Scale-fare for Software Development Leaders
Asking our AI friends, what do you think scaling your software development team means?

Scale-fare for Software Development Leaders

There I was, stuck between a rock and a hard place – literally (somewhere on the southern border of Turkey). A major deployment for the Turkish Air Force looming, with deadlines feeling more like a noose tightening around my neck. We were pushing a custom software solution vital to their maintenance program, and failure was not an option. Problem was, we were critically understaffed based on our usual workload.

Panic set in. The project's complexity and scope demanded far more hands than we had available. With the clock ticking, I made the call: we had to hire, aggressively, even if it was just to get us through this crunch. We scoured the market for talent frantically, throwing caution to the wind in a desperate bid to meet oppressive delivery targets.

And you know what? We pulled it off. Amidst rounds of celebratory lokum after the system went live, my heart raced with a mix of relief and dread. Relief that we had averted disaster. Dread because those three dozen extra developers I had brought on...well, now there was no work for them (yet). That's the thing about software development – sometimes you need to sprint, but then comes the inevitable slowdown. I had just learned a hard lesson in the pitfalls of rapid scaling.

The Eternal Feast or Famine

If you're a development manager like me, you know this dance well. Too little staff and your team gets burned out, quality drops, and deadlines are at risk of nuclear meltdown. Too many people and you've got an expensive payroll ticking away while projects are in a lull (and the thought of tech-sector layoffs always on your mind). It begs the question – how do you scale your team the right way without going broke or driving your people to the brink?

The truth is, software development often feels like a never-ending cycle between periods of crippling overwhelm and mind-numbing underutilization. There will always, and I mean always, be more work than resources. It's some sort of cosmic law that, as soon as your team has breathing room, business stakeholders miraculously sense this capacity and come swarming in with new projects. Four times the work your team just finished, with a smile and an "ASAP" deadline tacked on, of course. It's enough to make you wonder if they're all part of some secret cabal with a with a whiteboard mapping out your team's workload tolerances, ready to pounce the moment you catch a breath.

This constant push and pull is exactly what makes scaling development teams such an unpredictable art form. After years in the software trenches, I’ve picked up a few strategies that might help you avoid some of the same mistakes I’ve made. Let's dive in.

MVP: Minimum Viable Performance

Scaling a team isn't just about adding more heads; it's about maintaining the right mix of capabilities. Before you start hiring, you need a clear understanding of your team's Minimum Viable Performance (MVP) {Clicky Link to my article about MVP}. Think of it as the operational baseline – the essential blend of skills and experience required to keep the lights on, to deliver basic iterations, and to still have some wiggle room for innovation.

To make this tangible, I would first create a model that measures our team's performance and skills across different areas (the MVP). For example, in normal circumstances, we might maintain around a 50% .NET development capacity, meaning our team can comfortably handle that percentage of our workload dedicated to .NET projects.

And then, like clockwork, the unexpected drops in. Imagine a scenario where the finance manager comes charging in, eyes wide: we need to build a new client interface or risk losing a $50M contract, and all this has to happen ASAP. Suddenly, to meet this unexpected surge, our MVP for .NET capability shoots up to 80%.

This is where that established baseline becomes critical. If we were already staffed at 6 .NET developers, we now need roughly 9 to reach the new MVP. That means targeted hiring – 3 more specialized developers need to be brought on, quickly, to cover the deficit.

Of course, this is a simplified example. Real-world MVPs would include a much wider array of skills and specializations. But, the key idea is that understanding your operational floor allows you to make more strategic hiring decisions when those inevitable "hair on fire" moments hit.

Magic Mushrooms and Pipeline Problems

In the eyes of some stakeholders, IT wields a kind of magic. They seem to think that if a problem exists, we can just wave a wand and poof – developers materialize out of thin air, instantly ready to tackle anything we throw at them. Even if we found a way to turn mice into coders (and trust me, some days it feels tempting to turn some of them back), there's still a very real, very thorny problem of onboarding and ramp-up time.

See, software development rarely exists in a vacuum. Most of us are working on complex systems, a sprawling web of interconnected applications with their own quirks, histories, and mysteries. Bringing new developers into this environment takes time and a lot of careful guidance. It's one thing to have coding skills, and a whole other beast to know how those skills apply to the specific monstrosity your team maintains.

This is why, to alleviate risk, IT teams need to be joined at the hip with the business side of the house. We need insight into their sales pipeline, upcoming initiatives, and big-picture plans so we can level our staffing accordingly. But even the best planning can be upended in an instant. What happens when the CEO, fueled by the latest tech conference buzz, decides the company must build a revolutionary EV charging station, firmware and all, with a ridiculously aggressive timeline? Or how about when a cybersecurity incident drops half your production servers, demanding an all-hands-on-deck emergency response?

These are the wildcards that make scaling a constant juggling act (and another reason to keep pushing for 80% time). It's the peaks and valleys of the development cycle that necessitate strategic thinking, a firm grasp on your team's capabilities, and a healthy amount of flexibility. So how do you plan for all these unknowns? Lots of food bribes to the sales team to allow IT to be a fly on the wall during their pre-sales discussions.

Playing the Scale-fare Game Like a Pro

Scaling is more than a numbers game. It's a strategic decision with far-reaching consequences. In the world of software development, timing is everything. The decision to scale sits on a precarious knife-edge. Hesitate for too long, and you risk missed deadlines, burnout, and potentially irrecoverable damage to your team's morale. But jump the gun, and you could be saddled with an expensive workforce lacking meaningful projects, eroding your bottom line and leading to difficult cuts down the road.

Here are some critical factors that should weigh into how you approach those decisions:

  • Where: Hiring locally, leveraging remote work, or pursuing offshoring/nearshoring options all offer unique advantages and challenges. Local hiring might be faster, but remote and offshore solutions may open up a wider talent pool with cost advantages, even considering challenges like ITAR compliance and communication hurdles. Balancing these factors requires a nuanced understanding of your company culture, project needs, and communication requirements. This can be made even more tricky when working in regulated industries or having to deal with things like export controls.
  • When: The timing of your scaling is perhaps the most delicate aspect. Pull the trigger too early, and your P&L takes a hit as you have over-capacity with not enough work. Pull it too late, and your team risks drowning under the workload. Maintaining constant visibility into your project pipeline and working closely with stakeholders to forecast demand is essential for finding the sweet spot.
  • Why: Are you primarily looking to add raw capacity to handle an increased workload, or are you addressing a critical skill gap in your existing team? Knowing the 'why' behind your hiring need will shape the type of talent you pursue, whether it's generalists who can take on a variety of tasks or highly specialized experts in a niche area.
  • How: How quickly can you react to sudden shifts in demand? Does your hiring process allow for swift responses, or is it mired in red tape and slow approvals? Optimizing your recruiting pipeline is key to successful scaling; it means you know not only when to hire but also that you can actually act fast when the time arrives.

Sometimes, standard full-time hires aren't the best solution. Effective leaders, those who consistently deliver on their promises, know the importance of a diverse scaling strategy and having a few alternative approaches at their disposal.

Go to Work Temporary Staffing

Do you keep pushing for 80% time, only to be randomly hit with "hair on fire" problems? When your sudden "priority" faces a short-term skill gap, has a well-defined tech stack, and expects cyclical (unpredictable) workload spikes, Go to Work temporary staffing agencies can be your emergency parachute. These agencies specialize in rapidly deploying pre-vetted, skilled developers tailored to your precise needs. This means you get the right people on the ground fast, addressing workload surges without the lengthy delays associated with traditional hiring. Need more capacity? Less? No problem - Go To Work agencies are incredibly flexible, scaling up or down to match your changing demands. Plus, they handle the bulk of candidate sourcing and screening, taking that burden off your team and mitigating the risk of bad hires.

Of course, there are trade-offs. Since the agency manages the pre-vetting and assumes some of the risk, the cost per developer might be slightly higher than a standard full-time hire. Additionally, you might sacrifice some internal knowledge development as temporary resources won't be as entrenched in your company culture. However, when you need speed, flexibility, and focused expertise for a predictable period of time, the advantages of Go To Work staffing can outweigh these considerations, making it a smart tool to keep in your scaling toolbox.

But sometimes, those short-term surges become the norm. That's when offshoring and nearshoring can offer a whole new way to manage your team's output while having to go back to the board and beg for more money.

Offshoring and Nearshoring: Long-Term Capacity at a Reduced Cost

If you find yourself in a constant battle to keep up with a never-ending workload, offshoring or nearshoring your development efforts could be a game-changer. Remember that Turkish Delight from earlier - when I went into full panic mode and hired three dozen developers (guess what, they were from Puerto Rico)? While not the most strategic move at the time, it turned out to be a valuable lesson - we discovered a wealth of skilled developers at a significantly lower cost than our local market. It demonstrated the potential of offshoring for handling our ongoing overflow.

Here's the gist of it: offshoring and nearshoring allow you to tap into a wider, often more cost-effective talent pool, building a dedicated external team to support your core development needs. This can become a stable extension of your in-house team, smoothing out those unpredictable "feast or famine" cycles that plague local-only staffing.

Of course, there are considerations. Offshoring and nearshoring introduce challenges like managing time zone differences, fostering communication across cultural divides, and adapting your leadership style for remote teams. There's added management overhead as well, sometimes requiring things like onsite liaisons for efficient collaboration. However, the trade-off might well be worth it. If you face relentless demand and crave a cost-effective way to expand capacity, exploring offshore or nearshore options can be a powerful strategic move. Just be sure to invest in proactive management, clear communication channels, and build that essential trust from the beginning to reap the long-term rewards.

The Dance of Scaling: No Magic Bullets, Just Strategic Moves

At the end of the day, you need to learn to forget the search for a magic bullet in scaling. The truth is, successful scaling is about mastering a strategic dance, adapting your steps to the rhythm of your team, your projects, and the ever-shifting demands of your business.

Think of scaling as a thrilling adventure – full of experimentation, lessons learned, and those exhilarating moments when everything finally aligns. Track your successes, analyze the missteps, and maintain an unwavering dialogue with your team and stakeholders throughout the journey.

Scaling software teams is a high-wire act, a constant balancing of growth and stability. But with careful planning, relentless analysis of what works (and what doesn't), and a relentless commitment to flexibility, you can lead your team to incredible heights. It won't be easy, but by embracing the continuous challenge, you'll keep your team thriving, your business goals in sight, and avoid the dreaded crash-and-burn that comes with haphazard scaling.


Prashant SK Shriyan

★Global Director@QA Mentor★Empowering Organizations with Future-Ready Testing to Maximize ROI★Driving Scalable,Intelligent QA Solutions for Tangible Business★Trusted Partner in Transformative Software Quality Leadership★

8mo

Great narrative Stephen - Loved reading your article, though i dont come from a Software Development background - i understood the value add of your article "Leadership Bytes for Coders", which encapsulates the tumultuous journey of transitioning from coding to leadership roles with remarkable clarity....This power writeup is remarkable, your willingness to share the experiences and lessons learned exemplifies true leadership in the tech industry, Stephen - Keep Inspiring with your awesome wisdom writing & talks!!

Aaron B.

Senior Proposal Strategist - Marketing | Strategic Marketing Content Expert

8mo

Navigating the chaos of scaling teams in software development is truly a test of leadership skills and strategic planning! 💪🚀

Stephen Salaka

Director of Software Engineering | Digital Transformation, Enterprise Architecture, and AI Integrations | Agile Leadership, System Integration, SDLC Optimization, Cloud Migration | Transforming Tech Landscapes

8mo

Obviously names and locations have been redacted, but the morale of the story is the same - unreasonable deadlines must be met with unreasonable responses. The only way we can manage the chaos out of this is by putting in place strategies to keep the screaming to a minimum.

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