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Digital transformation gained its momentum. This year the increasing number of businesses started to invest in custom software development.
No wonder, because reliable solutions help to automate a lot of processes, unload employees, improve client service and even increase overall company income.
But what’s even more important, custom software grants a huge competitive advantage. The pandemic and unstable economic situation around the world with all its restrictions demonstrated that only the businesses that digitalised on time kept working and making money, while all their competitors struggled and could not adjust to new working rules.
The right combination of talent, roles, and processes can drive innovation, ensure quality, and meet deadlines. However, assembling such a team goes beyond just hiring skilled developers; it requires a strategic approach to defining roles, fostering collaboration, and implementing best practices.
When it comes to software development, most companies know for sure what digital tools they need. However, they all face one common issue related to finding and building the right software engineering team. The number of software developers ready to work hard for your project’s success is enormous. Just take a look how fast global developers community grows:
Image source: Statista
So the main questions are: “How can you find the right software development company in this huge talent pool? And how should you organise the hired team to achieve success?” Well, get yourself comfortable and keep reading this post and we will provide you with all the answers and tips you need to know.
In this post we will talk about successful development team size and composition, main development roles and responsibilities, and share some valuable advice on proper team organisation.
Defining the right kind of software development teams for your project
To begin with, let’s talk about different kinds of software development teams that you can hire.
The composition and structure of the team should align with the project’s specific goals, timeline, and technical requirements.
By understanding the strengths and limitations of different team structures, you can create a team that not only fits your project but also enhances collaboration, efficiency, and overall performance.
The thing is that depending on your project needs, requirements and many other factors, you may need a specific team.
Good software development team composition and approach of specialists is what differs three main kinds of teams which are hybrid, generalists and specialists.
We will cover each team type in detail and we will also focus on differences between traditional and Agile teams. So, without further ado, let’s proceed!
Generalist team
This software development team structure implies that all team members have a broad skill set and huge experience, and they usually offer end-to-end development.
Every team member is going to be deeply involved in your consistent project success, and they all can work independently from one another.
The main goal of generalists is to deliver and improve the project to make it a perfect fit for your company.
Although this approach seems perfect, it has one major drawback. The specialists may lack certain technical skills and with time you will have to hire additional technicians covering the knowledge gap.
Rather than specialising in a single area, each team member is capable of contributing to multiple aspects of the project, such as coding, testing, and design.
This versatility makes generalist teams particularly well-suited for projects with evolving requirements or smaller teams where flexibility is key.
However, while generalists bring adaptability and a holistic view to the project, they may lack the deep expertise required for highly specialised tasks. Balancing the breadth of skills with the project’s complexity is a must when opting for a generalist team.
Team of specialists
Speaking about this particular type of software development team, it is necessary to mention that unlike generalists, specialists have knowledge of specific industries and have a more narrow niche-related skill set.
So every person from the team will be focused on one particular element of the project, and together they all can build extremely complex projects fast without sacrificing the quality.
As to the cons of this team type, the main one is that there can be issues with project components. They can lack something to function seamlessly from the very first iteration.
Also with specialists teams you need to pay extra attention to constant team communication and make sure every technician is on the same page regarding your project development.
Hybrid team
The hybrid team structure can be called a combination of both specialists and generalists who work on the same project together and can narrow down their focus and skills when it is required.
Hybrid teams are considered the best ones because they offer the most efficient software development.
While specialists build project components, generalists are responsible for putting all elements together and integrating the software project into the existing business environment.
The only disadvantage and inconvenience of hybrid teams is that it can be hard to coordinate all members, and also the cost of their work can be a bit higher.
In this structure, the team includes members with broad, versatile skills (generalists) who can adapt to various tasks, as well as specialists with deep expertise in critical areas like database management, security, or UI/UX design.
This blend allows the team to be both flexible and deeply knowledgeable, making it ideal for projects that require innovation and agility but also demand high-quality execution in specific domains.
For example, in a hybrid team, a generalist might handle the integration of various modules or provide support across different phases of development, while a specialist focuses on complex algorithms, data modelling, or performance optimisation. This setup ensures that the project benefits from both adaptability and precision, with generalists ensuring continuity and coverage, and specialists driving excellence in their areas of expertise.
A hybrid team is effective in complex projects where the scope can change, requiring the team to pivot quickly while still maintaining high standards in specialised tasks. However, successful management of a hybrid team requires clear role definitions and strong communication to ensure that the team’s diverse skills are used efficiently and cohesively.
Traditional team vs Agile software development team
If you already performed research regarding software vendors, you probably came across some information about Agile teams.
Such technology teams differ from traditional ones and they offer way more flexibility and self-organisation. Just take a look at the infographics below to get a full picture and understand what makes traditional and Agile development teams so different.
So as you can see, there are many variants to choose from. And your final choice of the team should be based on your technical project type, its complexity and desired development time.
It is always a good idea to outsource software development to an Agile hybrid team like Altamira, since you can be sure that in case of unexpected events all specialists can be replaced by equally experienced colleagues and your project will be built and delivered on time.
These days many businesses choose to hire a dedicated team because it is more cost-efficient, scalable and has relevant experience gained while building other similar projects.
Typical structure of a successful software development team: Main roles and responsibilities
Before you make a final decision and get settled with a certain software vendor, you should explore the roles and responsibilities of every team member in the company of your choice.
As we’ve already mentioned earlier, Agile software development team size usually is up to 9 people.
They all are involved in the software development but are responsible for different tasks, and at the same time the entire team works as a holistic unit to deliver a high-quality business project.
The main development team roles are business analyst, PM (or scrum master), UI/UX designer, front- and back-end developer, QA specialist, software architect and DevOps engineer.
Software vendors like Altamira can also offer services of other team members such as marketing specialists, content writers, advertising specialists, etc.
They can help you to prepare landing pages, marketing campaigns or send a bunch of marketing emails informing clients about your new solution.
To better understand the structure of successful software engineering team and what a right team member does, we offer you to delve into a more detailed description of every role.
Business Analyst
Business analyst is a crucial team member who helps business owners to identify real market needs, explore solutions of competitors, formulate project requirements and write all necessary documentation for further project development.
It is not a secret that many projects fail, and they do it not because they are not good enough, but because they are not suitable for a certain market.
Business analyst is a specialist who will help you shape your software product ideas, build the right business strategy, and create realistic and accurate project scope.
Here at Altamira our BAs do the following for our clients:
- complete holistic market and competitors research;
- estimate the future project;
- create project vision document;
- write project specifications and create visualized project roadmap;
- describe tech vision and select proper tech stack;
- define all possible development risks and provide their mitigation strategy.
Project Manager
PM also known as Scrum master is a member of a software development team accountable for your software projects success.
The PM supervises the work of software engineers, makes sure that technology team delivers the project on time and within budget, and helps to motivate all the involved specialists.
It’s necessary to mention that the PM has many responsibilities and tasks.
This person plans the sprints and development activities, provides the client with all necessary reports and progress updates, fosters transparent and frequent communication, and also suggests the improvements of further development flow.
If you are looking for a reliable self-managed team, there definitely should be a PM in it. The PM is like a captain on a ship who does not let any chaos happen on board.
Thanks to the hard work of PMs everything will be scheduled and thoroughly planned. As to the soft, these specialists always possess the following:
To find out more information about project management, specifics of PM work and reasons why you should hire this specialist to run your experienced team, check out our blog post. It also explains why Agile approach is the best for building business projects.
UI/UX Designers
Before the development process starts, UI/UX designers begin working on project wireframes and mockups. The main goal of designers is to turn your vision into a set of user-friendly interfaces and wrap them up into a visually appealing design highlighting your brand identity.
Designers take care not only about every user interface, but also about all visually pleasing and functional aspects such as buttons, loaders, icons, color palette, etc.
They also are involved in research of target audience, development of user personas, prototyping, and more.
Since the design is no less important than software functionality, it is crucial to select highly experienced UI/UX specialists who know all the latest trends and can apply the best design practices.
Software engineers
Software developers write code, perform all necessary integrations with APIs and third-party services, implement all technologies and features and solve all tech-related issues that emerge during SDLC.
For all solutions you need several kinds of software engineers – frontend and backend developer, technical lead, and sometimes even software architect.
Software architect is responsible for designing solution architecture, selecting necessary tools and platforms, setting up all standards and requirements for code.
To build a feature-rich and functional solution you do not need to hire only expensive senior engineers, since middle ones can do the job perfectly. Software development companies have developers of different seniority and experience, so they will suggest specialists who will be a perfect fit for your project.
Both backend and frontend developers work on one project to ensure its usability, functionality and performance.
The frontend team usually works with HTML, CSS, JavaScript, React, Vue and Angular. As to the backend team, they are skilled at using PHP, Node.js, different databases, APIs, microservices and specific algorithms.
Quality Assurance engineer
Quality assurance means a lot, especially if you create a solution for business.
And quality assurance engineers help to ensure that the app has no bugs, no security holes, no tech and performance issues. Usually QAs perform manual and automated testing to detect all kinds of issues at early stages and fix them fast.
Testing specialists create various cases, protocols and scenarios, check if features meet all functional and non-functional requirements specified in documentation, and they also contribute to improving the development practices.
There are many types of testing that QA engineers perform and among them you can see unit testing, integration testing, system testing, etc.
Top 4 tips for building a software development team
By now you may be wondering if there are any secrets of organisation and creation of the right software development team. Well, we’d say there are no secrets but there is a set of recommendations that will definitely be of use to you.
We have decided to share top 4 tips of our company for building software development teams.
Define software development team structure
Before organising the whole team or hiring any specialists you need to define your business goals, project needs and then choose a team accordingly.
Another decision making factors would be your budget, desired deadlines, and preferred development methodology.
We highly recommend choosing Agile team structure since it will offer you more flexibility and scalability in the future.
Once you’ve selected your team structure, it is necessary to define all roles and expected outcomes. You should be aware not only about the number of team members, but also about their responsibilities, deadlines, and qualifications.
The team will provide you with all necessary documentation and reports to keep you updated during the whole development process.
Set clear business goals and realistic deadlines
Your project success depends not only on the good work of the software development team but also on your requirements and deadlines.
They both should be realistic, and your business goals should be clear for all team members.
Whether you are building an MVP or modernising your existing BI solutions, your team should know who is your end user, what problem your solution solves and in what way, and what success metrics you expect to see after the release.
Otherwise there can be some misunderstandings and unexpected results.
Establish effective communication
Communication plays a crucial role in software development. After all, the software development team should work in concert and all team members should receive timely feedback and suggestions.
In software engineering teams like ours there is one particular specialist who is responsible for efficient communication, it is PM or scrum master.
Project manager not only gets in touch with you as a client, but also communicates with developers and other technicians to find out what their needs, progress, and demands are.
PM also provides clients with all required reports and schedules meetings or video calls on a regular basis.
To establish effective communication it is always better to use some reliable solutions and tools like Jira, Google Meets, Zoom, Slack. Open and timely negotiations can help prevent numerous issues, preserve desired development timeline and keep your team motivated.
Use all necessary tools
Digital tools help not only businesses but also every software development team to stay productive and control all ongoing processes.
So when you gather and organise your team, it is important to introduce and actively use project management software, communication tools, performance review software and more.
We already have our own list for effective work management and it includes the following solutions for:
Key reasons to choose Altamira as your technical partner
With such a wide variety of software development teams on the market, you may be wondering why exactly you should choose our development company. And that’s an absolutely normal interest that we are ready to satisfy.
To begin with, Altamira has a cohesive in-house team of developers and more than 10 years of experience in performing digital business transformation. We have delivered complex projects for healthcare, insurance, retail, real estate, manufacturing, finance, automotive and logistics industries.
By choosing Altamira, you choose an Agile software development team that guarantees usage of best development practices.
We follow all industrial standards and compliances, focus on all security measures and your particular business goals. Our services include but are not limited to:
Altamira offers a full-cycle software development process that is performed by the leading tech specialists. You can benefit from services of project manager, business analyst, software developers, QA engineers, award-winning designers and highly qualified DevOps engineers.
Whatever project you build, your product team structure will be perfect for it. We select specialists of necessary seniority and deep technical expertise.
All software development team roles and responsibilities will be clearly defined, and we take most of the development risks on us.
FAQ
At Altamira, our development team is typically structured around key roles that include talented engineers, testers, a project manager, a product owner, and sometimes specialised roles like UX/UI designers and DevOps engineers. Our team is usually cross-functional, meaning it includes members with different expertise who consistently meet and exceed key performance indicators.
Building a software team starts with hiring the right talent—people who not only have the required technical skills but also fit the team’s culture. Clear communication, strong team spirit, a shared project vision, and defined goals are a must. We consistently encourage cross team communication and continuous learning, and provide tools and resources to maximize productivity. Regular feedback and fostering a culture of trust and ownership also contribute to the team’s effectiveness.
At Altamira, setting up a development team involves several steps:
- Defining the project scope and requirements.
- Identifying the key roles needed (e.g., frontend developers, backend developers, testers).
- Hiring process or assigning team members with the right skills.
- Establishing workflows and communication channels.
- Setting up development environments, tools, and access controls.
- Defining roles and responsibilities clearly.
- Encouraging a collaborative and communicative culture to ensure the team works well together.
A typical dev team composition includes:
- Developers: Frontend, backend, or full-stack developers who write the code.
- Testers/QA Engineers: Ensure the software is bug-free and meets quality standards.
- Project Manager: Manages timelines, resources, and coordinates the team.
- Product Owner: Represents the customer’s interests, prioritises features, and defines the product vision.
- UX/UI Designers: (if needed) Focus on the user experience and interface design.
- DevOps Engineers: (if needed) Handle deployment, scaling, and maintaining infrastructure.
The ideal team size for software development typically ranges from 5 to 10 members. This size is manageable, promotes good communication, and allows for enough diversity in skills without becoming unwieldy. Smaller teams can work more efficiently and pivot quickly, which is often necessary in agile development environments.
To find the right team with relevant experience, you will need to explore specific platforms like GoodFirms and Clutch. There you will find a lot of companies offering development services. Also you can discover their rates, industry expertise, main focus and then visit their website. Pay special attention to company portfolio and client reviews, since this will help you to understand if the team is capable of building a project for your specific business niche.
Apart from high quality coding and building industry-specific solutions, an experienced software development team also offers a bunch of other services. They are holistic market research and business analysis that will help you to build a right and competitive solution, define main business objectives and how software can help you pursue them. Most teams also offer fast MVP development to test your idea and get users feedback.
Also with a development team like Altamira you can perform software modernisation, code review, application redesign and more. We can turn any business solution to a whole new level and enrich it with advanced technologies and new features.
And last but not least, if you already have your team but still lack some specific skills and knowledge, you can make use of the team augmentation option offered by most software vendors.
The main tip we can give you is to ensure great project management and proper distribution of development team roles and responsibilities. All team members should be integrated into the ongoing development process and have all necessary tools for communication, tasks management, performance tracking, etc.
If you outsource your software development, then the office and all equipment will be provided to team members by your vendor. But if you have an in-house team, make sure you provide them with all the essentials, so that they can concentrate on their job instead of minor organisational moments. Also don’t forget about the meeting and calls with your team since this helps to keep them motivated and lets you find out all details regarding project progress.
Wrapping up
Software development is a serious venture that will require a solid budget and a lot of time. But this venture does not necessarily need to be complicated.
If you choose the right technical partner, you can avoid numerous pitfalls and challenges. And the first and foremost advantage you’ll get is perfect team composition with thoroughly selected software development team roles. When you have only relevant specialists who do their job perfectly, you can be sure that you’ll get an impeccable product.
In case you are still looking for an Agile software development partner, Altamira can be the best choice for you. We offer a personalised approach to each client and every project.
And we will help you with everything starting with team selection and organisation, and ending with project maintenance and future improvements. Together with our agency you can build solutions of any complexity that will last you for years and bring so much value to your business. Contact us to learn more!