Software developers are one of a technology company's greatest assets, but it's easy to waste their potential. Mistakes in project management, complicated revenue tracking, and problem clients can waste developers' time and resources. Here are three tips on how to get the most out of your developers' time and effort:
1) Enable easy and accurate time and project tracking.
One of the most important ways to ensure good revenue tracking is to track exactly which projects take up developers' time. If a company sells a contract on the assumption that it takes 20 man-hours, it shouldn't take 40 man-hours instead.
Make sure developers accurately track their time per project by giving them easy, intuitive time-tracking software to use. That way, they can track their time without disrupting their workflow.
2) Avoid missed deadlines by managing client expectations.
A common cause of missed deadlines in software development is “feature creep,” or the continued addition of features in the middle of a software's development lifecycle. Feature creep puts extra stress on developers and often results in client disappointment when the original deadlines are missed. To make matters worse, the company also misses its expected revenue recognition, potentially throwing the profit and loss off balance for that quarter.
Feature creep usually happens because the sales staff doesn't communicate with developers before promising new additions to the software. This can be fixed by better in-house communication and a clear expectation set for all clients: more features mean extra time.
3) Keep track of complex contracts and their revenues.
Many software companies work with contracts that have multiple deliverables and delivery times. Keeping these contracts in order can be challenging, and mistakes can mean unnecessary revenue deferments. Keeping revenue recognition tightly paired with developers' time spent on projects makes it easier to track which developers are top performers and which need more coaching.
To get the most out of developers' time, software companies need a revenue tracking system just as efficient as they are. For more information about revenue recognition, complex billing, and time tracking, please contact Oates & Company to get started.
