You’ve probably heard about the newest trend among remote employees and companies – workation. For those unfamiliar with the term, workation (work + vacation) describes the practice of combining working remotely and vacation. This is not a completely new notion. However, it became increasingly popular during the COVID-19 pandemic when remote work became ‘a new normal’. The pandemic changed how we work for the better, and now it’s changing how we vacation. Now, with the advancement in remote work tools and technologies, it is easier for employees to work on projects from remote locations while enjoying a break from the regular daily routine.

The possibility of working and vacationing at the same time may sound unbelievable, but we can assure you it’s reality. We are one of the few companies that adopted this hybrid work model that allowed working remotely even before the pandemic. Our people are free to create a work schedule that suits them best. They are able work from wherever they want, as long as that doesn’t interfere with their tasks and duties. The well-being of our people is vital to our company culture. For that reason, along with the flexible work schedules and relaxed working atmosphere, we introduced remote work options long before it became a trend.  

In this article, we’ll share with you how our Cosmic citizens enjoyed their summer while working from various locations and why embracing a remote work policy and flexible working hours is the way to go. 

The Benefits of Summer Workations 

Why work from one place when you can take your work anywhere? Why not?

Workations come with huge benefits that are difficult to ignore. When you are not tied to your working desks all day and don’t waste time commuting, you have more freedom and flexibility to explore other options while performing your professional responsibilities and earning money. And, if you are working from home most of the time, you know that it can become quite tedious and leave you feeling stuck after a while.

Workations are an excellent opportunity to enjoy a much-needed change in scenery while you work. And you can use your spare time to relax and explore new places,. This is a great motivator and it promotes well-being. It can also enhance your productivity and creativity, give you a different perspective and encourage new ideas.

Waking up by the sea or in the mountains, drinking your coffee with a panoramic view of nature, and working online with your work desk pointing towards your favorite mountains or beaches, is definitely far better than spending eight hours in the office staring at a blank wall or working in a busy, stressful environment. However, workations shouldn’t be regarded as a substitute for actual holidays because you still need time to shut off from work completely.

How Cosmic Citizens Enjoyed Remote Work Perks This Summer

The Cosmic team took full advantage of their freedom and flexibility this summer and combined work and lovely summer sceneries. Besides working from the comfort of their gardens and balconies, our employees enjoyed the benefit of working from their hometowns and different distant getaway locations in nature while still getting the work done. 

Here’s how some of our employees spend the summer and the beautiful sights they visit.

Are Summer Workations Good for Companies?

Yes! It’s not only the employees that reap the benefits from the workations; it’s the company too. Business success, job performance, and employee well-being are closely connected. 

When companies invest in their people’s mental and physical well-being and trust them to work from anywhere, they have happier employees. And happy employees work harder and better than those who aren’t. 

The benefits of flexible work schedules and workations include better productivity and creativity. It also boosts employee satisfaction, motivation, and morale. Moreover, it is a great way to build employee loyalty and retention because the new generation of workers puts great value on flexibility. 

However, companies should establish a clear remote work policy and outline expectations that everyone in the company can rely on. With a solid work-from-home policy, teams are more likely to achieve their goals, keep productivity, and be satisfied with their work. This includes performance expectations, availability expectations, working hours, expected response time for each communication channel, client confidentiality, cybersecurity, and equipment requirements. 

In our company, summer benefits are a way to reward hard work and give people a break they need. But, remote work and summer workations come with a responsibility to deliver high-quality work to benefit our clients. Our employees have the flexibility to work from home. However, we still sometimes require that they are available during certain core hours that overlap with their team members. That way, we ensure that everyone is available for team meetings or clients in certain time zones. 

Join Cosmic Development and enjoy the freedom of choosing your workspace.

Freedom and flexibility are perks at the core of our company culture, and we are really proud of having them.

We at Cosmic believe that personal well-being is essential for top job performance. Which is why we have the option to let our employees choose their work locations. However, we are still keeping our offices open for those that want to work from an office setting.

Your work setting is irrelevant as long as you are an engaged and productive team member. You’ll have the freedom and tools to get the job done regardless of your position or location.

Cosmic Development may be the answer if you are looking for a place where you can take advantage of countless benefits like combining work and travel. You can check our current job offers here.

The post The Perks of Remote Work: Summer Workations at Cosmic Development appeared first on Cosmic Development.

All notable companies have one thing in common – strong company culture. Company culture reflects a company’s core values, goals, behaviors, and habits. It is a foundation of every organization and a crucial part of running a successful business, as it directly affects performance, employee retention, innovation, and customer service. However, building a winning company culture doesn’t happen by accident or overnight. It takes hard work and perseverance. 

Although each company has unique qualities and its elements vary across companies, all thriving companies have certain key qualities in common. Therefore, this article will break down five essential elements of strong organizational culture. It will also take Cosmic Development as an example of a company that successfully established and fostered unique corporate culture and created a place where great people can do great work. Read on. 

Recognition

Making recognition and appreciation part of your company culture will serve as a powerful motivational tool and foster a happy, engaged, and productive environment. When employees are supported and heard by the organization, they will always do more than expected.

Employee recognition can take many forms; formal or informal, verbal, written, or monetary. Also, it can come from various sources like a company-to-employee, manager-to-employee, or peer-to-peer. Effective recognition strategy should be consistent, fair, specific, and personal, not just some short-term tactic to boost morale. It should be part of employees’ everyday job experience, whether they are working in the office or remotely. 

At Cosmic Development, employee recognition has always been a crucial aspect of its strategy and values. We reward our employees for effort, behavior, or results that align with company values or goals. As a company, we constantly remind them how their contributions have benefited the organization. From a job well done regularly to yearly formal evaluations, we never forget to recognize and reward our employees for achieving milestones, anniversaries, and contributions.

Common employee recognitions include certificates for various contributions like lectures, training, and participation in external events and activities. Plus, financial rewards like raises, bonuses, vouchers, or gift cards. In addition to that, we recognize loyalty and long-term service with loyalty awards for those who stayed with us for a considerable time. Therefore, we are proud to say that we have many employees with over five, seven, and ten years working at the company, which is a proof that we are a company with strong values. 

Employee-Centered Workplace

Companies with an employee-centric environment prioritize employee engagement, autonomy, and creativity. Employees appreciate their work and are key players in the company’s growth and success. They feel valued and encouraged to make suggestions and are given the possibility to develop their skills and talents by working in a collaborative culture. The employee-centered workplace is a space that promotes free-flowing communication and employee feedback. It is also a place that emphasizes employees’ well-being and offers benefits that help them maintain a healthy work-life balance.

In our ten years of experience fostering positive organizational culture, growing from only a few people to more than 200 we have today, we at Cosmic Development succeeded in creating a collaborative, flexible, and people-first culture. We were among the first companies in Macedonia that offered the benefit of flexible working hours and remote work. Instead of micromanaging, we trust our people and give them the freedom to approach their workday as it suits them best. We also prioritize employee well-being and have many fantastic benefits tailored to the employees’ needs and preferences, including health and wellness programs, all to keep our people happy and provide them with great employee experiences. 

Core Values

Core values support your company’s vision and mission and shape its culture. They should be consistently integrated into everything you do and clearly and transparently communicated to all the employees, clients, and stakeholders. That allows your company to perform at a high level and ensures that employees work towards the same goals. Some examples of core values are

• Teamwork
• Loyalty
• Autonomy
• Honesty
• Integrity
• Accountability
• Task Ownership
• Constant Improvement
• Work ethic
• Work-life balance

Cosmic Development has been built on core values and principles. We have successfully created a strong culture around the principles of integrity, social responsibility, passion, curiosity, ownership, and proactivity. They reflect our commitment to impact our employees, clients, and communities positively. From taking part in local trash cleanup and picnic to mark Earth Day to participating in the “Donate a computer” initiative (the most recent) we live, breathe, and work in alignment with our values every day. 

Flexible Schedules

The future of work is all about flexibility and choice, and if companies want to stay ahead of the competition, they should introduce flexible working arrangements. A flexible work schedule is an excellent way of helping your employees achieve a better work-life balance and, as a result, increased productivity at work. It is beneficial to both the organization and the employees and goes much beyond increasing productivity and efficiency. It also: 

• Improves Retention 
• Attracts Top Talent
• Improves Employee Engagement 
• It’s Cost-Efficient and Eco-Friendly
• Improves well-being 
• Increase job satisfaction 

Flexible working hours allow people a level of autonomy to arrange their workday around their lives and not vice-versa. What’s important is results and completed tasks, not the time spent at work. 

Cosmic has embraced flexible work culture long before the pandemic. We trust our employees to work flexible hours and from remote places. Our goal has always been to ensure that our people are satisfied and supported no matter where and when they choose to work in the most convenient way to them. As long as you are productive and deliver high-quality work, you can set your own schedule.

Supportive Leadership

Leaders play a huge role in shaping an organization’s culture because culture comes from the top. Modern-day leaders are supportive. They mentor and coach rather than micromanage and treat their employees with dignity and respect. Leaders also build a sense of community and foster a culture of collaboration and communication. They act as examples in all company areas and accept recommendations for changes. Supportive leaders work hand-in-hand with their employees and show genuine interest in those they work with. They advocate for their people, provide opportunities, and share success. 

Supportive leadership is an effective leadership style and one of the traits of modern workplaces, one of which is Cosmic Development. Our leaders treat employees as equals and do everything to remove barriers and help them thrive. They bring out the best in people through coaching, mentoring, and listening, qualities that prove to be vital during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Final Thoughts

Strong company culture stands out as one of the crucial pieces vital to sustaining performance and competitive advantage. Not only that, but it also brings employees together and helps to propel everyone forward so that the company reaches its goals. Cosmic Development is a company whose culture operates off these five core elements. Our culture projects a strong and clear vision and gives our employees a sense of purpose in their work. Check out our most recent job openings if you want to be a part of our unique and people-centric company culture.

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What started as a concept turned into multiplied success stories!

When Cosmic Development was founded back in 2011, it was based on the principle of helping businesses of various sizes grow. All by providing the best tech talent solutions tailored to every client’s needs and budget.

But that’s the one side of the story. The other and not that widespread story is that Cosmic Development has strived to establish itself as a modern and prosperous workplace from day one. 

After over a decade-long tenure, we are looking back on several inspirational employee stories at our company. 

From Tech Internships to Fulfilling Careers

From Intern to CTO – Vladimir Novachki

The story of Vladimir Novachki begins with his internship at Cosmic. For Vladimir, this wasn’t just an ordinary internship experience. He was excited that as an intern he had the opportunity to work on real applications, used by real people. After completing his internship, he was more than willing to take the job offer. Novachki had a chance to lead tech teams and work on various projects before landing the Chief Technology Officer position. For young developers, Novachki has simple advice: “Magic wands don’t exist in real life, when it comes to programming it’s really important to stay up-to-date with the newest technology. Make sure to fully dedicate yourself to continuous learning in this profession and the success is yours!” Novachki has practical ways of getting the right sources of information regarding the latest technology trends. He uses Practical Dev, Hacker News, Reddit, etc. His favorite technology stack is LEMP and he highly recommends it.

From Intern to Web Developer – Viktorija Velichkovska

This is the sixth year of Viktorija working at Cosmic. She started her career as an intern, had successful cooperation with her mentors there, and was more than willing to continue her journey with Cosmic. As a developer, she faced a lot of obstacles but managed to overcome them. Her main challenges were associated with the lack of a standardized development process. Velichkovska started to notice this phenomenon while working on projects with different teams. “Every individual has a specific work approach, which is great but has an impact on the complexity of the work, therefore it’s more time-consuming.” Instead of being discouraged, Velichkovska became more proactive. For the less experienced developers, she recommends building experience through open-source projects.

Over a Decade-Long Careers at Cosmic Development

Atanas Arizanov – Tech Coordiantor

Atanas Arizanov joined Cosmic eleven years ago. He remembers his humble beginnings as a software engineer, PHP developer, and later on tech coordinator. From the very beginning, Arizanov was well aware of the challenges that are an integral part of this industry. As a tech coordinator, Arizanov has many responsibilities including managing multiple projects, regular and consistent communication with internal teams, while simultaneously controlling the system and network performance. This job position is quite demanding, as Arizanov states “It’s a race with time.” Nevertheless, Arizanov knows that having an internal feeling of peace is the key to overcoming any job deadline. With a smile on his face, while drinking his favorite cup of coffee Arizanov shares some very interesting pieces of advice. “Make sure to organize your day in such a productive manner, that you’ll become faster and more efficient even when your projects and virtual meeting are overlapping.”

Emilija Nikoloska – BD Consultant

Emilija Nikoloska started to work for Cosmic back in 2011. At that period, the company had just started with only six employees. She worked with only one client, just like everyone else. Due to her hard work and determination, she became a Team Lead and then an Office Manager. She was quite successful in that field but strived for more. Later on, her proactive attitude and diligence brought her into the Business Consultant role. It proved to be the right fit for both parties. Nikoloska shares that she finds inspiration and limitless energy from motherhood.

Bookmark’s Success Stories

Bookmark is one of the loyal clients that Cosmic has had since the very beginning. Here are some interesting stories from some of the best employees there.

Atanas Krangov [CTO] and Petar Shokarovski [VP of Engineering]

Atanas Krangov started as a PHP developer for Cosmic ten years ago. Since then, he made a drastic step in his career and progressed to a Chief Technology Officer for Bookmark. Krangov says that it’s not a role without challenges but he most certainly likes to overcome them. He found his passion for programming at a very young age. He soon realized that he is good at solving problems, and when it comes to software development simplifying the problem means everything. Apart from his professional life, Krangov likes to spend his free time motorcycling and having some leisure time with his family.

Petar Shokarovski became part of the Cosmic family more than seven years ago. He started as a web developer with a previous experience of almost 12 years. This is the reason why he is regarded as one of the MVPs in the company. His professional experience gave him the opportunity to progress as a VP of Engineering for Bookmark. A job title that he holds so proudly. Shokarovski is a dynamic person he has a food blog, likes to spend some time in the wild, and enjoys biking.

If you enjoyed reading these employee success stories and want to learn more about Bookmark and its CEO – David Kosmayer, please visit this page.

These are unique experiences that turned into realities. It seems that Cosmic thrives on giving its employees chances, guiding them in their professional path, and nurturing their potential. I hope this article gave you a glimpse of a few individual success stories, yet we are proud of every single career path and milestone.

If you are eager to join us and grow with us, go ahead and check out our most recent job openings.

Our employees are our greatest asset!

The post Employee Success Stories at Cosmic Development appeared first on Cosmic Development.

Giving developers feedback can be rather challenging. But once you master the habit, it can become a powerful tool to help your development team succeed and improve performance. This article will discuss why developer feedback is essential and the best ways to give constructive feedback.

Providing constructive feedback is essential to developers’ success and performance. When given or received correctly, it creates a healthy environment and boosts developers’ productivity and engagement. It also clarifies expectations, reinforces positive behavior, and addresses problem areas. Well-delivered feedback is also fundamental to the success of any company or organization as it becomes a catalyst for change and a point of reference for improvement.

But giving constructive feedback can be a tricky area to navigate, especially when it comes to input for negative actions or results. Poorly delivered feedback, be it positive or negative, may hurt developers’ performance and leave them demotivated and discouraged. Having that in mind, managers and team leaders must learn to give feedback the right way. To do that, they should plan their approach and set some ground rules that will benefit both the organization and the employees.

Why feedback matters?

Why is feedback so important, and why is it a win-win situation for both the company and the software development team?

• Creates better relationships
• It helps your team avoid significant issues
• Increases motivation
• It allows developers to understand the impact of their performance better
• Keeps the team on track
• It leads to higher productivity and overall job satisfaction
• Promotes personal and professional growth

Tips on how to provide constructive feedback to developers

Here are some useful tips to help you structure and deliver constructive feedback to your development team.

Plan ahead

Planning and preparing are crucial parts of giving constructive feedback. Set baseline expectations early on and follow their progress carefully. And always remember that effective feedback is corrective and not critical. Here are some things you should consider:

• Review previous feedback sessions.
• Go over your task management system like Trello, JIRA, or Monday, to see what tasks they have worked on.
• Observe your employees during daily sessions.
• Write down as many observations as possible.
• Create clear and measurable goals.
• Determine what is worth sharing.
• Come up with suggestions.

Ask permission

Before you give feedback, make sure you ask permission first. By doing that, you approach the person with respect and provide them with time to prepare.

For example, you can say: “Would you mind if I gave you some feedback?”, “Is this a good time to share some feedback with you?” or “I’d like to give you some feedback. Is that okay with you?”

In that way, you can deliver feedback when they are more receptive to listen to it and feel more in control over the situation.

Be specific and objective

The more exact the feedback is, the more useful it will be. Provide facts and specific examples of good and bad performance. Unless there is evidence to back them up, you should avoid giving opinions and judgments. Software Developers are more likely to respond to objective and specific feedback when they know what aspect of the project you are talking about, what went wrong, and what can be improved.

Example: “You are an excellent team leader” can be replaced with something like “I want to thank you for demonstrating optimism in the face of uncertainty at the meeting this afternoon. The numbers were worrying, but you set the tone for the rest of the team. I’m impressed by it, and I want to tell you to keep up the good work.”

Be timely

Developers should receive feedback as soon as possible and at regular intervals throughout the year. Providing feedback immediately following an event such as work product submission or presentation will significantly impact performance. You shouldn’t wait for a quarterly or yearly review to address specific issues because they may multiply by a domino effect if left unaddressed. Regular feedback will help you track and analyze your developer’s overall job performance much easier, and it will help the developers recognize areas of strengths and weakness.

Create solutions together

You should listen to the developers’ point of view and allow them to offer solutions, even if you have particular solutions in mind. Be open to their ideas, and don’t forget to let them be part of the problem-solving process. You will also learn a lot from their perspective and maybe understand the root cause of the problem.

In the end, provide your suggestions and explain the positive results they will lead to. Ask questions and see if they received your message and know the next steps. Lastly, encourage your development team to provide feedback about your performance and role as a manager. Then, discuss openly and try finding a way to make it work and use the feedback effectively.

Giving negative feedback in a positive way – examples

When giving feedback, you should think carefully about the language you will use and the expressions you choose to avoid misunderstanding and hurting someone’s feelings. Here are more positive and negative examples of delivering feedback:

Instead of saying, “You keep missing deadlines, and that impacts the rest of the team and the project.”, you can use “I’ve noticed you are struggling with time management. Is there anything I can do to help?

Or, “You haven’t met your targets. I think that is going to affect the team’s performance.” It can be replaced with “You haven’t met your targets, but I know that you are working hard. Are there any barriers in your way that I can help with?”

Follow these five guidelines, and you will get better and more comfortable giving feedback, and your employees will be more open to receiving it.

The Bottom Line

Remember, providing developers with continuous and constructive feedback is one of the most powerful performance enhancement tools at your disposal. The final goal is not only to improve the developers’ work performance over the long term, but it will also lead to your company’s long-term success.

Cosmic Development- a company that fosters a strong feedback culture

We at Cosmic Development believe that creating a healthy feedback culture can break the difference between a strong and thriving company and a company that remains stagnant. That’s why we foster openness and honesty, and we strive to improve and maintain healthy relationships. We have created a psychologically safe workplace where employees are actively encouraged to share feedback with another person in the company regularly, regardless of their role.

If you want to unlock a new chapter in your career and be a part of a company that fosters a workplace culture that values, supports, and inspires its employees, feel free to explore our careers page and find out more about our current vacancies.

The post Giving Developers Feedback the Right Way appeared first on Cosmic Development.

Vojkan Boshkovski, a Senior Software Developer, talks about his experience and role at Cosmic Development. 

In our ongoing “Employee Spotlight” blog series, we shine a light on the talented individuals that comprise Cosmic Development’s team. We want to learn more about their roles, experience, background, and what it’s like working at Cosmic.

Today we introduce one of our senior software developers, Vojkan Boshkovski. Vojkan has over five years of experience in software development and is proficient in PHP, Laravel, and MySQL. He has been a crucial part of Cosmic Development for almost a year and brings knowledge and professionalism to the team. We value his hard work and are happy to have him on board. 

As part of the dynamic team of Bookmark (from which we already had the chance to talk to Atanas, Petar, and Maja), his primary responsibilities include writing well-designed and efficient code and code reviews. He also participates in team brainstorming sessions to discuss developing, improving, or modifying the existing products.

In this interview, Vojkan talks about his beginning at Cosmic, his role and responsibilities, and what it’s like to be part of Bookmark.com, one of Cosmic Development’s most valuable and loyal clients. He also shares some advice on what it takes a software developer to stay ahead of the curve.

Here’s what he had to say:

Vojkan, you joined Cosmic Development a year ago. Can you tell us how your journey began?

I’ve been hearing great things about Cosmic Development throughout the years but never got the chance to apply for a job. Then, a colleague of mine that worked for Cosmic’s Bookmark team told me about a job opening, for which I immediately applied. The interview went smoothly, and the people were friendly, helpful, and knowledgeable — a perfect fit for me.

You are part of one of the biggest teams at Cosmic Development, Bookmark. Can you tell us something about that experience?

Bookmark is a big and complex project built using modern technologies. It is a privilege to contribute, and there is much to learn from it. The application has a vast and active user base, which adds to every task’s complexity (and enjoyment). Working in a big team of all seniors is pretty great, especially when they are all nice and collaborative. It’s been great from day 1. We spend a lot of time brainstorming and pair programming that helps our bonds grow stronger. The upper management is very understanding and knowledgeable as well. I would say that anyone would be happy to work in this environment.

Any pivotal moments you have had on your career path? Do you have any advice to give to younger colleagues?

Choosing Laravel as the leading technology was a good decision for me. The framework is kept up to date and has a very active and big community. It can be used for projects of any size (small to enterprise) with a proper setup. I strongly recommend using Laravel (or Symfony) for people who choose PHP as their primary programming language. And, for those who chose a different language, I would recommend switching to PHP. Also, educating yourself to the point of becoming language-agnostic would be my advice to any developer. It is one of the requirements to becoming a software architect for those who chose that carrier path, of course.

What are the crucial things a software developer shall do to stay ahead of their game?

As I previously mentioned, being as language-agnostic as you can is very important, in my opinion. That includes reading a lot of software development books and having a lot of working experience on real-life projects. Do not get stuck on a single project for too many years if you can. There are exceptions, but generally, I would try to work on as many different kinds of projects as possible. Be an active member and contributor for your chosen stack and follow discussions on upcoming changes. This will help you think and plan ahead, detect early deprecations and breaking changes, etc.

While we discuss staying ahead of your game, can you tell us what your favorite books or podcasts on software development are?

‘The pragmatic programmer’ is my all-time favorite. Of course, ‘Clean code’ is worth mentioning as a must-read. Other than those, I would say any book on OOP, design, and architectural patterns is worth reading.

According to you, what does it take to become a successful developer? How can one stay on top of the new technologies? 

What I mentioned in my previous answers, and know your algorithms and data structures. Do not forget to work on your soft skills as well

We hope you enjoyed getting to know Vojkan. We’ll be back soon with more employee spotlights on our inspiring Cosmic Development team members. If you want to join Vojkan’s team Bookmark, we have an open position – Software Developer PHP. Or visit our careers page to check out all open positions. Stay tuned for more team stories and learn more about our incredible employees!

The post Employee Spotlight: Getting to Know Vojkan, Senior Software Developer appeared first on Cosmic Development.

Developing a high-quality code while staying productive can be quite challenging. Here are some valuable tips that can help you boost your productivity without compromising on work-life balance. 

Completing tasks quickly and efficiently without sacrificing quality is what it means to be productive. Being productive is an essential aspect of any industry or area of expertise. Still, it can be a real game-changer in a complex and tech-centric industry like software development. A developer’s job is one of the most complicated and mentally demanding professions, and staying productive is not an easy task. They work with complex algorithms and juggle multiple tasks. Adopting a healthy work ethic and habits and making minor adjustments will lead to lasting changes and increase their productivity. 

This article shares some handy productivity tips to help developers enhance their efficiency while boosting productivity levels.

1. Put a schedule in your flexible schedule  

Flexible working hours or work from home can be incredible, but it comes with its own set of challenges. It can be difficult to focus, especially if other family members or distractions are present during your working hours. To stay organized, you need to set some rules and have a productivity plan that will allow you to get the best out of your day. Scheduling daily tasks will measure your progress and manage your time effectively. The best results always come with proper planning.

Find your most productive hours and decide when to start and finish your workday. Be consistent. Set realistic goals and prioritize your most critical task first thing in the morning (or whenever you start your workday), when your energy and willpower are at their highest.

Take planned breaks away from the screen. They are essential to your productivity and well-being and boost your creativity and motivation. Analyze your workspace and make adjustments to help you work better and quicker. Finally, don’t forget the good old eating and sleeping right, staying physically active, and making time to socialize.

All these habits will help you maintain a healthy work-life balance and allow you to have more time for personal activities.

2. Keep away distractions and stop wasting time

A focused developer is a productive developer.

Another way to describe productivity is getting complex tasks done with minimal distractions or interruptions. Developing software is a demanding job, and it’s not easy to maintain focus and concentration when there are so many distractions around you. Every distraction affects the quality of your work and can result in a mistake.

It takes only a few seconds to get out of the flow, but you will need over 23 minutes on average to get back on task after an interruption and into the flow again. Moreover, a Georgia Institute of Technology study states that a software developer will need between 10-15 minutes to recover from distractions and resume work. That is why learning to deal with distraction and decide what is essential and non-essential is a must for every developer.

Your typical distractions could be answering emails, browsing through social media, phone calls, being in a busy work office, etc. It may not be easy to let go, but think of all the time you can save.

Some of the ways to help you cope with interruptions include:

• Put your phone in silent mode during working hours
• Turn off social media notifications
• Turn off email alerts
• Create an auto-response to text messages
• Learn to say NO
• Don’t multitask. Focus on one task at a time
• Set a social media blocker on your computer browser
• Have specified times for answering emails, messages

These changes will not only increase your productivity but will also prevent you from getting mentally exhausted.

3. Use the right platforms and tools

Team collaboration tools, project management, time tracking, automation, or tools that help you avoid distractions. Developers can use various tools and platforms to speed up their work and maximize productivity and efficiency. Here are some that you can check out:

• Distraction canceling software tools: Escape, Cold Turkey, Dewo, or Freedom.
• Bug tracking tools: BackLog and MantisBT
• Code searching tools such as The Silver Searcher
• Time tracking tools like Hubstaff or Jibble
• Project management tools like Monday.com, Trello, Jira, Asana, Wrike
• Team collaboration tools like Microsoft Teams, Slack, Trello, ClickUp
• Code management tools: GitHub, GitLab, Bitbucket

Additionally, you can try Habitica, a habit-building and productivity app that allows you to treat your work or tasks as a role-playing game, and ZType, a game that helps you practice your typing speed and accuracy. Finally, you can relax with some music and visit the website musicforProgramming intended for listening to ambient music while programming.

This is only a fraction of the productivity options available. Do your research and choose based on your individual needs and preferences.

4. Take breaks and get some rest

Studies have shown that taking breaks and brief rests throughout the day leads to higher productivity, job satisfaction and improves your overall well-being. It can also:

• Boost creativity
• Help you focus
• Improve mental health
• Process and retain information better
• Reduce stress

The Pomodoro Technique is a straightforward way to remind yourself to take regular breaks. This technique, popular among the developer community, is a time management method that breaks down your work at intervals – 25 minutes sessions, followed by short 5-minute breaks. Every four 25-minute sessions take a more extended 20-30 minutes’ break. Will it work for you? Go ahead and try.

So, go on, give your eyes a break from the screen. Stand up, stretch, get some water, walk around, and chat with your friends or colleagues. When you return to your work mentally and physically refreshed, you can stay focused on your task and do better work.

5. Automate repetitive tasks

Another excellent productivity hack is to take full advantage of automation. Automating time-consuming and monotonous tasks will save you hours of coding and will simplify your job in a way that significantly improves productivity.

6. Keep learning 

If you want to stay productive, you must constantly update your skills. As you gain more experience and expand your knowledge, you become a better problem solver, faster and more efficient. Plus, you learn how to be more productive and what methods and practices are best for you.

Invest in yourself and your knowledge. Explore new tools that will help ease and speed up your workflow.

An excellent way for professional growth is to work on hobby projects or participate in the development of open-source projects. You will learn many new tricks, keep your mind fresh and grow as a programmer. Listen to podcasts or audiobooks while exercising, commuting, cooking, or cleaning. Read books and blogs, complete courses, or talk to mentors. There are more than enough options available to keep up to date in the fast-moving world of programming and development.

7. Final thoughts

Implementing the strategies above will take time. Developing a healthy productivity plan is a long process that requires consistency, resilience, commitment, and patience. Once it becomes your habit, you will see a significant difference.

But there is no one-size-fits-all approach to time management and productivity. Everyone has a unique personality and working style. What works for one developer could be a total failure for another. Hopefully, this article will spur you to find an approach that works the best for you and will help you boost your productivity and efficiency. The benefits are manifold – being qualified for new job opportunities, higher pay for delivering quality work with less effort, better work-life balance, and internal satisfaction.

The post Productivity Tips for Developers in 2022 appeared first on Cosmic Development.

At Cosmic Development, our employees are at the core of everything we do. We believe that the people-first approach is the foundation of a client-centric organization. We foster a culture of trust, confidence, and commitment and take the responsibility of creating the conditions that allow our employees to thrive.

Our “Employee Spotlight” series highlights our talented employees who bring ideas to light and make this company incredible. Next on our list is Bojan Angjelkovski. Bojan is a senior front-end developer and Angular specialist who adds to our fantastic team of developers, and we are very lucky to have him. Read on to discover more about Bojan and our software development team.

You are one of the newest additions to the Cosmic Development team. Could you tell us how your Cosmic journey began?

I embarked on my career journey with Cosmic Development about a year and a half. It all started on LinkedIn. The conversation there led to a video interview, and the whole process resulted in me getting hired as a senior software developer.

I like my Cosmic journey so far, and most of all, I enjoy the freedom and flexibility the company offers. I’ve got a lot of support from the team, and I can’t wait to meet everyone in person soon.

We would like to know why you opted for software development and why Angular exactly?

Software development is not always easy, but it is rewarding, fun, and engaging. Building software is more than writing code – it is providing solutions for users’ problems, and therefore it requires creativity, innovation, and problem-solving skills.

I like the feeling of achievement when I come up with solutions, and I am never bored when I work. Also, I love the potential of teamwork in software development. Being a part of a team and combining different points of view, experiences and skills lead to practical solutions to problems. We learn a lot from each other. I’ve learned a lot through indie development, where you go on your own, build something, and sell it to the world. So, I guess the vast potential for creative expression, sharing ideas, and collaboration with other developers, and above all, the passion I have for development, were essential to why I chose software development as a career.

And to answer the question about Angular. There are many reasons behind choosing Angular for web development. It offers a variety of features, programming styles, good documentation, google maintenance, package ecosystem, developer tooling, fast performance, stability and compatibility, and a learning curve.

What were the biggest challenges that you faced as a software developer?

We are working in a highly complex, vast, and dynamic industry, and software development is an essential part of that industry. Several factors are determining it, including growing complexities, market conditions, changing technology trends, and expanding software development challenges.

Of course, the challenges may vary. For example, most of the projects are now increasingly ruled by the “build once, deploy everywhere” paradigm, which means that a single application can run across multiple platforms. Integrating different programs and maintaining support complicates this issue even further.

However, for me personally, being up to date and not becoming obsolete is the most important thing to do in order to rise up to the challenges the industry brings.

What are the crucial things a software developer shall do to stay ahead of their game?

One shall face all obstacles without giving up. Persistence, positive mental attitude, and passion distinguish good from great software developers. Having endurance keeps your discipline, optimism and helps you persevere through difficult situations and challenges. Also, you have to be naturally curious, love to learn new things, and work hard. I believe that self-learners make the best programmers. Other vital traits I would mention are attention to detail and accepting feedback. Positive criticism is essential for growing, learning, and improving.

While we are discussing staying ahead of your game, can you tell us what your favorite books or podcasts on software development are?

I will start with books, and my first choice would be Eloquent JavaScript by Marjin Haverbeke. Eloquent JavaScript is a book that really stands out in a market saturated with programming content for developers. Having said that, I wouldn’t recommend it to beginners. It has some specific parts that require a few years of coding background to understand.

Next, I would list JavaScript: The Good Parts by Douglas Crockford. This one helped me “think in JavaScript” and helped me understand how to use the best parts of JS and bypass the bad parts.

For podcasts, I will mention JavaScript Jabber – one of the best-established JavaScript podcasts. And one of the must-see episodes is the interview with Brendan Eich, the man behind the JavaScript programming language.

You recently represented Cosmic Development at the DIGIT event organized by the Faculty of Computer Science and Engineering in Skopje. Can you tell us a bit more about that experience?

Yes, I was part of this year’s DIGIT- Angular 2021. It was a fresh experience for me, and it is a great idea. However, I believe there is much room for improvement, and the best way to do so is through getting constructive feedback from all sides.

Generally, it is an excellent way for the students to gain a realistic idea of what it is like to work on real projects and share ideas and solutions to a given problem, of course, with our help, as mentors. There should be more such events.

The post Employee Spotlight: Open Talk with Bojan, Senior Front-End Developer appeared first on Cosmic Development.

Hiring software development talent has proven to be quite challenging in 2021. With the rise of technology and rapid digital transformation across businesses spurred by the COVID-19 pandemic, rising customer expectations, and transition to remote work, the need and competition for skilled tech experts are proliferating. Whether back-end, front-end, or full-stack, software developers are the fundamental building blocks of any organization whose business operations rely on software. Today thousands of companies compete to recruit and retain from the limited pool of high-quality software developers. It is no wonder it is a costly and time-consuming process. This high demand is projected to continue in the coming years and grow 21% by 2028, as reported by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics.

In this article, we’ll give you some insights on what makes a great software developer and how you can make the whole hiring process much more manageable. Lastly, we’ll offer our valuable experience to help you find the right for your business needs. Read on.

What Does a Software Developer Do?

First, let’s clarify what a software developer does and why this profession is essential and sought-after.

In simple terms, a software developer, also known as a programmer or coder, uses programming languages to create computer software programs. An excellent software developer should be creative, have a passion for learning and development, and have excellent communication skills. Above all, it must have exceptional technical skills.

Although their duties and responsibilities may range depending on the type of organization and industry they work for, as well as their experience level, they are engaged in all stages of the software development life cycle and generally include tasks and responsibilities like:

• Gathering and evaluating user requirements
• Creating efficient and clean code based on consumers’ and clients’ needs
• Testing code
• Fixing, maintaining, and improving existing software
• Communication and collaboration with management and tech support colleagues
• Compiling and assessing user feedback to improve software performance
• Developing technical documentation for reference and reporting

What Makes a Great Software Developer?

The best software developers of today have a good mix of technical proficiency and soft skills. They are able to figure out solutions to problems at any stage of the application development at any time. Beyond knowing programming languages and being excellent at writing code, there are other significant skills and qualities outstanding software developers have in common. Here are the traits that can differentiate a great software developer from a good one and that can help you identify one that would make a great addition to your programming team:

1. Strong communication skills 

The capability to communicate complicated ideas clearly and precisely is essential in the development process. The developers should be capable of interacting with people and explaining themselves to non-technical stakeholders and other developers. They should convey and understand problems clearly, break down complicated ideas into simple concepts and propose solutions.

2. Quick learning and curiosity 

Acquiring new skills is essential for developers. Being a great software developer requires constant practice and dedication. Technology is the innovative branch that is constantly evolving, so developers must be curious, learn quickly and adapt; otherwise, they will be left behind. The best programmers have the ability to learn new languages and technologies quickly, process information, and above all are amazing self-learners. Successful programmers are willing to admit they don’t know and are not afraid of new technology trends.

3. Broad technical experience

Technical expertise is fundamental for software development. Technology is a broad field, and there are numerous tools, platforms, and languages a developer must master and integrate in order to make a good product or software. Professional software developers need a combination of technical skills to succeed. Here are some of the skills software developers are expected to have in 2021:

• Cloud platforms
• Programing languages like Python, C++, Java, and CSS
• Data Structure and Algorithms
• Database and SQL
• Computer networks
• Software testing
• Operating System
• SDLC (Software development life cycle)

Keep in mind that this is no complete list, and you shouldn’t expect that a good software developer has experience in working with all these technologies; however, it provides a good starting point.

4. Team player

The ability to help teammates when there are stuck and teach them new skills is a quality of top software developers. Teamwork is crucial for software development, especially in cases when the project has time and budget constraints. When developers on your team lean on each other, the success of the project is inevitable.

5. Time management

Time management is a valuable skill that every aspiring software developer should develop. The ability to use time effectively and efficiently increases focus and productivity. Plus, it reduces distractions and procrastination and lowers stress. A great software developer has a strong work ethic and organizational skills and respect deadlines. Time management is a significant factor in software development because it can influence the outcome of the whole project.

6. Business sense

When combined with technical expertise, business acumen can be a great advantage. Business-savvy developers understand how the business works. They are able to analyze business problems and make quick, precise, and profitable decisions, and deliver technology-focused on customers’ needs.

The characteristics we mentioned above are just a few the most wanted and are practical guidelines that can help you hire the best software developers.

How to Hire the Best Software Developers?

Most businesses today depend on software development and the people behind it. Hiring the best software developers is one of the biggest technical challenges for today’s recruiters. Software development is a complex and fast-paced field, and the people you hire determine the success of your project. The selection process can be a laborious, slow, and expensive process.

If you are a company that needs fast access to talented developers that will fit your team, drive your success, and provide you with a competitive advantage, you need to look beyond traditional hiring practices. Outsourcing software development is a cost-effective and flexible solution that can save the headache of talent shortage and bad hires. The right outsourcing partner can help you find highly skilled candidates fast. It will support growth without the need for significant investments in new hires, technologies, and IT infrastructure.

Hiring Skilled Software Developers with Cosmic Development

Building a solid team of experts is imperative for business success, regardless if you are a startup or a well-established enterprise.

Cosmic Development is an IT outsourcing and software development company with more than ten years of experience. We can help you build software development teams quickly and affordably, and we will ensure their skills and commitment to work. With Cosmic Development, you are just a click away from finding the right talent. Contact us today to learn more about our development services.

The post Hiring Developers in 2021: Key Things to Consider appeared first on Cosmic Development.

As we are walking in the last quarter of the notorious 2020, we can state one thing for sure: Remote work and distributed teams are here to stay. However, companies can be skeptical about moving their agile processes online when it comes to working remotely. At first glance, why wouldn’t they be? Especially having in mind that Agile was initially intended for teams that are physically located together in the same workspace. Even according to the 12 Principles of the Agile Manifesto: “The most efficient and effective method of conveying information to and within a development team is face-to-face conversation“––the first agile teams were intended to work together physically.

Some challenges arise for distributed software teams:

• Synchronizing teams in different time zones
• Building rapport without face-to-face contact
• Collaboration between different cultures
• Coordinating stand-ups and meetings considering that team members are online at the same time for a limited amount of time

These are genuine problems, but they are far from unsolvable. With almost ten years of experience in staff augmentation and software development services, we can share some insights and strategies to help you narrow the gap between working on-premises and remotely.

Structure Your Teams

Think of your team from a software engineer’s point of view: quality software architecture needs modular design, so design your software accordingly. The same goes for building teams. Every team should be able to develop a single fraction of the project, and by that, successfully reduce the dependence between your teams in different time zones or locations. You will actually make teams autonomous parts of your project or company. When a project requires team members to take part from different locations, they can focus solely on their integration points and APIs.

Code reviews are considered as an important part of the development process for remote teams. Since your people are working at different times, sharing knowledge of the code between teams makes maintenance easier.

Building and Maintaining Rapport

Agile teams need to build solid rapport between team members. This brings trust, reduces misunderstanding, makes self-organization easier, and builds morale and motivation. Take time, as much as possible, to get to know everyone within your distributed teams. A personal touch is a must. Creating strong rapport will lead to smoother communication between teams, which in turn leads to better workflows.

After all, who said that face-to-face meetings have to be offline? Especially these days, when Zoom and Google Hangouts have become our new-normal offices, we encourage using them in order to minimize the gap between distributed agile teams. At Cosmic Development, we are avoiding strictly scheduled Hangouts meetings for intra-team communication. Instead, we strive to create a culture of using video chats even for spontaneous informal conversations and ad-hoc meetings. Needless to say, instant-messaging tools like Slack or Microsoft Teams are very helpful in solving small issues or in simply keeping in touch. 

To help address some remote communication challenges within the team, you need to stimulate team members to have one-on-one video sessions whenever possible. These should not be formal, but they still need to be focused on work and oriented around knowledge sharing in a casual way.

Structuring a United Development Culture

Here are the four simple rules our teams follow in order to make remote work easier:

1. Overcommunicate decisions and procedures
2. Minimize the onboarding friction
3. Clearly define terminology
4. Create reporting guidelines 

Now, let us discuss each of them more thoroughly:

1. Overcommunicate Decisions and Procedures

When members of a distributed agile team make decisions, they need to communicate those decisions thoroughly. That sounds a bit obvious, but it is very easy to forget. Important decisions are often made in informal conversations; they are brainstormed between individuals or discussed spontaneously on calls between individuals. In contrast to this, small decisions are often dismissed as unimportant, especially if we focus on another part of the conversation. 

When working in a remote culture, everything, even the minute details, need to be communicated until the whole team starts moving in the same flow.

It is easy to lose meaning or essential information if you announce important decisions via email. Everyone in your dispersed teams needs to understand the decisions, the reasons behind each decision, and how they will be implemented. Team members that are working on outdated information can lead to major setbacks, hitting a blockade, and then re-communicating the whole process costs the team more time than accuracy sharing information in the first place.

2. Minimize the Onboarding Friction

You can tame the “first-day-friction” by utilizing a good onboarding procedure. Remote team members should feel at home right off the bat, which helps build cohesion between team members of different cultures. 

3. Clearly Define Terminology

While working with remote teams, clear standards around simple terminology like “complete” and “done” help manage expectations and ease communication. A clear definition of task completion eliminates ambivalence in work. For example, when sending a release that involves work from multiple teams, make sure to make it clear what “complete” means in this particular context: (a) the code needs to be written, (b) pull request created, (c) code needs to be reviewed and tested, (d) and finally integrated into the main codebase.

4. Create Guidelines for Reporting

Distributing the development process means that not everyone is online and ready for work when problems come up. We recommend setting systems and guidelines for troubleshooting, but reports and issue tracking. You will not believe how much easier such systems and guidelines make it for anyone on the team to track down and resolve issues. Code reviews and automated tests should be part of this process as it enables the remote team to make changes and validate them so they will not have any unexpected side effects.

Maximize the Mutual Online Time

The golden hours for remote agile teams are when most of the team members are online at the same time. This is the perfect time for stand-ups, coordination meetings, or one-on-one calls.

For teams that work in different time zones, a stand-up meeting is an excellent opportunity to share their issues, obstacles, or decisions. Having the stand-ups via video calls makes it easy to coordinate and catch-up with the flow, so everyone is up and running as soon as the meeting is done.

Instruct the project manager to closely monitor the entire team’s engagement during the stand-up. If there is an undue tension, or communication is becoming unfocused and counter-productive, your team members will quickly disengage.

Stand-ups do not have to be strictly daily meetings. You can have them a few times per week and use the other days for informal communication. Thus, a stand-up does not have to be just a morning routine, but you can organize it at the most convenient time for everyone that forms part of your remote agile teams. 

We all need to adapt and learn how to work within remote teams, communicate efficiently, and grow a cohesive culture. Many large companies have successfully implemented distributed agile workflows long before the COVID-19 pandemic, allowing them to cut costs and work more efficiently. On the other hand, remote work is very easy to implement for small teams that have previously worked together in a common office. Such teams can significantly benefit from the advantages of working remotely.

Stay tuned for Part Two, where we will talk to Bookmark‘s Project Manager about her hands-on experience with managing a remote team.

Sources:

• agilemanifesto.org/
• agilealliance.org/resources/experience-reports/remotely-agile/
• blog.stormid.com/distributed-agile-working/

The post Remote Work and Agile Teams are Here to Stay appeared first on Cosmic Development.

The stronger the team, the stronger the business, and it all starts with effective project management.

Programmers are notoriously difficult to seek out, screen, and onboard. They are artists; they are ambitious. Regardless of whether you have got a small team of programmers or a rapidly-expanding one, it is very likely that you will encounter situations that wreak havoc on employee happiness and morale. Many team managers within the tech industry still struggle to manage their teams of programmers. Truth be told, management does not come easily. Continue reading the article below for pointers, which will ensure that your team of programmers performs well and stays on track in the future. 

Nowadays, project management is in high demand in various industries. Why? Organizations today face fierce competition, and they have to combat global challenges. Moreover, they must answer internal/external issues without any delay. In response to those challenges, organizations need a structured approach to plan, organize, control, and manage their resources (and internal capabilities) so that they can deliver timely results.

How to Implement an Effective Project Management

Project management can be better explained as “the discipline of initiating, planning, executing, controlling, and shutting a team’s work to realize specific goals and meet specific success criteria.” Project managers need to be at a particular level of analytical and organizational skills so as to be effective in their roles. However, the project manager’s job does not end with completing project scope and budget documents. At the core of their work lies their ability to understand individuals and their management skills that direct the employees toward the simplest results. For this reason, possessing an efficient array of “soft skills” are often equally as important as possessing the hard skills that are typically related to the discipline.

Project management knowledge draws on ten areas:

• Communications
• Costs
• Human resources
• Procurement
• Quality of deliverables
• Business requirements
• Risks
• Schedules
• Project scope
• Stakeholders

The Importance of Time Management

In the extent of project management, time management is about using wisely the quantity of the time allocated to a project in order to satisfy expected deliverables and conclude all work before the project completion date. It requires project managers to ensure that their teams are organized, productive, and prompt at all times. This strategy is something that all project managers need to get comfortable with.

From a team’s perspective, having a transparent understanding of the varied individuals that structure the group – and their skill sets – can go an extended way in properly and efficiently assigning tasks. During this same regard, it is essential for a project manager to review which team member is liable for which task during a project and to avoid confusion and missed deadlines.

The best method for maintaining the stakeholders’ timeliness is to seek out ways to keep them engaged with the project. Sending weekly or monthly emails with a summary of the tasks accomplished during that period is one such approach that makes the tasks remain at the top of the mind. When project managers are ready to communicate this example clearly and concisely to the customer, while also finding out how to adapt their approach counting on the stakeholders’ previous reactions to high-stress situations, they are far more likely to realize effective results.

Critical Steps for Maintaining a Meeting Efficient

Another aspect of the project management strategy is to know how to keep a meeting efficient. Project managers should learn how to rely on work breakdown structures during the design phase of their projects so as to attenuate wasted time when it involves completing deliverables. Moreover, they will help team members to alleviate the strain that accompanies large-scale deliverables.

Suppose a project manager determines that an in-person meeting remains the simplest route for a particular team or group, on the opposite hand. In that case, it is important that managers follow a couple of critical steps for keeping the meetings efficient:

1. Take time to determine an agenda before the meeting of precisely what must be addressed. 

Determining an agenda before the meeting may help in eliminating the time-wasters from the session. Usual time-wasters in a meeting are segue questions, updates that are not on topic, or one-on-one conversations between two team members that could be completed outside of the larger meeting. Moreover, having a plan for the meeting may also help get over everything that must be addressed in time.

2. Make sure that the rationale everyone within the meeting has been included is clear.

Project managers need to make meeting attendees understand that they are all included in the meeting. If that is not the case, project managers should consider removing some of the people from the list of attendees, thus saving the group, as well as the individual, from wasting their time.

3. Entitle someone to take notes and supply action items for the next team meeting. 

At the end of a meeting, the attendees need to know what has been accomplished already, so having someone take notes from the meeting is very important. This may ensure that the employees are on an equivalent page about what has been accomplished already. Still, they will also know what they personally must achieve before the subsequent meeting. This action can ensure that future meetings will always be productive down the road.

The Benefits of Program Management in Organizations

So far, we have discussed the advantages at an organizational level and just a few of the ways how project management can help to enhance your entire business. But what about individual projects? What about the benefits that come from program management? What about situations when things get down sometimes, and with a simple addition of unnecessary bureaucracy in a company, employees may be left with an idea but with no room for innovation?

When organizations get to introduce project management, they can follow three important steps. They need to identify the program, develop different approaches, find the most convenient one, and finally identify an appropriate program manager.

Better project planning = better projects

Benefits of Implementing Program Management

Program management may be a crucial link between strategic services portfolios in a corporation and its component projects. By defining a program, there are significant advantages supporting an objective of subdividing component projects, then undertaking individual projects. Overall, program management strengthens the alignment towards organizational business strategy, ensures better control, and focuses on benefits realization. There are the four most important benefits of implementing program management in a company:

• Provides a Comprehensive View
• Works towards Organizational Benefits
• Formalizes Procedures
• Saves Costs

Is your project set for success? 

The inspiration for a successful program is born long before the project even starts. Therefore, project managers must know how to predict risks, support planned governance, but most importantly, how to manage processes, controls, and suppliers. Avoiding or taking shortcuts within the crucial pre-planning and formation areas can significantly impact project success. This impact may take the shape of missed deadlines, budget overruns, reduced benefits, and burned-out teams. Therefore, managers are mandated to learn how to reduce project failure rates and how to shorten costs. 

Reducing project failure rates

Without this vital step, a project team can miss crucial details, deadlines, and eventually deliverables. The two most important things that a company must know are deciding where to spend our energy and what to deliver first. What is most vital for the customer? Which features can have an immediate impact on the company’s revenues? These are only the first questions that managers need to answer in order to reduce the possibility of project failure. 

Managers also have to frequently discuss with developers about what are the company’s priorities. However, technical priorities are essential too: they can not always be ignored to think only about business priorities, because doing so is going to affect the business and the delivery of the software. Therefore, managers must understand that both business priorities and technical priorities must be considered when deciding on the next step they will work on.

It is indisputable that developers must work in cohesion with the project managers all the time. If you want to get a project manager that will take into consideration all the qualities mentioned above, contact us today and let our experts lead your team of developers.

Sources:

• proofhub.com/articles/why-is-project-management-important
• thedigitalprojectmanager.com/why-is-project-management-important/
• ntaskmanager.com/blog/why-is-project-management-important-for-an-organization/
• plan.io/blog/project-management-skills/

The post Project Management as a Crucial Aspect of Programming appeared first on Cosmic Development.