Hi, I'm Anil Das a Junior Software Engineer at Luxoft India. Today, I would like to provide some pros & cons of developers, and non-developers working together under a single roof.
Today, it is not uncommon for developers and non-developers to sit together in the same space as teammates. Many forward-thinking organizations have gone even further by merging development with non-development roles into shared spaces and unifying everyone under one roof.
What does this mean for you as an individual? If you’re on the hunt for a new job, consider these pros and cons before accepting any job offer. This article will walk you through arguments for and against Devs and Non-Devs working together, as well as tips to thrive in this environment regardless of your role or level of coding fluency.
Pros of Developers and Non-Developers Working Together
Working closely with other roles, including developers, allows you to learn from one another. This can help you understand how each role works, how projects get done, and how software is built from start to finish.
This helps you better understand what developers are up against and how you can help them. This can also help you learn about various software tools, programming languages, and the general design of websites. Working closely with developers can also teach you how to better communicate your ideas to them.
This can help you become a better communicator overall, which is always a good thing. When team members are physically together, it encourages team building, and collaboration, and helps foster trust and meaningful relationships.
Working closely with developers, especially when they’re your direct peers, can help you identify potential career paths and make better long-term career decisions. When everyone is together, it’s easier to make those connections and explore new opportunities.
This can also help you find other people who are interested in growing their skills and learning more about development, which can help you advance your career.
Better Understanding of Customer Needs
If you work closely with developers, you’ll likely have a better understanding of customer needs. Whenever you’re interviewing candidates for engineering roles, you can get a more accurate picture of what the job is really like.
Plus, being able to talk to engineering candidates about the day-to-day of their jobs will help you better understand the needs of your customers. This will help you better understand how to best meet those needs with your existing resources.
This can also help you better understand how to better articulate those needs to your engineers and help them build the best products possible.
Improved Efficiency
When engineers and other non-development team members work closely together, they can work more efficiently. This can help you speed up your processes and enable you to launch products and features much faster.
This can also help you identify any bottlenecks or potential points of failure. Engineers spend time with the rest of the team, which can help level the playing field, allowing non-developers to see and understand engineering work.
This can also help you build better relationships with engineers, which can help you better communicate your needs and get questions answered faster.
Cons of Developers and Non-Developers Working Together
There are some downsides to developers and non-developers working closely together. The biggest issue is that engineers and non-developers may not fully understand what each other is doing and how their work is impacting each other.
Engineers may not fully understand what non-development work is and how it impacts their work or vice versa. This can cause engineers to feel frustrated and, in turn, it can cause non-developers to feel like their work isn’t valuable, which isn’t the case at all. Poor communication will hinder your team, regardless of the role.
Another issue is that engineers may spend too much time with non-developers and not enough time with other engineers, which can stifle collaboration and lead to poor productivity. When engineers spend time with other engineers and non-developers work closely together, they can learn from one another, which can help them be more productive in the long run. Working closely together can also cause engineers and non-development team members to lose respect for each other.
Engineers may lose respect for non-development team members because they see they don’t fully appreciate the work they do. Conversely, non-development team members may lose respect for their engineers because they see they don’t fully appreciate the work they do.
Code Language Gap
When developers and non-developers work closely together, a code language gap can occur. This means that engineers and non-developers will use different words and phrases to describe the same things.
This can confuse, make it more difficult to understand each other, and create a communication gap. If you notice a code language gap, the best way to fix it is by asking questions and seeking clarification. This can help you understand one another better and close the communication gap.
Lack of Understanding/Respect for Each Role’s Capabilities
When developers and non-developers work closely together, developers may lose respect for non-development team members because they don’t have an understanding of what they do. Conversely, non-developers may lose respect for engineers because they don’t have an understanding of what they do. This can create an unhealthy environment and lead to engineers and non-developers not feeling appreciated for their work. This can cause teams to become less productive and less efficient.
Ugly: Developers With a Lack of Respect for Non-Developers
When engineers work closely with non-developers, they may lose respect for them because they don’t fully appreciate their work. This can create an unhealthy environment and hinder team productivity. Engineers should be aware of this and make an effort to learn about the work that non-development team members do.
Ugly: Non-Developers With a Lack of Respect for Engineers
When non-development team members work closely with engineers, they may lose respect for them because they don’t fully appreciate their work. This can cause engineers to feel disrespected and hinder team productivity. When non-development team members are aware of this, they can make an effort to learn more about the work that engineers do.
Conclusion
Developers and non-developers working together can help bring a team together and build a healthy collaborative relationship. Working closely together can also help engineers and non-development team members better understand each other and their workflows, which can help them collaborate better. When teams work closely together, it can help them be more efficient, build better products, and work together more productively. Stay tuned for updates regarding my next articles (by subscribing). Feel free to comment with your questions.
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