Advancements in technology have made businesses more efficient, it’s also made them more competitive in a race to meet consumers’ needs. Customers can order groceries, bank, and get their shopping done online, but companies need the software to accommodate them.
As consumer expectations grow and businesses invest more money into software, more companies are looking toward remote developers. Entire teams can work together online with video conferencing software. A remote development team has the advantage of being able to operate during uncertain times without losing efficiency.
But how do you hire a great software developer? Before you can meet the development needs of your company, you need to know what those needs are. And before you can hire a developer, you should have some idea of what a developer does.
The following will introduce you to software developer roles and responsibilities. You can assess how one can benefit your company. By understanding the day-to-day processes of a software developer, you can find quality workers and know how to communicate with them to maximize their potential.
Software developers: Defining the role
Software developers meet with business leaders to learn about a company’s needs. They then manage the creation or change of software to meet those needs. A software developer will code the software using the pertinent programming language or supervise a team that does so.
Depending on the industry they are operating in, software developer roles and responsibilities may look very different. Development projects can vary in complexity and scope. For example, a single landing page for a company will require a lot less effort than designing an entire website from scratch.
It’s also important to note that many of the best developers operating now work independently. Working independently gives professionals certain benefits. For instance, being able to name their price, choose the projects they want to work on and work remotely. Broadening your search to include independent software developers can bring in highly skilled workers, increasing the flexibility of your project.
However, there are certain attributes and responsibilities that most software developers share. You should be aware of these similarities and know how to evaluate them to hire the best developer for your team.
Education and training
Software developers generally have a computer science degree. Few developers have related technical degrees, like engineering, mathematics, and physics. Since the goal of software development is solving problems, degrees involving mathematics are beneficial.
What’s more important than a general degree is that a developer has the right technical skills. Sometimes, experience working in a development team can make up for some education. Always ask for examples of a developer’s past work and get references to verify their skills.
New forms of education allow workers to get certified in different programming skills without having to attend school.
Developers can find coding boot camps or online certification courses for programming languages. Languages such as Python, JavaScript, and HTML, for a fraction of the cost of a computer science program from a big university.
You shouldn’t immediately turn away a software developer who has gone this route. They can have even greater motivation than programmers with general degrees.
Technical skills
There are several hard skills a developer must have to oversee the creation of software. They should be familiar with a variety of coding languages and frameworks. The specific languages and systems a software developer needs to know to depend on the project they will embark on.
A front-end developer is responsible for everything a user sees on a website or mobile app. Their chief concern is the way a website or application immediately behaves when a user interacts with it. These developers use languages like JavaScript and HTML to give users an optimal experience.
Back-end developers write the server-side code for a website. Their work allows an application to communicate with a database and handle user input. To put it simply, back-end developers do the groundwork that allows front-end software to operate. These developers use languages like Python, PHP, and Java to establish the functionality of an application.
If your project requires front-end and back-end development, you might consider hiring a full-stack developer. These developers have mastery over both front-end and back-end development. They’re proficient in back-end projects like writing application programming interfaces (APIs) or front-end projects like writing JavaScript code.
While full-stack developers usually have the best skills and experience, they’ll also be more expensive. If the scope of your project only needs a certain type of development, you may be able to save money by hiring a specialized developer.
Collaboration with others
Software developer jobs require a good amount of collaboration, so they need to have people skills and technical skills. An effective software developer must be able to work with the members of the team. They must also be able to communicate with a business leader to understand the vision of the project.
If a developer is the team leader, it will be their job to translate their client’s needs to the rest of the team. The project leader will need to facilitate check-ins with team members to ensure they’re working toward the goal and on pace to meet deadlines. At the end of the project, they’ll also have to work with their team to test every aspect of the new application or website to make sure it works well.
Even after a project is finished, it will be up to the software developer to maintain it and make sure it continues to meet the client’s needs. For this to work, there must always be an open line of communication between the developer and the client.
During the hiring process, you should always evaluate a developer’s ability to collaborate. Ask them to give examples of how they’ve successfully worked with teams in the past and whether they’ve gotten along with their team members. If you’re engaging a remote developer, ask how they’ve utilized collaboration tools like Slack or even email.
Attention to detail
To be effective, programming must be precise. Even the tiniest coding mistake can have a disastrous effect on the functionality of an application. Developers can’t afford to overlook any aspects of their programming.
Businesses rely on developers to deliver a seamless user experience to their customers. If a website is appealing and easy to navigate, the likelihood that a visitor will become a customer increases. However, even the slightest user difficulty can hurt sales.
For example, a clothing store might have a type of product titled the “hand-knit polo.” A consumer visits the website searching for the item but doesn’t know its exact name. In the website search bar, they type “short-sleeve collar shirt,” but the product they are looking for doesn’t show up.
While determined users may keep searching, many will likely be discouraged and turn away, causing the business to lose sales. A software developer must have the forethought to anticipate these problems and the knowledge to solve them.
Software developers: Key responsibilities
As noted, the duties of software developers can greatly diverge depending on the project and industry in which they’re working. Still, there are general responsibilities that most software developers share.
Making software is a complex task that requires a great deal of planning and work. A developer is involved in every aspect of the process: design, implementation, testing, and maintenance.
Designing and creating software
A software developer will meet with a client to get an understanding of a business’s software needs. With an idea of what the customer wants, the software developer can make a detailed plan of how the new software will be designed.
The developer will then make a timeline for finishing the project to show the client. Usually, this is a loose timeline. There are so many variables involved in building software that it can be difficult to gauge the exact length of a project from the start.
Using an appropriate coding language, the developer gets to work creating the software. During this stage, developers examine their work to make scheduling and operational adjustments.
Adjust and upgrade current applications
Not every development project involves creating new software. Sometimes, clients just need to alter or add features to their current software. Developers will find the best way to optimize current websites and applications.
These projects often have a smaller scope than projects that require new software to be built. If you only need changes to your company’s current software, you may save money by hiring a smaller team or even a single developer.
An example of this type of project would be a single website homepage that needs to be redesigned to be more attractive to consumers. A front-end developer could do this project alone because the website’s back-end development would stay the same.
Perform quality checks and tests for applications
The new software should always be tested. Development teams are constantly evaluating the quality of their work. There are two main types of testing that they create.
Functional testing makes sure an application or website does what it’s supposed to do. A link designed to take a customer to a certain landing page should bring them to the correct destination. A development team will typically do this type of testing themselves.
Nonfunctional testing makes sure an application or website operates to a user’s standards. This type of testing takes into account aspects like the speed of a website under different circumstances. It can be more effective to do this type of testing with an automated tool like Apache JMeter.
Make records of operations for future use
A software developer never knows when the notes for an old project will need to be revisited. For this reason, everything a development team does during a project must be documented.
From the beginning, a developer should keep track of their team’s goals, jobs, and plans for a project. As the project advances, a record of development and testing should be kept. A list of problems and sticking points can be useful, as well, with their solutions.
With quality documentation, a developer can easily explain everything their team has done for a client. Also, if any problems arise with the software in the future, the developer can quickly identify and fix them using their documentation.
Maintain software for optimal performance
After a software project is finished, the software developer must be available to the client in the future. As time goes on, the software might need to be updated or adjusted.
Sometimes, errors are found later that need to be fixed, but there are other reasons a developer might revisit their work. For example, new data could suggest that a website is no longer offering users an optimal experience. The developer would then need to alter the code to meet the needs of its users.
Software maintenance is vital to keeping programs operating efficiently. A good software developer knows that even though an initial project is complete, their relationship with a client is ongoing.
Find the perfect professional for any development project
The need for skilled software developers has erupted as companies race to attain the technology that will give them an edge. All types of companies, from banks to grocery stores, need websites and mobile apps. These platforms that make it easier for their customers to do business with them.
Finding the right software developer to carry out your project can take research. You should know the scope of your product, the type of development (front-end, back-end, or both) it will take, and what to look for in a quality worker. By taking the time to understand the role of a software developer, you can engage the perfect one for your business needs.
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