Companies setting out to have developed software development teams have a whole lot of uncertainties to deal with. While a software development team in itself isn’t such a problem to companies, the team may come with its fair share of challenges.

An in-house software development team presents a plethora of advantages to a company. Among the major benefits that the team may avail are quick access to developers, ability to change course of the agreed project without incurring additional cost and better communication.

1.  Choose a well-balanced team

Usually, managers struggle to choose a team that can spend the least time getting along to deliver on the software development project. This presents a dilemma on the type of team a firm should have.

For this case, there are three types of teams that you can opt for. These are the generalists, the experts and a hybrid team.

Generalists are usually people in the team who have a wide knowledge in various fields. They may not actually be grounded in deep knowledge in the given fields they have knowledge in. However, this class of people could successfully complete a project in good time.

The other class of people is the experts. These are the people who are able to get the work done in a great time. While this group can be efficient, the team could experience superiority tussles that may have a bearing on the project outcome.

The hybrid team makes use of both teams. There are a number of generalists that are thrown into the mix of the development team. Most managers prefer 3:1 ratio of experts to generalists.

2. Outline responsibilities for the team

While coping problems may not be noticed by companies outsourcing software development, the in-house software development teams have to grapple with it.

Defining the roles of the development team ensures you have members of the team fully aware of the firm’s expectations from them. This reduces instances of duplication of roles in the team.

By defining the roles of developers, your company is in a position to dedicate resources for the specific functions of the development team members.

3. Determine the type of management style

Management of a software development team plays an important role in the overall performance and morale of the team. It is prudent, however, to determine the type of management style to employ early in the game.

One of the most recommended styles is rather the hybrid management approach. This mode of management advocates for a strict style in the beginning and a more relaxed, developer-centric approach as the team proceeds with the task.

The beauty of using these styles is that you have to stamp authority at the get-go and define roles. As you proceed, with everyone fully aware of their roles, you should loosen out a bid to encourage beneficial feedback and participation from developers.

4. Be a great team leader

As a company, you should invest in being the best leader that you can be. Team members are generally happier and more productive under an understanding and less bothersome manager.

It takes a great manager to guide a software development team through the Software development Life Cycle (SDLC) to deliver a great product.

Conclusion

When setting up a great software development team, proper planning could solve most of your challenges. If you follow this checklist outlined above, you could well be having one foot lodged into project success.