In 2021, DevOps.com reported an 83% burnout rate among software developers. A study in October 2023 showed it remained high at 79%, with no significant decrease. According to ZipDo, 19% of software projects fail completely, and 20% are delivered late. Even worse, Digital Village reported a 70% failure rate in development projects. What’s happening?
Projects often fail or suffer from delays, and developers can experience burnout for various reasons. One common factor is developers getting stuck in a repetitive cycle, constantly dealing with the same tasks and projects in an endless backlog. This ‘same old, same old’ situation isn’t beneficial for your business.
Fortunately, there are things you can do to encourage developers to think outside the box. Once they are freed from the chains of too much repetition, developers will flourish in ways you might never have expected.
When your developers push themselves to think beyond the constraints of their normal workflow, projects will be more creative, reliable, and delivered on time.
Who doesn’t want that? The big question is how to get those developers to think outside the box.
Let’s explore the possibilities.
Mix Up the Teams
This is probably the simplest thing you can do. You probably have teams that have been working together for a long time. Those teams are probably composed of the same members doing the same things, writing similar code to what they’ve already written, having the same deadlines, working with the same managers, and becoming complacent with their work.
Instead of allowing that to continue, shuffle the team members around. You might have one backend developer who’s never had to work with UX and has been running into issues where they can’t seem to get over their latest “hump.” Move that backend developer over to the UX team for a brief period. By doing that, the backend developer will gain a better understanding of how the front end of a project comes together.
Although those backend developers might not have the necessary skills for UX or frontend design, they’re only on that team for a short period, so they’ll broaden their mindset and will be able to approach the backend from a different perspective.
Bring Them All Together
Along with mixing up your teams, another way to give developers a boost in creativity is to bring every team together for what you might call “idea fests.” These meetings can be held regularly in either a shared space in the building or digitally. The purpose is for the cross-pollination of ideas between teams that might not normally interact.
The great thing about these types of meetings is that the teams will stoke the fires of each other’s creativity such that they’ll come away with a new spark and ideas they wouldn’t have otherwise thought of.
Make Them Problem-Solvers
One thing many developers miss out on is how to solve a problem and why. When your developers are only focused on the how, they can become unaware of exactly why a particular problem needs to be solved.
For example, you might have a particular customer base that involves special needs or a very specific use case for a solution that hasn’t been made clear. If your developers only know that they need to get from start to finish before the set delivery date, and they remain clueless as to the minutiae of why the solution is being created, they might fail to bring creativity to the table.
When you lay out a project to your development team, make them a part of the solution, not only for the project but those for which the project is being developed. With that information, your developers will be better capable of thinking beyond just the how of the project to the why, and the why can be a very special motivator.
Make Them Part of the Decision Process
A lot of times, developers are left out of the early-stage decision processes. Instead, they are sent their marching orders and are expected to do great things. Instead of leaving them out of the early decision process, they should sit in on those meetings. When you make those developers a part of the decision-making process, they will not only have special insight into how to best create the project, but they’ll also feel as if they have been empowered to offer suggestions that could improve the process or even the end result.
Even better, your developers will feel more like a part of the whole, which will give their creativity a much-needed boost.
Give Them the Opportunity To Go Solo
Some developers prefer to work on a team. They work off the energy that comes with collaboration. Other developers like to work on their own. You might not always have the opportunity to give those developers the chance to work solo, but when you do, you should.
This doesn’t have to be (nor should it be) a permanent basis. Instead, you might have an instance where a particular function or API needs to be created or integrated. Such a situation might be the perfect opportunity to give those who prefer to work by themselves the chance to do so.
One thing that’s important is to make it very clear this isn’t a permanent change and, at some point, those who you’ve given permission to work alone will have to (eventually) return to their team.
Try Some Role-Playing
Although many developers might pride themselves on their Dungeons & Dragons skills, that’s not what we’re talking about.
You could have your development teams do some role-playing, where they wear the shoes of other stakeholders. Your backend developers could role-play frontend developers. Your UX team could take on the persona of the client. Your database developers might wear a management hat.
The important thing is to give those developers the opportunity to see things from a different perspective. This could give them insights they wouldn’t have otherwise had. Those insights will very often fuel their creativity.
These role-playing sessions can come in the form of official meetings or even unofficial gatherings. The key is to make them fun and informative. You’ll find that developers come out of these types of meetings with a renewed interest in the projects at hand.
Stop Settling
It’s time you stop settling for development teams going through the motions. They might be delivering on time, but are they bringing their best, most creative work to the table? With a bit of thought, you can inspire those developers to think well outside the box, without having to dip your toes deeper into the wells of your company budget.
