How to increase software development efficiency. 5 major destinations

Author of the article: Dmitry Kurdyumov

Participated in Agile transformations in the largest companies in Russia (Alfa Bank, MTS, X5 retail group), with international experience in startups abroad

If you, as a manager, are looking for ways to improve development efficiency, pay attention to these important points. They show key areas for optimizing processes and increasing team productivity.

Software development and delivery require a systematic approach and the implementation of proven practices.

These practices can be grouped into five main categories:

• continuous supply

• architecture, product and processes

• lean management and monitoring,

• culture.

Each of these categories plays a key role in driving statistically significant improvements in development productivity metrics. Let's look at each of them in more detail.

1. Continuous Delivery Capabilities

1. Using version control for all artifacts
   Use version control systems such as GitHub or Subversion for all production artifacts, including code, application and system configurations, and scripts to automate builds and configure the environment.

2. Automating the Deployment Process
   Deployment should be fully automated and require no manual intervention. This significantly speeds up the process and reduces errors.

3. Implementation of continuous integration (CI)
   CI is a practice in which code is regularly integrated into a common repository, allowing regression errors to be quickly identified. Integration is accompanied by automatic tests to check the serviceability of the code.

4. Trunk‑based development methods
   These methods imply the presence of no more than three active branches, rapid merging of changes (within a day) and the absence of long code “freezes”.

5. Test automation
   Tests should be run automatically at every stage of development to maintain high quality levels and quickly identify problems.

6. Test Data Management
   Effective test data management includes ensuring that there is enough data for testing and that it can be used and provisioned flexibly throughout the development pipeline.

7. Integrate Security Early (Shift Left)
   Including security and information security testing in the early stages of development helps to avoid vulnerabilities in the code and speeds up its implementation.

2. Architecture Capabilities

1. Using loosely coupled architectures
   This allows teams to test and deploy their applications independently without requiring coordination with other services. This architecture promotes fast operation and increases overall flexibility.

2. Architecture focused on team autonomy
   Teams that can choose their own tools and work methods are better at continuous delivery and are more productive.

3. Product and Process Capabilities

1. Collection and implementation of feedback from clients
   Regularly receiving and using customer feedback plays an important role in improving products and increasing development productivity.

2. Visualization of work flow via value stream
   Visibility of work flow from business to end user helps to organize processes more efficiently and improve IT performance.

3. Working in small batches
   Breaking tasks down into small, manageable chunks that can be completed in a week or less helps you get feedback faster and reduces risks. This applies at both the feature and product levels.

4. Support for team experiments
   The ability to experiment and test new ideas during development allows teams to adapt quickly, approach problems innovatively, and create greater business value.

4. Lean Management and Monitoring Capabilities

1. Lightweight change approval processes
   Implementing lightweight approval processes such as pair programming or intra-team code reviews, rather than external approvals (such as CAB), significantly improves productivity.

2. Monitor applications and infrastructure for business decisions
   Using monitoring data not only to detect problems, but also to make key decisions about product development.

3. Proactive system health monitoring
   It is important to monitor the health of systems using thresholds and change alerts so that problems can be identified and resolved early.

4. Limiting work in progress (WIP)
   Using WIP limits helps manage work flow, improve processes, and increase team throughput.

5. Visualization of work for quality control
   Visual boards or dashboards help teams track the quality and progress of work, improving communication and understanding of processes.

5. Cultural Capabilities

1. Supporting a culture of open interaction and trust
   This is characterized by a good flow of information, a high degree of trust and cooperation between teams. This is an important factor in increasing productivity and reducing employee burnout.

2. Encouraging learning
   Employee training and development is viewed as an investment rather than a cost, promoting progress and increased motivation.

3. Supporting collaboration between teams
   Strengthening collaboration between traditionally siled development, operations, and information security teams helps improve overall organizational performance.

4. Providing resources and tools for meaningful work
   This includes creating an environment where employees can realize their skills and use the right tools to perform their jobs at a high level.

5. Supporting transformational leadership
   Transformational leadership includes five key elements: vision, intellectual stimulation, inspirational communication, encouragement, and personal recognition.

Thus, for successful software development and delivery, it is important to consider all of the above aspects: from process automation and the right architecture to maintaining the right culture in the team.

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