How to Successfully Build Multi-Skilled Software Teams

What makes a good team?
A good team is a group of individuals who work together effectively to achieve a common goal. They are able to communicate well, collaborate, and trust each other to contribute their unique skills and perspectives toward a shared objective. Here’s the catch, unique skills are not enough anymore to build successful teams, especially software teams. These days, it requires not only strong leadership and excellent talent management strategies but also a culture that embraces continuous learning and innovation.

In order to build a successful team, you must understand the important role of each member and how their skill sets complement each other. Keep reading to learn more about how to build a multi-skilled software team that can take your business to the next level.

1. Understand the Changing Nature of Software Development

Understanding the changing nature of software development involves acknowledging that technology is constantly evolving and that it has a significant impact on the way software is developed. This means that software development is no longer a static process, and it requires teams to be adaptable and flexible to keep up with the rapid pace of change.

Additionally, it involves recognizing that software development is a team effort and that different skill sets are necessary to create successful software solutions. Gone are the days when the upcoming release would make entire IT departments hang in their room, holding their breaths until the launch, and that, once every couple of weeks or even months. These days, much smaller, agile teams are involved, with more frequent releases, meaning less stress as they launch a release or update. A lot less risk is involved as not as much work would have been required since the last release. Plus, with automated testing in place, they can rest assured knowing that their environments are in sync. 

A multi-skilled team is required to create software that is functional, efficient, and meets the needs of the end users. Indeed, successful software development teams are composed of individuals with different skill sets who can complement each other. For example, a team might include a test automation engineer, architect, platform engineer, DevOps engineer, etc.

2. Identify the Skills Set Your Team Needs

The next step is to identify the skillsets your team needs in order to be successful. This will vary depending on the technologies you are using and the types of applications you are developing. Consider conducting a high-performance team skills assessment.

Assessing your team’s strengths and weaknesses provides insights to improve team performance. Once you have identified the skill gaps sets, you can map the competencies, and capabilities required for your teams. With this information, tailored learning initiatives can be shaped, offering role-specific learning paths to upskill or reskill your team.

3. Developers based on the T-Shape

The T-shaped profile is a valuable skill set for software developers. This type of developer has a broad knowledge base in key aspects of software development, represented by the horizontal part of the “T.” The vertical part of the “T” represents the developer’s depth of knowledge in a particular area. This means that the developer has multidisciplinary skills that allow them to work on complex projects, but they are also a specialist in a specific area.

According to a study by IBM, the T-shaped profile is becoming increasingly important in the software development industry. The study found that 90% of top-performing software development teams have at least one team member with a T-shaped profile. Additionally, the T-shaped profile is a key component of agile development methodologies, prioritizing cross-functional teams and collaboration. By having individuals with a T-shaped profile on your team, you can improve collaboration, reduce knowledge silos, and increase overall team productivity.

4. Foster a Collaborative Environment

Foster a collaborative environment that encourages knowledge-sharing and creativity. Beyond the classic setup of regular meetings where team members share what they are working on and ask for help from others when needed, you should create opportunities for cross-training, so that team members can practice on real or exercise projects and learn new skills from one another. This could involve pairing team members with different skills on specific tasks, or organizing training sessions where team members can share their knowledge on specific topics. Additionally, shape objectives that involve cross-functional teams, by doing so, you can help to break down knowledge silos and create a more cohesive, collaborative team focused on providing results where they can help each other because they need to reach the same objective.    

5. Develop a DevOps Culture

Another critical aspect of building a successful software team is fostering a culture of DevOps, which emphasizes the importance of collaboration between development, testing, and operations teams. By breaking down silos and encouraging cross-functional collaboration, teams can create more efficient workflows and optimize their processes for delivering high-quality software.

By embracing a DevOps culture, teams can continuously improve their processes and products through regular feedback and iteration. This can help to improve the quality of software products and increase customer satisfaction. Therefore, it’s essential to create a culture that encourages DevOps principles and practices, such as continuous integration, continuous delivery, and automated testing, among others.

6. Encourage Lifelong Learning 

Encouraging lifelong learning helps to ensure that team members stay up-to-date on the latest changes in technology and can continue to develop their skills. Here are different ways to do so:

• Provide access to online courses, training materials, and certifications that allow team members to learn at their own pace and on their own schedule. The DASA Talent Academy is designed to help organizations build high-performance teams that can deliver value through DevOps. It includes guidance on identifying the necessary skills and competencies for your team, creating a culture of continuous learning and development, and establishing metrics and KPIs to measure your team’s performance. 
• Organize workshops together where team members can learn from industry experts and network with other professionals. 
• Encourage team members to participate in hackathons and other coding challenges, which can provide opportunities to develop new skills and work on real-world problems. 

By investing in your team’s continued learning and providing opportunities for growth and development, you will ensure that they have the skill set necessary to be successful now and in the future. Moreover, fostering a culture of continuous learning can also help to improve team morale, as team members are more likely to feel engaged and motivated when they are able to learn and grow in their roles. 

Final Thoughts

Building a multi-skilled software team that can keep up with the rapid pace of change in technology requires strong leadership, effective talent management, and a culture that embraces continuous learning and innovation. To achieve this, teams must understand the changing nature of software development and identify the skill sets necessary for success. They should seek out individuals with diverse backgrounds and skill sets, encourage a T-shaped profile for software developers, foster a collaborative environment, embrace DevOps principles and practices, and encourage lifelong learning. By following these steps, you can build a team that is capable of delivering high-quality software products quickly and efficiently, ultimately taking your business to the next level.