Software engineers – How do you know when you’ve chosen well
It’s a mistake to think of your software engineers as ‘handymen’, merely employed to do as you ask. If this is what you are looking for, or what you have, then you are missing out.
If you look at the definition of ‘Engineer’, it gives a clue as to what you need from your Software Engineers: ‘An engineer is a person who uses scientific knowledge to design, construct, and maintain engines and machines.’
The benefits of a relationship with a true software engineer
A great Software Engineer has the skills to understand your needs and translates them into an idea that you can use. A great software engineer will take you on a journey that will expand both your understanding of the possibilities of your software. They will open your eyes to the most efficient ways to deliver the outcomes you want and ways to exceed user expectations. They will even open your eyes to commercial opportunities you are yet to explore.
Increasing the efficiency of your software investment
Great Software Engineers are rooted in the ‘now’ but have an eye focussed on the future. They know you have immediate needs. However, they also know that what they do today forms the foundation for the future. Yes, they want to help you with your quick wins, but they know the actual value of their endeavours will increase with time.
Quick wins
Many organisations engage Software Engineers in response to a crisis. Others engage them late in the planning process. To maximise the value of the relationship with your Software Engineer, engage with them before a need becomes a crisis.
A great Software Engineer can help you with your quick wins, but if you engage them early enough, they can ensure the exponential growth of your quick wins.
Long term benefits
The best Software Engineers provide design solutions that allow you to have a clear, ongoing and incremental development schedule that ensures your business has a clear competitive advantage. They create a software architecture that is flexible enough to adapt to the ever-changing needs of your business and the needs of your customers. They demystify the development process and help you develop a greater understanding and appreciation of all a custom software development project demands. They allow you to foresee opportunities and plan for challenges that lay beyond the horizon.
Expanding your resources, while keeping costs down
Rather than cost you, a great software engineer will save you, especially if they operate as an external resource. Whereas a great Software Engineer can bring to bear all their knowledge and experience, an external provider can also provide additional resources. They can ensure an environment of inclusivity and transparency while providing the management skills and specialists to efficiently scope and build your software.
By engaging an external Software Engineer, you can achieve the outcomes you desire, without the headaches of attracting, developing and managing software development teams. Like an Architect, the right external Software Engineer will provide the vision that is underpinned by a thorough understanding of the limitations of time and budget.
Choosing well
Having the resource of an internal Software Engineer may seem the best way to ensure consistency and predictability, but it is not. Business owners will tell you that creating an environment where you can maintain greater control and accountability while outsourcing non-core costs and people management is a winning formula.
Choosing well is not just about choosing the right Software Engineer, it is also about the other resources and development processes they provide. Someone like Redgum provides a complete package, from Software Engineering to coders, sophisticated and transparent development and testing environments and project management skills.
The complete package
Redgum’s scientific approach to development and project evolution will allow you to extend the life of existing solutions, as well as reduce the time it takes to scope, build and launch your new software.
We also provide access to our libraries of own pre-build, market tested code, and the skill sets to identify and integrate existing software solutions (such as shopping cart and marketing automation tools), all with the aim of reducing the costs and the time it takes to bring your new software to market.
