Some thoughts on the existing problems of small-scale software development team

Some thoughts on the existing problems of small-scale software development team

This refers to the early start of the software development team, because of the large financial pressure, have to take some outsourcing to support themselves, and then time to do their own software or platform of small-scale entrepreneurial team. This article is a little superficial thinking, the view is relatively shallow, if there is a wrong place, but also look at the experience of the great God to correct.

First, the early stage of the software development team, most of the following issues:

　　1. No Product Manager:

No product manager, resulting in software system architecture design is too arbitrary, and the project staff is unbalanced, resulting in the following several detailed issues (1) Inconsistent design ideas (2) inconsistent software flow (3) Inconsistent naming of terminals and background fields (4) Inconsistent return results

　　2. Platform limitation:

Because of the funding problem and the size of the company, such a team lacks a code hosting platform or internal shared platform, resulting in (1) project information, document sharing is not timely (2) there is no complete code management mechanism

　　3, the team lack of timely and effective communication

The problem boils down to the lack of a product manager. However, in the absence of product managers, the team should communicate more, especially with their own upstream and downstream development staff to communicate effectively in a timely manner.

　　4, without their own quotation system

In the outsourcing, due to the lack of a clear scope of work, the development process, the customer constantly modify the requirements, resulting in the developers constantly modify the program or even all overturned redo. This will be the last straw to crush the camel.

　　5, do not have the time to do their own core products, forced to make a living pressure to do outsourcing, eventually become outsourcing companies.

Ii. improved approaches to these issues:

　　1. Appointment of Product Manager

If the funds are really limited, you can let the background developers to appoint the role of the product manager, but this will cause the background staff too heavy, after all, the background is the most cumbersome piece (of course, if the background staff to do product managers, and planning project structure, At least make your work easier to do) or you can appoint a product manager with someone else who knows something about all aspects of the technology. Worst case, I think the senior artists can even in the case of the last resort to take this task, but the start-up companies generally difficult to afford senior artists.

　　2, choose the appropriate code hosting platform, build a file sharing platform

Abstract their own common project architecture (can be applied to most projects), there is a reasonable project file tree, in fact, is to standardize their own development process. Because it is to do software development, so you can build their own file sharing platform (permissions and reminders) is not the case of the mail system, the ultimate goal is to timely and effective sharing of project documents, especially the project framework, project requirements and other such documents, product managers should be after the review to mark out the key parts.

　　3. Increase effective communication between teams

Because it is a small team, so people generally less, can be in the weekend or was clear one afternoon, organize a full participation activities (such as badminton competitions, table tennis competitions, mountain climbing, etc.), for communication is not timely lead to invalid development, the responsible person, if the Department of two joint responsibility, then each dozen 50.

　4, accounting module hours, set up quotation system

For this problem, in their own team time, the full meeting to discuss, the scope of the project can be developed by the modular statistics, statistics of each module in different aesthetic degree of time-consuming, and then calculate the development costs, and then combine their own profits to form their own price list. For example, the payment module, the Apple side of the UI and features, Android UI and functionality, the background function of how much time to develop, to form their own quotation documents. When a customer proposes a change, the cost of the document is calculated as a tradeoff for the user.

　　5, must take the time to make their own core products

can be pure software platform, but to have creative, some people invest to promote, can also be soft and hard to combine, do their own products, but to have good sales. In short, in the most difficult time to insist on making their own core competitive products, to avoid becoming a purely outsourcing team.

Some thoughts on the existing problems of small-scale software development team