Things will never be the same: the shifting role of the developer

Today’s competitive business landscape is calling for a shift in the role of the software developer as we currently understand it. Increasingly, businesses are looking towards a particular hybrid of software developer and business analyst – someone who can scope and design software architecture while simultaneously considering business and stakeholder needs.

The modern business analyst should be able to speak the same language as developers, as one of the biggest of their duties is relaying information between stakeholders, developers and programmers. Somebody with a developer background will most likely know how to best translate a client’s needs into a set of instructions that other developers and programmers can understand.

A developer who has working knowledge of both the developmental and commercial side of a project can help to identify potential problems and shortcomings and provide solutions and alternatives, as opposed to simply following a brief or building architecture that hasn’t been considered from multiple angles.

Excellent communication skills are vital in such a role: knowing how to speak to people and how to ask the right questions in order to help clients determine exactly what they need is imperative. The ability to structure, coordinate, and lead teams is also of extreme importance, and strong leadership skills need to be nurtured and developed.

Acting as the middleman is not an easy role: excellent communication skills are vital in knowing how to speak to people and how to ask the right questions in order to help clients determine exactly what they need. Such communication skills must also extend to writing documentation for developers, so the process is always understood and clearly articulated. This ensures transparency and workability between all stakeholders.

Large amounts of information are channelled through an analyst, so the one who can make sure both sides of the fence (client and development) are hearing each other loud and clear will be able to deliver a far more effective project in far less time than the one who can’t.

Such transparency reduces misunderstandings, increases effective planning, saves time on projects and fosters better client relationships, so it is hugely important to have someone in your organisation who can fulfil a dual role and cross over the developer/analyst divide to act on behalf of both the software development organisation and its clients.