23 / 04 / 2024
On the importance of developer velocity we speak with Mineke De Thije. Mineke is Managing Partner at ChangeLab where she helps companies deal with change in a good way, so they can grow and scale.
Change is hard, for everyone. Our intuitive reaction to change is resistance. That is why it is very important to think about how we are going to lead people through these changes.
The starting point of a successful change process always starts at the top: where do we want to go as an organization? Only when the goal is clear and everyone is singing from the same hymn sheet, you can create a sense of awareness about the necessity of the desired changes. It is important that people know why they are going to change and that this message is carried throughout the organization.
Unfortunately it often stops there: we have said that we are going to change, explained why we are going to change and now everyone has to go along. But that's not how it works. It is not because we rationally understand why we need to change that we do not feel resistance on a personal, individual level. That's a natural reaction and that's why it is important to guide people through the entire change process.
From this insight, we also make the link to the importance of developer velocity. The fact is that software development is becoming increasingly important. Even in sectors that have not traditionally engaged in software development. Think, for example, of the banking sector, where online banking has become indispensable, or the retail sector, where online sales have become an important business activity.
Microsoft recently conducted a survey of those organizations that score well in the area of software development, to see what success factors they have in common. What elements have played a role in players succeeding in developing their software quickly and well?
What does it turn out to be? Only the right people and the right tools are not enough. This radical change in the organization must also be viewed and treated as such. It requires an equally radical mindset switch to get to the right setting for the developers.
Agile working is one of the keys to that setting. However, you don't implement it in one, two or three. Agile goes further than simply teaching people the principles of agile. Developers must also personally go through the changes that come with agile work and the entire organization must embrace and propagate the way of working and collaboration. This is precisely why it is so important to supervise change properly.
Besides agile working, there is another important success factor for development velocity. Companies that make the link between IT and business fast and good score remarkably better. IT has increasingly evolved from an executive, supportive department towards a framework and is given a role within the business, precisely because it can truly be a catalyst. Software development is therefore not only an IT matter but also a business matter and both must work together in multidisciplinary teams.
A final success factor, which came into the spotlight thanks to the pandemic, is working remotely. This has a positive effect on development velocity. For most companies, working from home has evolved in recent months from 'impossible' to 'very efficient' so we have already made that quantum leap. But only now, when the office gates are gradually opening again and the external pressure is dropping, can we really anchor this change in the organization. It is therefore important for the development velocity that organizations continue to opt for (a form of) remote working now that the compulsion of the pandemic has disappeared.
Convinced of the benefits of development velocity? Now how do you tackle it concretely? First of all, the framework must decide what the goals of the organization are. Does a digital strategy in which you bet on software development belong to that? Then reading the study we refer to in this blog is a very good starting point. It is written in a very comprehensible way and gives many starting points to see to what extent your organization is ready for change and how you can best roll it out. Certainly don't forget to pay sufficient attention to good and consistent coaching of your people. The more successfully you involve them in the change story, the faster you can implement the change and the whole process will cost less. Because that's what development velocity is all about: what is supported well will pay off well.
