We’ve all heard the horror stories of organizations that were overly reliant on hero-based engineering teams. Software development is a complex process requiring multiple experts to collaborate while creating a final product. However, paying for the breadth and depth of expertise necessary to do everything in-house is something limited to firms with giant budgets. Smaller organizations may not want to make that sort of investment. Instead, they’ll find a super engineer capable of handling multiple areas of expertise. However, things can get a little complicated when that team member leaves. Now, your organization is stuck between a rock and a hard place. Either you start over from scratch, which costs a lot of time and money. Or you can hire someone new and have them try to learn all of the processes put in place by your superstar. Which also costs a lot of time and money. But what if this entire situation could be avoided from the get-go?
Accelerated software development (ASD) eliminates the need for superstar developers. Now, no matter the budget or in-house expertise of your organization, a fully custom solution is available. You can keep all of the foundational knowledge regarding your platform no matter who comes and goes. So what? Well, retaining tacit knowledge means that no matter the stage of development or the team members available, the internal capabilities never change. Now, your foundational knowledge base can be iterated upon and utilized by all team members to augment their abilities and minimize any sort of inefficiency. All hindrances are stripped away, and accessibility is prioritized. Everyone can do their job, share their knowledge, and grow professionally when ASD is properly utilized.
The premise of knowledge transfer was given a harsh revamp during the COVID-19 pandemic. Team members who were used to sharing physical spaces with one another were now isolated at home. That made interpersonal and cross-team interactions more difficult. However, these obstacles have been overcome through the usage of agile methodologies within ASD.
By adopting agile practices and rapid development cycles, organizations can create an environment that encourages frequent knowledge-sharing and collaboration among team members. Obviously, mentorship isn’t for everyone. That’s OK. This hiccup won’t derail ASD. Due to the constant exchange of ideas and expertise, experienced developers can transfer tacit knowledge to other team members, preventing knowledge silos and ensuring that valuable insights are disseminated throughout the organization. Again, this distribution of information makes hiring jack-of-all-trade developers unnecessary. You don’t need someone worrying about frontend, backend, UI, etc. Instead, team members can do deep dives into their own knowledge banks and learn new information from other developers simultaneously.
One of the key advantages of accelerated software development is the opportunity for individuals to work on diverse projects with tight deadlines. This necessitates the formation of cross-functional teams, where individuals from different backgrounds and skill sets come together to tackle complex problems. Risk and responsibility are evenly distributed, and everyone contributes to a common cause. This collaborative approach fosters a culture of knowledge exchange, as team members learn from each other's experiences and gain a deeper understanding of the software development process. By working closely together, they not only build upon their existing knowledge but also acquire new tacit knowledge, enhancing their overall expertise.
ASD often involves using collaborative tools and platforms that facilitate knowledge sharing and documentation. These tools enable team members to capture and store tacit knowledge in a structured manner, making it easily accessible to others within the organization. By creating a centralized repository of tacit knowledge, organizations can ensure that valuable information is not lost or forgotten over time. As experienced developers work closely with less experienced team members, they can share their tacit knowledge, insights, and best practices. This mentorship dynamic allows the organization to retain valuable expertise and ensure that knowledge is passed down to the next generation of developers.
ASD streamlines processes to heighten the ability of your personnel to do their jobs. You don’t want to depend on some superstar, do it all engineer. In doing so, you open yourself up to the risk of that team member’s departure. Instead, by utilizing ASD, that reliance is distributed across multiple experts and multiple teams. Your knowledge base doesn’t go anywhere just because of staff changes. It’s built into the product, with iterative development making it even easier to adjust based on feedback.
This becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. In-house experts share their knowledge. Those foundational building blocks can be easily internalized by junior developers working on the same project. Now, professional growth and skill development have become an inherent part of the development process. That’s impact. You don’t have to worry about putting all of your eggs in one basket anymore. ASD makes that thought process a thing of the past. Instead, iterative development, combined with collaborative knowledge sharing, creates a development process that is efficient, rapid, and learning-based.
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