Why Developer Experience Needs To Be a Company-wide OKR
Understanding the undeniable importance of the developer experience.
Prioritizing developer experience has obvious benefits for product and engineering teams, explains Christine Spang, co-founder & CTO, Nylas. A great developer experience can boost speed and efficiency allowing for frictionless and faster development cycles as well as the elimination of operational hurdles that can lead to burnout and employee churn.
However, there are company-wide implications, including driving ROI opportunities, curating better workflows, and fostering a collaborative and innovative culture that comes with focusing on building a world-class developer experience.
There has never been a more exciting, or challenging time to be a software developer. Tools like ChatGPT, Co-Pilot, and more have brought a wave of AI innovation that has only started to surface. On the other hand, disruptive and unpredictable markets have meant smaller budgets and teams, thus placing unprecedented pressure on developers to do more with less while still driving products and, ultimately, businesses forward. To put it simply, developers do much more than simply build software. They build and manage the entire ecosystem that powers their business.
As a developer by trade, I find myself in a unique position to understand the gravity of what a great developer experience can mean for an entire company. When developers find themselves in an environment that empowers them to do their best work, everyone, not just developers, thrive. ROI opportunities can be uncovered, workflows become more efficient, and company-wide collaboration and innovation can flourish.
Driving ROI
Any investments being made in developer experience should be seen as an investment in business growth. When developers have the right tools at their disposal, they can build faster without compromising on quality. A perfect example of this is the use of tools such as APIs. Earlier this year, we surveyed developers from both the U.S. and UK and found that 98% of developers view APIs as a key contributor to helping themselves and their teams get their work done. At the same time, 86% of developers said they expect their use of APIs to increase in 2023 compared to last year.
With the right tools, resources, and support at their fingertips, companies can more effectively accelerate their product roadmaps. This not only increases internal ROI by shortening building cycles and allowing companies to maneuver strategic resources cost-effectively, it also means bringing products, features, and services to market faster, thus opening up new revenue streams weeks if not months before you otherwise would be able to.
A great developer experience can also reduce the amount of time it takes for new team members to get up-to-speed and fully productive. In a market where the demand for software developers rose by nearly 17%, developer experience can make or break the ability to keep your team intact for the long run.
See More: 4 Steps To Maximize Won/Lost Program ROI
Curating Modern Workflows
A modern and efficient workflow is instrumental to a great developer experience. Frictionless workflows not only help accelerate development speed and efficiency, they also ensure that your team can focus on the most critical components of their work, rather than being tied down with administrative and mundane tasks.
Currently, developers are spending 54% of their time on non-coding-related tasks. Just think of all your development team can accomplish if that percentage is reduced by just 10%? A more developer-friendly workflow ultimately leads to fewer code errors and faster deployment. It allows developers to focus on what they do best; create and innovate.
The positive impact of modern developer workflows extends far beyond just product and engineering teams. A developer experience where engineers can seamlessly build integrations and connect applications can be felt throughout an entire organization. Just think of all that marketing teams can do with secure access to additional user data or how much more productive sales teams can be when they can spend less time on data entry and more time on connecting with prospects and customers.
When developers are able to more freely build, test, and integrate systems, they can more effectively create modern workflows for themselves and their entire company, which can remove cumbersome and outdated processes. This can ultimately lead to not only a much better employee experience but can also dramatically improve everyone’s daily routines and business operations.
See More: Modern Workflows Demand a New Line of Defense
Foster a Company Culture Rooted in Collaboration and Innovation
Developer experience is about more than simply tools and technology. It is about the culture within which developers and, ultimately, the entire company operates.
These numbers are staggeringly high, and it is important for leaders of all teams to highly prioritize employee experience and create an environment rich with support, inclusivity, and collaboration.
The role of the developer actually has a unique ability to bring the company together. Along with building workflows that can increase efficiency and reduce stress, developers can create disruptive and creative products, features, and solutions that everyone within a company can rally around. Developers are on the front lines of helping to foster a culture that prioritizes collaboration, creativity, and community, which can directly help mitigate issues such as burnout and increase job satisfaction and retention rates.
See More: 5 Ways Technology Can Help Build a Strong Company Culture
The Time to Start Emphasizing Developer Experience Is Now
Developer experience is far more than simply a nice-to-have, or even an OKR that sits solely within product and engineering teams. Embedding developer experience into the DNA of an entire company ensures that it receives the attention and investment that it deserves. Along with driving ROI, curating modern workflows, and the impact it can have on company culture, a great developer experience can also be felt outside of your company walls. At its core, a great customer experience starts with the individuals who are in charge of building it. If developers are put in the best position to succeed, it’ll reflect itself in your customer experience as well.
It is never too late to start prioritizing developer experience. Whether your product and engineering teams are just a few people, or if you have a global team of hundreds of engineers, developer experience can be a true game changer in helping businesses navigate unprecedented times and market instability. It can be instrumental in helping to not only ensure short-term success but also in helping companies to position themselves for long-term growth. No matter what you set as your company-wide objectives and key results, developer experience has clear value in being a proven key to success and should be at the heart of every organization’s short and long-term strategic business plans.z
How are you focusing on and improving the developer experience at your organization? Share with us on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. We’d love to know!
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