Ask Your Developer

1. Build software or risk extinction in the digital age

Build vs. Die is becoming a natural law of business, just as evolution defines organic life on earth.

Digital transformation is imperative. Every industry is rapidly becoming a software industry as customer expectations evolve. Companies that fail to adapt face existential threats from digital disruptors. The ability to build software in-house, rather than just buying off-the-shelf solutions, is becoming a key competitive advantage.

The new software supply chain. Modern software development leverages cloud platforms and microservices, allowing companies to focus on their core differentiators. This "Third Great Era of Software" enables faster innovation and lower costs. Key examples:

• Amazon Web Services (AWS) for computing and storage
• Twilio for communications
• Stripe for payments

Case study: ING Bank. ING transformed from a traditional bank to a software company, building its own contact center system rather than buying a commercial solution. This allowed for rapid iteration, cost savings, and better customer experiences.

2. Understand developers as creative problem-solvers, not just coders

Code is creative.

Developers are artists, not just technicians. Writing software is more akin to creating music or writing a book than doing math or science. The best developers are creative problem-solvers who can translate customer needs into innovative solutions.

Empower developers to solve problems. Instead of giving developers detailed specifications, share customer problems and let them find creative solutions. This approach leads to:

• More innovative products
• Higher job satisfaction
• Better retention of top talent

Examples of developer creativity:

• Instagram: Built by two engineers, sold for $1 billion
• WhatsApp: Created by two developers, sold for $19 billion
• GroupMe: Developed in 18 hours at a hackathon, sold for $80 million

3. Foster a culture of rapid experimentation and learning

Experimentation is the prerequisite to innovation.

Embrace failure as a learning opportunity. Create an environment where teams can take calculated risks without fear of punishment. Celebrate the process of experimentation and learning, not just successful outcomes.

Key principles for effective experimentation:

• Start small and iterate quickly
• Set clear hypotheses and metrics for success
• Learn from failures and pivot as needed
• Share learnings across the organization

Blameless postmortems. When things go wrong, focus on identifying systemic issues rather than blaming individuals. This approach encourages transparency and continuous improvement.

4. Recruit and retain top talent by offering autonomy, mastery, and purpose

It doesn't make sense to hire smart people and tell them what to do. We hire smart people so they can tell us what to do.

Autonomy. Give developers freedom to make decisions and solve problems in their own way. This fosters ownership and creativity.

Mastery. Provide opportunities for continuous learning and skill development. Invest in training, mentorship, and challenging projects.

Purpose. Connect developers' work to meaningful customer impact and broader company mission. Share customer stories and feedback regularly.

Compensation considerations:

• Pay fairly, but don't rely on bonuses as primary motivators
• Offer equity to align long-term interests
• Focus on intrinsic motivators over perks like ping-pong tables

5. Organize into small, empowered teams with clear missions

Small teams and single-threaded leaders help minimize the chances that people find themselves in that third position—disempowered and victimized by decisions they disagree with.

Two-pizza teams. Keep teams small enough to be fed by two pizzas (typically 5-10 people). This reduces communication overhead and increases agility.

Single-threaded leadership. Assign a dedicated leader to each team who is fully focused on that team's mission. This increases accountability and decision-making speed.

Team structure principles:

• Define clear customer, mission, and metrics for each team
• Use "mitosis" to split growing teams while maintaining focus
• Formalize interactions between teams as "service contracts"

6. Prioritize customer empathy and direct developer-customer interaction

Hospitality exists when you believe the other person is on your side.

Wear the customer's shoes. Develop deep empathy for customer needs and pain points. Encourage all team members, including developers, to interact directly with customers.

Break down silos. Avoid treating developers as "code monkeys" isolated from customer feedback. Instead, create opportunities for developers to:

• Participate in customer support
• Attend sales meetings
• Conduct user research
• Build demo applications

Case study: Bunq. The Dutch mobile banking app involves developers directly in customer feedback forums, leading to rapid innovation and high customer satisfaction.

7. Implement Agile methodologies thoughtfully, not dogmatically

Agile isn't the panacea that converts sometimes describe.

Core Agile principles:

• Anticipate and embrace change
• Break work into small, manageable chunks
• Maintain close collaboration between business and developers

Potential pitfalls:

• Overly rigid processes that stifle creativity
• Treating developers like assembly line workers
• Excessive meetings that disrupt flow

Balanced approach: Adopt Agile practices that work for your team, but remain flexible. Focus on outcomes rather than strict adherence to methodology.

8. Invest in robust infrastructure to enable innovation at scale

Great infrastructure is the foundation of innovation.

Importance of infrastructure investment. Allocate significant resources (often 30-50% of R&D budget) to building internal tools, platforms, and processes that make developers more productive.

Key infrastructure investments:

• Continuous integration/continuous deployment (CI/CD) pipelines
• Developer tools and libraries
• Monitoring and observability systems
• Security and compliance frameworks

Case study: Facebook. Investment in release engineering and infrastructure allowed Facebook to "move fast with stable infra," enabling rapid innovation while maintaining reliability.

Last updated: December 1, 2024