In the world of software development, there are many key roles involved. The development team are instrumental in building great software. Today we will examine what makes a great software team by discussing different types of developers. We can compare developer personalities with kitchen staff – both make great things, with the right team in place.

• Cooks: are great at following a recipe, using tried and tested methods to do the job consistently.

• Chefs: are more creative, and capable of adapting previous recipes to create something new.

• Artisans: Thrive in situations where something has never been done before. But what does this have to do with software, you might ask?

Getting the right blend of personalities in a software development project is key: If you have too many cooks, you will end up with a standard product that looks and behaves like every other app or automation out there. Sure it will work, but it’s never going to be ground-breaking stuff! Chefs cost more than cooks, and having a chef build something that is tried and tested isn’t the most cost-effective, and will impact your budget. If you have too many artisans the focus will be on innovating everything, this isn’t always needed, and again can be very expensive.

At DigPacks we believe there is a place for all three personalities on a software development project:

• Cooks can churn through simple tasks quickly, with very little supervision, and always have a place on a project, if you want a simple Power Automate flow to send an email when a status changes, your cook is the most appropriate resource for this job.

• When a trickier requirement comes in, that doesn’t have a tried and tested approach, this is where your chefs step up. They can consider similar requirements from past projects, and slice and dice the ingredients they used for other requirements, to come up with a solution that fits.

• The pace of releases of new functionality is staggering, we are seeing new features at least monthly in Power Platform – our artisans thrive in looking for new ways to tackle a problem, in a manner that has no precedent. They often use the fail-fast mentality, sometimes it will take a few attempts, or a LOT of creative thinking to get the job done, but the outputs will be beyond your wildest dreams. Getting the right blend of personalities will allow your team to focus on what they are good at, – and will inevitably lead to a better experience for your customer. A successful project isn’t just led by the development team, there’s also a supporting cast that should be considered…

• The critic: This role is filled by our Quality Assurance process, they critique the work of our kitchen, and validate that the outputs are to a suitable standard before it reaches a customer.

• The executive chef: This is our leadership team, they are responsible and accountable for the success of the project, overseeing everything, and making sure that everything works together.

• The Front of house manager: These are our project managers, they manage the expectations of the customer, and help the team to perform at a high level.

In summary, the success of a project relies on having the right personalities doing the right things, at the right time. Too much of one personality will lead to friction, lack of innovation, and the inability to produce what the customer needs. 

Authored by: Stuart Baxter Co-Founder @ Scottish Power Platform User Group, MVP and Power Platform Development Lead here at DigPacks.