In my experience, in every tech firm, whether it be a product startup or a large IT service MNC, developers are afraid of the word 'Business'; and business managers try to avoid dealing with developers.
Business is the soul of any organization, the sole purpose for the enterprise's existence. Yet no tech firm can grow or scale without developers to build the product or provide services to clients - in that senes, developers are the backbone of any technical organization.
If you are planning a business meeting amongst senior management and don't have any representation from developers, read this article to learn why you need to change your strategy. If you are a developer, and uninterested in business, read this article to learn how you can make valuable contributions to the growth of your business.
MBAs and wannabe entrepreneurs tend to make ambitious technology based business plans without consulting developers. If you are a developer, you must have heard an entrepreneur boasting at some stage, "we will reach XX million users/customers in just 1,2 or 3 years" without even having considering the feasibility of the technical solution. I myself have read through several detailed business plans which must have taken hours of effort to create, when a developer would have been able to determine in just 2 hours whether or not the idea was not technically feasible, or if it required modifications to be achieved.
Even in well established companies, strategic planning and business decisions are taken in closed board rooms without consulting the very people who will work to achieve those goals and decisions.
Technology has become an integral part of our lives. It's impossible to work a single day without using technology. From large assembly lines in manufacturing units to small departmental stores, technology forms the backbone of operations, marketing and sales. Every organization, whether small or large, has encompassed an internal IT department consisting of one or more developers.
Developers form the majority of the workforce in technology firms and startups these days. Web Apps & Mobile Apps are at the vital core of any business strategy today. Enablement of business by technology must be accompanied by a truly technical person or developer, so it is vital to involve them in your Business Strategy Planning or Business Decisions.
I have given you enough 'Gyaan' [a saying in India which means giving too many opinions without backing them up with facts.]. Now I want to give some facts behind my opinions, to argue why I think developers must form an integral part of the decision making process in any business.
Drawing huge mountains and buildings to showcase impressive software in your business plan for wowing VCs won't work unless your business plan has the stamp of approval from a developer. Only a developer can validate a technology based business plan. Business professionals tend to rely on their own models and limited research to forecast their software solutions as growing exponentially without first asking for feasibility reports from their development or IT teams. Business growth should be well supported by your technology team and hence it is a necessity to get a signoff from them.
There is always another way to do something. Business designs pave the path of success or failure for any institution. In tech firms in general, important decisions are made about adding new features/products or services to the existing stack. Developers can contribute by providing valuable insights into how those features/products or services can be planned effectively and implemented later with less effort.
Developers will always perform better if they are aligned with the objective of the solution or project. If developers are involved in business decisions or weekly meetings, it will increase their productivity. If a developer is present in a business meeting, for example, where the focus of a website's target audience for next few months is being determined, it will help them to focus on building the features necessary to realize this business goal.
If a developer does not believe in the organization's vision and mission, he cannot add value through the work he does. In order to hit the bull's eye or even get close to the board, you need to know what the target is. Generally, developers are given small assignments and are rarely informed about the pursuit and purpose of the complete solution, product or company.
In the Car Manufacturing process, the creation of a complex machine like a car was traditionally thought of as an art and rarely were people able to excel in the craft. Those who built entire cars by themselves had pride and satisfaction in their work. The introduction of assembly lines mean the division of labour. Now a person who was previously able to build an entire car on his/her own was in charge of a tiny part of the car manufacturing process, like mounting wheels for example. In a similar fashion, the work of developers is made monotonous when they aren't involved or informed about important business decisions which would otherwise serve to motivate them.
I myself have worked in small startups with teams of 4-5 people, and in large MNCs where we were more than 35000+ employees strong, and I have come to the conclusion that involving people, including developer, at the roots of the business is of utmost importance for sustainability and growth. I would like you to consider my point of view and try to implement effective engagement and feedback systems in your companies so that everyone can participate in the important process of decision making.
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