better management control, leading to greater efficiency.