Every company that wants to get the most from its devs knows that fostering a responsible development culture is essential for long-term success. At PlatformManager, we understand that a responsible developer is more than just someone who writes clean code; they’re someone who’s committed to the success of the team, the client, and the company.
Cultivating that mindset across a development team can lead to faster rollouts, fewer errors, and a more collaborative work environment. That all sounds great, but how can you make it happen? Read on to find out.
Build Personal Connections
A development team thrives when its members have strong personal connections. At PlatformManager, we’ve seen first-hand how bonding outside of work can improve collaboration within it. It can be as simple as a summer BBQ, a solid Christmas party, and the odd coffee. You’re not trying to make everyone best friends, but you are trying to enable people to work together better by getting to know one another on more than a surface level.
Creating a fun and relaxed environment doesn’t detract from professionalism – it actually enhances it. Team members who feel connected are more likely to offer support, share ideas, and tackle challenges together. This camaraderie also promotes transparency, making it easier to raise concerns or ask for help when it’s needed.
Encouraging CI/CD
Continuous integration and deployment have become industry standards for good reason. At PlatformManager, we believe in the mantra of continuous everything: continuous integration, testing, and deployment. By improving these processes, teams can deploy more frequently, fix bugs faster, and make sure that every release is smooth and error-free.
Improving processes isn’t just about reducing manual work; it’s about improving the reliability of that work. Responsible developers look to not make excuses for not running tests or deploying on schedule – those are the devs that make teams fly. Features of PlatformManager, like our version control system and deployment management, are built around this philosophy because they empower developers to work smarter, not harder.
Embracing Learning And Growth
Learning is central to being a responsible developer. Whether it’s through peer programming, sharing knowledge in tech talks, or attending conferences, continuous learning helps teams stay up to date with industry best practices and new technologies. Beyond technical skills, we also believe in cultivating soft skills. Communication, feedback, and conflict resolution are just as crucial to a successful team as coding skills. By addressing these areas, developers can better collaborate with one another as well as with clients.
Promote Transparency And Accountability
Transparency is a cornerstone of responsible development. It’s vital that everyone on the team understands the current state of a project, the tasks remaining, and any potential roadblocks. This can be achieved through physical tools like whiteboards or sticky notes, and the ubiquitous morning stand-up, but digital transparency is just as important. Change checking and complete deployment logs are a requirement for responsible development and, handily, they’re well represented within PlatformManager.
Beyond that, responsible developers take ownership of their tasks. If a job hits a snag, they communicate right away and by doing so, they contribute to a culture where everyone is accountable not just for their individual work, but for the success of the project as a whole. Again, these are the people you want to hire from the outset as well as work to develop.
Customer-Focused Approach
A responsible developer always considers the client’s needs. Producing the highest quality code isn’t always the most important task – meeting deadlines, respecting budgets, and delivering a functional product are often more critical. Of course, you want code to be well written so that it’s easy to understand, maintain, and improve, but if the code is perfect and the client’s needs aren’t met, it won’t matter.
Responsible developers prioritize understanding the client’s goals and delivering solutions that fit their needs, whether that means simplifying a feature, speeding up delivery, or finding creative ways to achieve more with fewer resources.
Quality Is Non-Negotiable
At PlatformManager, quality assurance is built into everything we do. Responsible developers don’t assume their code will work – they test it thoroughly. Automated testing, manual testing, and peer code reviews all play a role in maintaining the highest standards. On top of that, and looping back to the point on clear communication, creating feedback loops that are fast and effective, allows teams to quickly address issues before they become bigger problems.
No ‘I’ In Team
Developing a responsible development culture is about so much more than just code. It’s about creating an environment where developers feel empowered to take responsibility, look for better ways to do things, and above all do those things together, as a team. The right tools make that a lot easier day-to-day, so investing in tech that supports team growth is a big thing, but ultimately it’s about how you look after and nurture individuals as a group – that’s where the magic is really made.
Want to help your developers become the best team they can be? You need to arm them with the best tools on the market, starting with PlatformManager. Get in touch with us today.