The 3 differentiators that make technology teams great

This article is part of a series by VB Lab Insights funded by Capital One.

Really high-performing technology teams obsess over the developer experience, allow engineers to focus on the work that matters and prioritize different perspectives.

While great technology organizations invest heavily in developing developer skills, they know that building skills is only part of the puzzle. Taking the entire developer experience to the next level is imperative to creating a truly well-rounded environment for developers to learn, grow, and thrive.

A developer’s job is not only to release code every day; they each have a unique career path and work style that must be supported in a holistic manner. What makes someone stay in their role has a lot to do with how that person’s psychological needs are met. One thing we’ve learned through this pandemic is that there is a higher order attachment to the work people do. Developers need to feel good about what gets them out of bed, and they need the tools and resources to do their jobs well.

1. Promoting a frictionless environment

Providing developers with a hassle-free environment is one of the most important keys to success in delivering high-quality software. At Capital One, for example, we’ve spent years building tools and platforms for developers that automate an incredible array of tasks, such as container refresh, cloud infrastructure provisioning, testing, deployment, and monitoring. We’ve embarked on this journey to build business platforms that power our myriad of mission-critical consumer experiences. The tools and business platforms become the building blocks that increase speed to market, improve developer productivity and reduce operational risk. Particularly for highly regulated industries, this automation and tooling is necessary to create a frictionless environment that in turn supports the business.

In addition to tooling, improving developer satisfaction depends on leveraging feedback from surveys on platform usability and the effectiveness of developer tools. We rely on instrumentation for real-time analysis of key metrics, using these feedback loops to continuously improve the developer experience.

Building and reinforcing a frictionless environment gives developers opportunities to spend more time doing what they love: often this means using their creative thinking to deliver value for the customer, which can be incredibly motivating. Think of the joy of being an artist allowed to live in an art supply store with unlimited access to the wares; as soon as you think of something to paint, you can start painting it right away.

2. Innovative experiences that matter

Feeling good about your job often comes down to knowing that your work is important to customers and the company. People also do their best work when it is clear how the work they do aligns with the core objectives of the organization. Seeing how software impacts real customers’ lives, such as through digital banking customer-centric experiences, is a catalyst for platform teams; it drives passion and passion drives excitement and excitement drives technological solutions. Developers also want to know how their software affects the world outside their company walls. A common tactic for getting that kind of on-the-ground intelligence often takes the form of usability research. However, I think there is more to it. Businesses need to adopt a mindset of external thinking: How would someone who doesn’t work here use this?

Having led organizations of talented engineers focused on both retail banking and enterprise products, I can attest that it can be challenging to maintain a clear alignment between objectives and the team’s work, as well as being hyper-focused on clients. It takes years to build a culture that is disciplined in sticking to core goals. The good news is that as we work to create that culture, we can also hire people for that affinity.

One thing I’ve often shared in conversations with potential candidates is the benefit of focusing on two sides of the same coin: creating exceptional developer experiences that best empower employees to build wonderful customer experiences. Making the developer experience great creates a virtuous cycle that allows companies to recruit and retain top talent, who in turn are invested in innovative groundbreaking experiences. It’s a win-win situation.

3. Build diverse teams

The last, but perhaps the most important differentiator, is the emphasis on diversity, both from a team and learning perspective. When it comes to recruitment, diversity is often thought of (for example, do we seek a diverse set of candidates and make sure we give all candidates a fair chance?). If the diversity lens stops as soon as new employees join the organization, teams miss out on the great benefit of having different perspectives and mindsets in product development. To reap the full benefits of diverse thinking, organizations need to focus on interpersonal relationships within teams and ensure that employees can continue to learn and grow. Investing in all employees so they feel psychologically safe to speak up and take risks without blame or judgment is the foundation upon which teams can best innovate for their customers.

At Capital One, we invest in the skills of our developers so that we can best meet the needs of our clients. For example, we have an extensive curriculum in our in-house Tech College that facilitates continuous learning, and we also support internal rotations to allow developers to gain new experiences and skills. To support diverse career paths, we’ve also created a distinctive technical job family for hands-on developers who can advance in their careers as technology managers.

The best technology organizations are able to strike the right balance between an obsession with developer experience, allowing engineers to focus on work that matters to themselves and customers, while committing to diversity throughout the lifecycle. Get those three things right and you’ll be on your way to leading a world-class technology team.

Srini Uppalapati is Managing Vice President for Enterprise Consumer Product Technology at Capital One.

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