Software Development Team Goals

Contents

Every software development company has a team of specialists who use their knowledge, skills, and experience to create an excellent mobile or web product.

It is worth remembering that people are the key to the success of any project. That is why building an effective software development team that can productively cooperate and bring new quality to the project is so important.

It is also necessary to have an appropriate software development team structure, which allows for a clear division of responsibilities and facilitates the achievement of goals, both individual and the goals of the entire team.

We know that creating or selecting an excellent software development team is a real challenge. Therefore, based on many years of experience, we have prepared an article, "How to choose a Dedicated Software Development Team? Everything you should know", which will guide you through this process.

Remember that the best teams are the ones that work effectively both internally and externally. To facilitate this task, it is necessary to set team goals to help all project participants stay on the path and remember that the result of their work will be a successful product.

Software Development Team Goals

Each project is different, and the goals of a given project also vary. However, this does not change the fact that every software development team should achieve some critical goals to create a successful project. Our many years of experience in software development projects show that at least 3 goals for the software development team must be achieved for the project to be successful. These goals are:

• HIGH QUALITY
• PROJECT REQUIREMENTS
• ON-TIME DELIVERY

Below, we will discuss these goals and tell you what to do to help your team achieve them.

• High quality

High quality is the most crucial goal that software development teams must meet. There is no point in implementing a project that will be just any because it will affect the opinions of users and the rankings of software companies. Therefore, high quality should be considered when planning the software development project. You have to prepare all stages and processes in such a way as to deliver quality software. It is the overarching goal. You must recognize it due to the tight schedule or delay in introducing the project to the market. Otherwise, you will have to spend a lot of time fixing bugs, and due to poor user feedback, it will not be possible for the product to be successful on the market. Therefore, do absolutely everything you can to prevent this from happening. Our experience shows that high-quality software should be taken care of throughout the entire software development process. You can do this by:

• CONTINUOUS TESTING - Software testing should be performed as often as possible, no matter what project stage your team is at. A big mistake is testing the software only in the final stage of development: the errors detected then are difficult to remove and require a huge amount of work and time, often resulting in a delay in the project implementation. Meanwhile, regularly testing and reviewing the code allows you to catch bugs at the initial stage, which makes their removal quick and easy. Continuous testing guarantees high code quality and that the software will work well in all conditions. Remember that the tests must be carried out on an ongoing basis and when some changes have been made to the software or new functionality has been added. It is because an additional, even efficient operating element may disturb the functioning of the entire project. An adequately created software development environment (the so-called testing environment) will help you efficiently test your software. In our article "Web Development Testing - why is it important?" we have thoroughly explained the validity of testing.
• AUTOMATION - Many tools allow an automatic code review. Of course, this will not replace team members such as software developers or software engineers, but it will undoubtedly improve their work and help catch errors faster.
• AGILE PROJECT MANAGEMENT - Our experience shows that using Agile methodology affects management issues and the provision of high-quality software. Thanks to agile principles, the project manager and each team member perfectly understand the project from the business side and are jointly responsible for the project. Thanks to this, all participants in the process ensure the high quality of the created product.
  
  

• Project requirements

Each project requires a robust software specification, but more is needed to be successful. It is obvious that the project requirements must be met. Still, to achieve this goal, your software development team must have a complete understanding of the entire project, both in terms of business and in terms of users' expectations. You can achieve this goal by:

• DISCOVERY WORKSHOP - This is a workshop where your project is thoroughly analyzed in technical and business terms by a team of specialists such as business analysts, programmers, or CTO. The Discovery Workshop aims to provide an in-depth understanding of the project by all participants in the process and to create a single, shared vision that will be part of a comprehensive project documentation containing everything you need from start to completion. Thanks to such workshops, you will be sure that your software development team knows what to do, how to do it, and why it was decided to choose specific solutions, such as a particular tech stack.
• HIGH LEVEL OF MANAGEMENT - Managing software projects is quite a difficult task. Fortunately, many high-class tools available on the market can significantly facilitate this process and help each project manager and key project stakeholders. Appropriate management translates into, among other things, reacting to changes and motivating the team. And this has a crucial impact on the project implementation that meets the requirements of users and customers.
• If you want to deepen the management topic, please read our article "Managing a Software Development Project," in which we discussed this issue.
  
  

• On-time delivery

Implementation of a software project requires timely implementation. Contrary to appearances, it is only obvious to some. Therefore, when deciding to cooperate with a software development partner, please pay attention to whether he pays great attention to timeliness or believes that the final date is meaningless. A protracted project increases the entire project's cost and frustrates investors and customers. To prevent this from happening, you might want to consider the following:

• PLANNING - is a crucial stage of the software development life cycle. Create a plan BEFORE starting a software development project. Of course, you can modify the plans later, but you need to know that the plan's quality determines the project's success or failure. A well-prepared plan allows you to react to changes and monitor the project implementation time. Planning is of paramount importance, especially in long-term projects. We discussed this topic in detail in the article "Planning in software development."
• CURRENT PROGRESS TRACKING - This is an issue that many project managers need to remember. Ongoing monitoring of the work progress prevents team burnout and allows you to define the project's stage clearly. Ignoring this task causes the project to be delayed because there are always situations when someone forgets to prepare an element (e.g., project roadmap), without which further work is impossible. Thanks to specialized tools, you can create, e.g., burndown charts or monitor the speed of the team's work. The appropriate software development team structure is also essential, as it allows for a clear division of responsibilities and, consequently, for easier monitoring of the progress of the work of individual development teams.
• ONGOING RESPONSE TO CHANGES - Perhaps you have prepared a project plan with many business analysts, developers, or quality engineers. But it is not possible to prepare a plan that will be carried out for many months without the slightest change. Not only that, you can be sure that something unexpected will happen. In such a situation, the key is to react quickly to changes. It cannot be allowed that, in the situation of changing circumstances, no decisions are made or taken with a delay because this leads to an accumulation of problems and, consequently, a delay in the implementation of the project.

Summary

Setting goals is crucial both in private life and in business. Research shows that setting a goal alone increases the likelihood of achieving it. The goal allows you to channel your energy properly, strengthens your motivation, and helps you focus, increasing the probability of success. That is why every, even the smallest software development team, must have set goals to help implement a great project. As the best product development company, we have extensive experience in this area, so if you want to talk about your project, arrange a free consultation with our specialists at a convenient time. We guarantee that you will surely be satisfied!