There’s a role that I think is undervalued within software development projects - decision maker.

Even with a group of talented developers and a top rate project manager, somebody needs to have the daily responsibility for making sure things stay on track at every level.

That means someone who understands every aspect. The reason for the project, the needs of the customer, the way it should look, feel, and be implemented. Someone with a vision.

Software development is hard. Every line is a choice. A strong decision maker to back that team up can help reduce the burden. Not only that, it can significantly increase your project velocity. With your developers spending less time making the tough decisions, they’ll have more time for writing features.

Project management is hard. Dealing with customer meetings, making sure everyone is staying on track and meeting the milestones. A strong decision maker supports the project manager by providing technical leadership they might not have.

Should that button be red or blue?

There are two Python modules that do the thing we need, which one should we use?

Is this method written in a way that we can extend it in the future?

What area makes sense to tackle first?

The decision might be based on the maker having previous experience. It might be based on knowing what the customer talked about at the last meeting. It might be based on some research that needs done.

Most often it’s just down to good taste.

Call them the technical lead. Call them the technical project manager. Call them Steve Jobs.

But if you want to increase the chances of success - follow the leader.

And if you’re still looking for help, contact us and we’ll see what we can do.

Photo by Scott Graham on Unsplash