Getting The Most Out Of Your Technology Budget When Building MVPs, Outsourcing & Scaling Software Teams (Part 4/6)
6 part mini-series for non-technical leaders and CTOs. Page [ 1 2 3 4 5 6 Next ]
Pain & Disaster Awaits Tech Teams Without Full Role Coverage
Developers are only part of modern software teams. Nowadays, there is a whole cast of supporting characters that keep everyone honest and performing at their best.
Skipping the other roles is a big mistake. We’ll take a look at what happens when you task engineers with scaling your business in Part 5/6 – 16 Signals That Your Tech Team Is In Trouble.
Roles In Modern Tech Teams
- Head Of Product
- Lead Engineer
- Product Manager
- Solutions Architect
- DevOps Engineer
- Architect
- Engineer
- QA Engineer
- Project Manager
- CTO
And yes, you can afford everyone you need regardless of your budget.
Get everything you need by hiring people who are GREAT at one thing for JUST a couple hours each month
The Most Important Role On Every Tech Team Is The Head Of Product.
Whoever leads Product ultimately decides how the entire technical budget is allocated. The role is absolutely critical, as this article illustrates – How Software Developers Hoodwinked A Founder Out of $80,000 – Don’t let this happen to you!
Hint: Product Managers Who Work At Agencies Are Not Your Friends
Agency Product Managers do the best they can, but they are actually Account Managers who are responsible for getting you to spend more money. We’ll examine this more in Part 6/6 – 5 Ways To Build A Tech Team When You Don’t Have Cash.
Role & Responsibilities – In Depth Explanations
Head Of Product / CPO / VP Product (aka Offensive Coordinator)
CPOs research, analyze and design products and features. The CPO has decades of experience in Sales, Marketing, Technology and Operations.
Works with: C-Suite, Product Manager, Project Manager, Lead Engineer
Primary Duties/Skills: Drive revenue, attract users, and lower costs.
Lead Engineer (aka Quarterback)
Lead Engineer turns specifications and requirements into software. They are able to tackle any programming challenge, and are effective at delegating programming tasks to other developers.
Leads have less experience than Architects (5-10 years), but are more effective at working with people, and are more cost effective when implementing code.
Works with: CTO, Architect, Project Manager, Product Manager, Developers
Primary Duties/Skills: Code and stitch other engineer’s code together.
Product Manager (aka Waterboy)
Project Managers are extensions of the CPO. They coordinate research projects and the design of the UI/UX.
Works with: everyone
Primary Duties/Skills: Manage the day-to-day prioritization of the product roadmap and user experience
Solutions Architect (aka Special Teams Coordinator)
Like Architects, Solutions Architects also have decades of experience; are very expensive, and should be involved sparingly.
But Solutions Architects deal with servers and “IT”, not code.
Works with: CTO, Lead Engineer, Devops Engineers
Primary Duties/Skills: Audit infrastructure built by devops engineers to ensure security, redundancy and availability.
DevOps Engineer (aka Kicker)
Devops Engineers are your “IT” staff.
Works with: Solutions Architect, CTO, Lead Engineer
Primary Duties/Skills: Keep servers and services online, secure and available 24/7.
Architect (aka Defensive Coordinator)
Architects have decades of experience with all the technologies used; are very expensive, and should be involved sparingly.
Works with: CTO, Lead Engineer, Engineers
Primary Duties/Skills: Conduct code reviews to ensure code quality is high, design choices utilize best practices and the overall system is robust and scalable.
Engineer (aka Linemen)
Developers are day to day programmers with limited experience (< 5 years).
Works with: Lead Developer, Project Manager
Primary Duties/Skills: Code tasks delegated by the Lead Developer
QA Engineer (aka Fullback)
QA Engineers test Engineers’ code. They absorb repetitive and mundane tasks so that engineers can focus on coding.
Works with: Engineers, Lead Engineer
Primary Duties/Skills: Test releases for bugs and consistency.
Project Manager (aka Medic)
Project Managers are extensions of the CTO. They ensure that all stakeholders have all the information necessary to do their jobs. THEY ARE NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR ON TIME DELIVERY.
Works with: everyone
Primary Duties/Skills: Document requirements and decisions, steer meetings, and track down information
CTO (aka Coach)
CTOs build and maintain the team. They work with people and processes. The CTO has deep technical knowledge but should NOT be the most technical person in the room.
Works with: everyone
Primary Duties/Skills:
Optimize performance and engagement for all technical staff members
- Budget
- Recruit
- Educate
- Negotiate
- Mitigate risk
- Maximize ROI
- Refine Processes
- Implement Culture
- Manage Expectations
CURIOUS HOW I CAN HELP YOU?
I can keep your software developers in check and help you build the right products the first time, for as little as $75/mo.
I also have an army of product managers, project managers, and architects available to help – none of whom will code for you
…which allows us to be the independent party that keeps your software developers on track.
Next Up
Part 5/6 – 16 Signals That Your Tech Team Is In Trouble
Part 6/6 – 5 Ways To Build A Tech Team When You Don’t Have Cash
