As developers who do tons of brainwork, we are pretty smart. We like to think of ourselves as superheroes whose main power is not just building applications but building awesome apps!
But here’s the catch: our job isn’t really all about creating cool stuff. The truth is, we solve hard problems on a daily basis. We find and fix bugs 75% of the time, which kills any chance of shipping code on schedule. But hey, we’ll work overtime and through holidays to fix it anyways. But doing that really kills our motivation and we really only do our best work when we’re motivated.
When we have no drive, does it really matter how many hours we spend in the office? So, to increase the chance of us giving our maximum performance, here are some ways you can fuel our productivity:
1. Give us multiple hours of uninterrupted time
We need to be undisturbed for at least 4 hours to totally immerse in our work. Once our flow is disrupted, it takes more time to sink back to “focus mode”. Putting us in countless meetings is a sure fire way to slow us down.
2. Give us autonomy
Self-direction gives us a better chance of producing something awesome. We crave the freedom to do our own thing in our own terms. Besides, who wants to be micromanaged? We have brains, for crying out loud.
3. Equip us with the right tools
We need access to the right tools, especially debugging solutions for us to execute projects successfully. The right resources enable us to identify issues early before they become major problems.
4. Set realistic deadlines
Admittedly, this one’s difficult. We understand that deadlines are mandated by clients. But clients have to be told the truth by presenting them facts about the progress of the development process. Otherwise, either the deadline is missed or we end up delivering buggy software.
5. We need the right kind of problems to solve
We are motivated when faced with a technical challenge that teaches us a new skill. We won’t stop until we get it right. But when you tell us to fix the other developers’ crappy code, we won’t like it.
6. Back us up with an excellent manager
To make us work as good developers, we need an even better manager. It’s priceless when someone’s there to take the bullet for us, pat us on the back and more importantly, talk to clients and upper management so we get to be generally left alone to work.
7. Give us a pleasant place to work
When we occupy an office that’s sufficiently quiet and private, we work better. On the other hand, working in noisy, crowded cubicles is for the most part, distracting and annoying. Going to work should not feel like sitting in a noisy day care.
In the end, it takes more than being smart to succeed as developers. By building an environment that works for us, you’ll have higher chances of seeing us engaged and genuinely interested in our work. This in turn makes us produce good quality code.
Fortunately for us at Get[Devs], productivity plunges are rarely an issue. We work in a nice atmosphere where we are constantly learning and improving. If you intend to trust your software development only to highly motivated and talented developers, you’ve come to the right place.