Let’s look at the different paths to get out of your comfort zone, venturing into unknown but familiar territory. The path of strategies, policies, governance, and politics. The art and science of managing resources of the business.
Being a lead developer is a stepping stone for the path of management. You are already overseeing the work of other developers and providing direction on their work.
Management Path
Technical to Management
For those who are looking to move away from the technical path, here are some tips to become a mobile manager:
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Master of One: First, ensure you know your platform, have an excellent understanding of your ecosystem and can get your hands dirty when needed. Because to be an effective manager, you should know your field.
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Network: Become active in the community. Talk to other people who are experts in the same field. Learn from their challenges and how they approached them.
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Be Eager: to learn other platforms and ecosystems. Maybe at one point, you might need to move from native to hybrid or vice versa. Explore how to perform such transformation, pros and cons, risks involved, etc…
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Motivation: Think at the team level. Every team member needs some inspiration. Be its motivation to do their work or to grow and advance in their career. Think about how you can motivate and mentor them.
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Emotional Intelligence (EI): This has gained a lot of popularity in recent times. And in this age of work culture, EI is a necessary skill for any manager or leader. Having the right mindset and control over emotions brings prosperity to oneself and positively impacts your team.
A couple of more options
So far, I have mentioned the two most common paths for a developer, technical and management. In reality, there are many options. But the following options are very close to software development and can be intriguing. It is the path of joining Agile practice or Business Analyst.
Agile and BA options
Agile Practice
The introduction of agile methodology and ways of working opened up new roles of Scrum Master and Product Owner. Though it looks like it falls under management/business, it is not. Instead, these roles lie between technical and management.
Scrum Master: SMs are accountable for helping their teams succeed, which often means assisting them in groups or on a one-on-one basis. Often referred to as “the servant leader”, the Scrum Master’s primary purpose is to ensure that the team has everything they need to succeed 1. As a technical person, you understand the team’s challenges, the information they require, and the planning that works. Hence, you are the right person for this role. Also, it is best suitable for someone who thrives on working in a team.
Product Owner: POs own the product from start to end. Provides clarity to the team about a product’s vision and goal. Defines user stories and creates a product backlog. Works with stakeholders, UI/UX, and the QA team to make sure the product is delivered iteratively and on time. PO also works on market analysis and strategy of the product. Understand stakeholder needs, customer needs, and market needs to develop product strategies 2. Though this role is more product driven, as a technical person, you have insight into the possibilities and limitations from the software point of view. You understand technical terms and the time it takes to develop and can make the right decisions.
Business Analyst
A business analyst is a person who processes, interprets, and documents business processes, products, services, and software through data analysis. The role of a business analyst is to ensure business efficiency increases through their knowledge of both IT and business functions. The responsibility of a BA looks similar to SM/PO in Agile. But additional tasks, such as identifying business requirements and data modeling, make BA’s roles very different. As part of the Development Team, the Business Analyst is focused on the project’s success. BA ensures that everyone knows the needs and requirements of the business and the solution, fostering collaboration and communication between the teams/parties involved in the project and, overall, ensuring the project is progressing on track 1.
In short,
- The Business Analyst is focused on the needs, progress, and success of the project,
- The Scrum Master is focused on the needs, progress, and success of the team(s),
- The Product Owner is focused on product development and market strategy combined with stakeholders/customers’ needs.
Together, the BA, the SM, and the PO provide a balance that is equally important and needed for the success of the solution.
Last but not the least
One major path I have not covered in this series is Entrepreneurship. It needs an entirely different series on its own. This is the most desired path for many technical people.
It leads to freedom, financial independence, fame, and accomplishments, but only if you are open to taking risks and accepting any interim downfalls.
If you have confidence, the right mindset, and a clear vision, you should follow this path no matter what stage you are in your career.
Conclusion
In this series, I went through the possible career paths for a mobile developer from my years of experience. This can be applied to any software developer. Also, these are just some of the paths. You should reflect and evaluate your life goals, family goals, and responsibilities and then make an informed decision about what approach best suits your situation.
In conclusion, don’t get stuck in one place in your career. Stay hungry, stay curious, and break that glass ceiling. Of course, unless you are in a very comfortable place and have no intention of disturbing the balance.
Please do let me know if these articles were helpful, insightful, or meh.
If you missed: Part 1 and Part 2
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