How Do Software Development Teams Work?

Get a sense for how software development teams work together, what various roles are and how they coordinate workloads.

I often talk to people who are curious about how a software development team actually works. Some of them haven’t started computer science yet and want to understand what working in the industry is really like. Others are already part of the tech industry but work in companies with very different structures and are interested in learning how other teams operate.

I’ve even had conversations with people outside the technology field who are building digital products and want to better understand how software is developed.

And honestly, I love that. 🩷 Understanding how a software development team works is not only helpful for people who want to become developers. It also makes communication between technical and business teams much easier. When a client has a general understanding of the software development process, it becomes easier to understand technical decisions, development timelines and the challenges that naturally arise along the way.

That’s why I decided to write this article. I want to show you how software development teams work in the real world, based on my professional experience. Of course, every company has its own culture, processes and methodology, so there isn’t a single “right” way of working.

However, having a general understanding of how these teams operate will give you a solid foundation for understanding how software products are built and how the people behind them collaborate to make them happen.

Let’s Get to Know the Most Common Roles

When building an application, different roles work together to make it possible. While the team structure may vary from one company to another (some teams have fewer roles, while others have more), these are some of the most common roles:

• Project Manager: This person is responsible for planning and coordinating the execution of the project. They oversee the project so that deadlines are met, resources are managed effectively and project requirements are delivered according to the plan.
• UI/UX Designers: They are responsible for designing the application’s user interface and user experience. They define how the screens will look, how users will navigate through the application, the colors, typography, images and all the visual elements needed so that developers can later turn the design into a functional application.
• Developers: They are responsible for turning requirements and ideas into code. They build the application, whether it’s a mobile, web or any other type of application defined by the project, implementing the features established during the design and planning phases.
• Quality Assurance (QA): This role is responsible for validating the quality of the product. QA verifies that every feature meets the expected requirements, identifies bugs before the application reaches users and works closely with the development team so that those issues are resolved in time.

How Does the Development of an Application Begin?

Now that we’ve covered the main roles, let’s talk about how the development of an application or any software requirement actually begins.

Everything starts when the client (which can be either an external customer or an internal team within the company) defines what they need to build. And they work on these requirements hand in hand with the project manager (sometimes shortened to “PM”).

The project manager evaluates the team’s workload to determine when and how the work will be assigned. At this stage, Agile frameworks such as Scrum are extremely helpful, as they make it easier to organize the work, plan tasks and track the team’s progress.

Once the work has been planned, the project manager presents the requirements to the UI/UX design team, who are responsible for designing the application’s screens and defining the complete user flow. When the design is ready, the developers have everything they need to begin implementing the feature.

The development time depends on the complexity of the requirement. Some features may take only a few hours to complete, while others may require several days or even weeks of work.

Once the development team finishes the implementation, the feature is handed over to the QA (quality assurance) team for validation.

Environments

Although this process may vary from one company to another, it’s common to work with multiple environments. Typically, there is a Development (DEV) environment, where developers implement and perform initial testing; a Staging (STG) environment, where QA tests and validates that everything works correctly in an environment that closely mirrors production; and finally the Production (PROD) environment, where the live application is available to real users.

If QA finds any issues during testing in the Staging environment, they report them back to the development team so they can be fixed. Once the issues have been resolved and successfully validated, the app/feature is ready to be in the stores.

Using separate environments is extremely important because it allows both developers and QA engineers to test new features using test data without affecting real users or putting the stability of the production application at risk.

Why Is It Important to Understand How Software Development Teams Work?

Understanding how software development teams work can help you in many ways:

• It helps you better understand development timelines and costs. Building software involves much more than writing code, and every stage of the process takes time.
• It improves communication between technical and non-technical teams. Whether you’re a client, product manager, designer or developer, understanding the process makes collaboration much easier.
• It helps you set more realistic expectations. Understanding how software is built makes it easier to see why requirements can change and why features go through multiple stages before reaching production.
• It prepares you for your first job in tech. If you’re planning to become a software developer, understanding how software teams work will help you start your career with a stronger foundation and greater confidence.

Conclusion

And that’s it! I hope this article gave you a better understanding of how software development teams work and what the software development process looks like behind the scenes.

Remember, every company has its own way of working, but understanding the fundamentals will help you better collaborate with software teams and prepare you for the industry.

See you in the next article! 🙋‍♀️🚀