Innovation in software development is instrumental for businesses to set their products and services apart from their competitors. Software innovation drives the change that later gets adapted as industry trends.
Innovation in software development is even more critical because engineering teams focus heavily on technical superiority. While this is great, it might make businesses become less forward-thinking and find themselves disconnected from the end-users of their products and services.
Businesses need to build a culture of innovation to stay on top of their game.
In this post, we’ll talk about six ways you can drive innovation in your business, especially in the software development sector.
A dedicated software development team is a powerful resource for companies who want to push the boundaries in their industries.
Not only does it enable them to access talent from all over the world and hire solely based on their skills, but they can also take advantage of the diversity of their team. When highly qualified developers from different cultures come together, it can help the company gain an edge in brainstorming and creativity.
Give your software development team time to be creative
Innovation doesn’t happen when you deem it to happen. If employees spend their entire day completing their tasks, they have no room to think creatively. Innovation needs patience and time.
Giving your developers ‘thinking time’ is essential to generate out-of-the-box ideas that can help drive the business forward.
At Turing, we hold Innovation Hub days where we brainstorm any creative ideas the members have and see how the company can implement the best ideas.
Another alternative is organizing hackathon sessions where developers can solely dedicate time from their schedule to develop and test new creative ideas.
Implementation
Simply establishing a culture where you brainstorm creative ideas isn’t enough. For true innovation to happen, businesses need to have a system to implement these ideas.
Innovation in software development needs managers to take the step to give life to their ideas. When engineering managers take the initiative to execute their team’s ideas, it builds a culture where continuous innovation is actively encouraged.
Acknowledge and reward your software development team for their contributions
Reward your software development team
Recognizing your developers’ contributions has long been a cornerstone for job satisfaction and future performance. It helps employees understand that their organization values them and their contributions.
While most companies think that big bonuses are the only way to reward employees, that’s not true. Beyond compensation, businesses can offer rewards as simple as a more flexible work schedule, paid leaves, or the opportunity to develop a unique idea into a proper project.
Such recognitions help employees gain the motivation to continue working hard and feel secure in their value.
Happy and satisfied employees are much more productive than stressed and underappreciated employees in terms of innovation.
Allow your team to fail
If you’re looking for innovation in software development, you need to give your developers the freedom to pursue their ideas and not push them to win every time.
When businesses penalize their employees (by asking them to work overtime or firing them), it discourages them from finding new ideas and taking the risk to implement them before discarding them.
The secret to promoting innovation in software development teams is not expecting the team to be successful every time but instead adopting an open, risk-free environment and a company culture that doesn’t chastise failure.
If something goes wrong, have your team’s back and encourage them to treat it as a learning experience.
You can go one step further and encourage your software development team to embrace the ‘dare to fail’ attitude. For example, Google rewards its employees for failing. By publicly applauding their staff for their failures, Google has encouraged its scientists and engineers to test their more daring ideas without the fear of facing repercussions.
Leaders should be involved in the process
Team leads and managers are primarily responsible for creating an environment that encourages innovation. Therefore, team members should build a sense of trust and dependence on their leaders for innovation in software development.
If your developers feel like you’re open to embracing new creative ideas and acknowledging their contributions, they’re more likely to put in the effort.
Summary
The pandemic has increased the demand for software technologies. Therefore, innovation is the only way for businesses to keep up and set themselves apart from their competitors.
With the strategies listed in this post, you can develop an effective way to boost innovation in software development in your organization.
However, one obstacle you need to overcome before doing anything else is finding capable developers who can implement them.
Turing is a deep jobs platform that allows businesses to recruit experienced senior remote software developers. Turing’s tried-and-tested vetting process gives you the freedom to have your pick of qualified software developers.
You’ll have access to a talent pool of the top 1% of 1M skilled and experienced developers with strong technical and communication skills who can work according to your requirements.
Tell us the skills you need and we'll find the best developer for you in days, not weeks.
Jaya is a copywriter & content writer & has worked for businesses in over 27 different niches. When she’s not writing, she can be found obsessing over a book.
