5 Signs Your Development Team Is a Hindrance and Not an Enabler of Innovation
Scott MorrisSolutions Engineer
Having been with 4mation since inception in 2001 while completing a Computer Science degree at UTS, Scott has played a variety of roles within the business through its almost 20 years of growth.
As a Certified AWS Solutions Architect, Scott has a strong ability to bridge the gap between the technical and business/user world. Scott has a deep understanding of the service we provide our clients having spent years as a Developer, Business Analyst, Team Lead, and Head of Delivery.
His focus now is heading up 4mation’s Internal Operations to make our work and suite of digital tools as efficient and effective as possible.
Are you feeling constant pressure to deliver, but your development team can’t keep up with the pace of change? Are your competitors leaving you in the wake of their innovation?
If so, these 5 signs can be an indication that your development team is a hindrance and not an enabler of innovation.
1. Your backlog continues to grow
There’s always work to be done, and your development team aren’t able to keep up with the growing backlog. There’s no focus on the importance of these tasks, and work continues to pile up, meaning missed deadlines and incomplete projects.
Good development teams should understand the value of each task in their backlog, enabling them to prioritise and complete them to delivery deadlines.
2. Pressure from the business
You’re receiving feedback from your stakeholders that the number of delays, missed deadlines and quality issues are unacceptable. And the worst part is, you agree with them! You know with the budget and resources at your disposal, there should be consistent, reliable delivery.
3. Business looks outside of your capabilities
Your development team isn’t contributing to the innovation of your client’s business, and any new ideas are stifled. Deliveries have been delayed, and no return on investment. They see no benefit in using your services. The result? They end up looking outside of your team’s capabilities.
Good development teams follow agile development processes which allow them to deliver at maximum effectiveness, learn, and proactively suggest opportunities.
4. Your team is reactive, not proactive
Your development team completes the requests from the business but add no other value to the project. The pace of your organisation’s innovation is restricted to your ideas alone, as your team is purely reactive, not proactive.
To be really successful, strong teams need a reciprocal relationship. Knowing the direction of your business goals, they should be collaborating with you to identify opportunities and proactively suggest ways to help you meet these objectives. Your team will have expertise and knowledge which could truly benefit your project, identifying possible pitfalls and ways your projects can succeed in the long run.
5. Your competitors are surpassing you in innovation
Your direct competitors are on a steeper innovation trajectory than you. Their team size and skill set are similar, but they’re consistently finding new opportunities. You don’t know what else is out there and your development team isn’t offering suggestions on ways your business can innovate.
Strong development teams should be continuously learning and upskilling. By building expertise and following agile development processes, your team can deliver solutions more efficiently, helping to drive the pace of change and innovation.
Sound familiar?
If your development team is a hindrance to your innovation, we’re here to help.
About The Author
