Management

Project Management in Software Development: The Complete Guide

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As companies transition into the tech storm of the 21^st-century, the hassles of effective project management in the software development pipeline are escalating like never before.

Whether you’re a rising startup looking to optimize total productivity and output of your software projects, or a well-established tech (or non-tech) corporation looking to scale your team’s software management efficiency, project management in software development is crucial to addressing all latitudes of your business model.

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What Is Software Development Project Management?

Project management in software development is the process of planning, scheduling, executing, monitoring, and delivering software projects.

Oftentimes, when we envision the monster that is project management in software development, we fall down the rabbit hole of imagining a simple ‘one-size-fits-all’ project management model, that mutually streamlines both the business and software-related (code) build and release of a company’s product.

However, software development projects can be better seen as complex undertakings, where leaders must analyze the cost-benefits and optimization problems between business value and the software development pipeline and processes.

In an ever-evolving landscape where business management and tech are, essentially, both close family relatives, software development projects are complex tasks led by two or more persons. Bounded by time, budget, and staffing resources to produce novel or enhanced computer code with resource allocation and execution in mind.

More generally, software projects are defined by a comprehensive development pipeline, all the way from initial gathering to testing and maintenance, carried within a given timeline to achieve the intended final product.

Why Is Project Management Important in Software Development Projects?

Software project management is important because it ensures that there is strategic method towards accomplishing software-related objectives.

This adds significant business value to new/existing business processes and models. In practice, your business should see benefits such as:

A greater competitive advantage
Improved resource allocation
Tighter budgeting
Better communication
Clearer and more effective documentation

In contrast to traditional project management models, software development is relatively unique, as software projects require a distinct lifecycle and phased development process that demands several rounds of user and internal testing, updating, and analysis of customer feedback.

As a result, project management in software development is a crucial part of delivering a quality product, and no development model would be much without it.

What Does a Project Manager Do in Software Development?

Simply put, software project management is the ‘butter on the bread’, mending business management with the software development cycle. Project managers are responsible for efficiently executing all the nitty-gritty details of the software project from start to finish.

Most importantly, they are aware of all phases in the Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC) that the software project should undergo, streamlining the initial planning and long-term maintenance of the project at hand.

By closely monitoring the project management in the software development process, experimenting with various plans, allocating resources/budget, and solidifying communication amongst the team, software project managers ensure that final product goals are met under all constraints while still maximizing customer satisfaction.

All in all, project managers perform the following activities:

1. Project Estimation

Perhaps *the most* vital aspect of the initial project planning phase, project size estimation is crucial in determining the cost, duration, and trajected efforts necessary for the project.

These estimations include:

Time: Total projected time to complete the project and, if necessary, its subparts.

Cost: Summary of total expenses to develop the software product.

Effort: Estimated effort demanded to complete the project under any given conditions and constraints.

As a project manager, it is crucial that you accurately specify these time, cost, and effort estimations, as all future planning and executions are dependent on these projections.

2. Scheduling and Resource Allocation

In the context of project management in software development, project managers should schedule and allocate all required ‘manpower’ and resources for software project development after finalizing the estimations above.

3. Staffing

Establish and decide on a team structure and staffing plan. Gain feedback from the team on work burdens and their task progress to reallocate/reorganize the staff accordingly.

4. Risk Management

As a software project manager, you must identify and analyze any unanticipated risks that might arise during the project development lifecycle.

Devise your own risk reduction method to minimize/eliminate potential risks and unintended consequences during software development.

5. Miscellaneous Planning

Finally, catch your breath! During this stage, a project manager may establish several other plans including quality assurance, configuration management, etc.

Additional planning is conditioned on project monitoring and control, a cycle where the PM actively diagnoses potential risks and obstacles during development and uses planning to resolve those risks.

Most Important Skills a Project Manager Needs to Succeed

A project manager is not a monarch by any means. The idea isn’t just to put someone in charge and call it a day.

Project management is a careful undertaking and requires a unique skillset that not just any person can offer.

Here are the most important skills a project manager needs to succeed:

1. Leadership

Naturally, anyone managing a team should have leadership skills. But what does being a strong leader mean?

Strong leaders motivate their teams, coach them through task completion, and give them guidance on any issues that may arise.

Much of leadership is psychological. Technically, everyone on the team knows what they’re supposed to do.

But setting actionable goals, measuring team performance, and giving constructive feedback makes a great impact on how the job gets done. And a project manager is responsible for these duties.

2. Communication

Communication is an important skill in just about every industry. But it becomes increasingly important if you’re leading a team of software developers.

Project managers must have the technical expertise to communicate the details of the software project as well as the interpersonal skills to build and manage meaningful relationships with team members.

3. Time Management

It should go without saying that time management is an essential part of the project manager role.

Having a deadline isn’t always enough and having someone behind the scenes to ensure that everyone’s on task is often the missing gear in an otherwise slow-churning machine.

4. Organization

Organization is perhaps the most important skill for project managers. But it’s a broad term and various factors play into one’s ability to organize, from communication skills to time management.

Simply put, a project manager should be able to see the big picture and break that down into the itsy bitsy details that make up a software development project.

They should also be able to map those details out into workable tasks.

5. Critical Thinking / Problem-Solving

Often project managers are the first-responders when it comes to addressing bottlenecks and crises that pop up during development.

In order to succesfully resolve these issues, they must be quick on their feet and think outside of the box to come up with solutions.

Software Development Project Management Methodologies

Software development methodologies provide a structure for how you will go about building your software product.

These methodologies are also called project management methodologies as they serve as guidance for organizing your projects and delivering optimal performance.

Below is an overview of some of the more popular software development project management methodologies.

1. Agile

Agile is by far the most popular software development methodology there is.

HubStaff found that 36% of software development teams are using Agile, with almost 40% of teams using a hybrid solution of methodologies.

The central points of the Agile method are iterative development and consumer feedback.

Based on an Agile manifesto written in 2001, developers collaborate with customers as they build software, iteratively implementing and testing software adjustments as they go.

2. Scrum

Scrum is an extension of Agile. It features a distinct system that helps developers approach the development process.

Much of what happens on a srum team is managed via the concept of sprints, a short, time-boxed period allotted for completing a set amount of work.

The Scrum methodology similarly includes sprint retrospectives, sprint reviews, sprint planning, and daily scrums.

3. Waterfall

The waterfall methodology empahsizes a linear progression of development. It’s merely a step-by-step process of creating software from planning requirements to deployment. However, the integrity of this model is also its downfall. Professional developers rarely use this model because it does not adapt well to customer input, changing requirement, or unforeseen circumstances.

4. Lean

The Lean methodology stresses the optimization of resources within a business. It stems from an operational thinking strategy that gave Toyota Motor Company its success.

In short, the fundamentals of the Lean methodology are to eliminate waste and create value for the customer.

Within software development, Lean thinking means foregoing extra features and preventing delays whenever possible.

Note that Lean and Agile are often confused. While some consider Lean to be a framework of Agile, comparing Lean vs. Agile reveals they are not as similar as some may think.

5. Feature-Driven Development

Feature-Driven Development (FDD) is an Agile methodology for developing software. Like Agile, FDD is iterative, incremental, and customer-centric.

As the name suggests, FDD involves developing software based on its features and creating feature-specific teams.

Frequent status reports are also a mainstay in feature-driven development.

7 Best Project Management Tools for Software Development Projects

Project management works best with project management tools. Project management tools provide a platform for managing the software development process, whether that’s assigning tasks or setting deadlines.

The following project management tools should be plenty helpful for software development project management:

1. Trello

Trello is a web-based, task-management tool that is based on Kanban project boards. Kanban itself is a framework that highlights the importance of visualizing workflows.

In the same vein, Trello uses boards, lists, and cards. Boards represent the overarching project while cards lend to individual tasks. Drop-down lists indicate what stage your team is in completing a task.

2. Wrike

Wrike is a project management tools with more than a few hi-tech features.

Alike to to Trello, visualization plays an important role in how Wrike works.
However, just as important as visualization is to the platform, are its capabilities. For instance, in Wrike, you can:

Build workflows
Set timelines for your projects
Pin important to-dos onto dashboards
Review and approve digital documentation
Build reports and analyze results

3. Jira

Jira is one of the more popular project management tools. The tool specializes in issue tracking and Agile development.

Sprint tracking and scrum workflows are beloved features of the platform. Likewise, users take advantage of an open marketplace with integrations like GitHub, Salesforce, and Outlook.

4. Monday.com

Monday.com, typically stylized as ‘monday.com’, is a cloud-based platform that allows users to create tools and workflows to manage their projects.

In addition to project management, monday.com is a productive tools for various other efforts such as marketing, sales, customer relationship management, task management, and human resources.

Whatever your workflow may be, Monday.com can offer:

Visual Kanban-style boards
Multiple views (featuring boards, calendar, timelines, Gnatt charts, etc.)
Custom dashboards (for tracking progress and insights)
Integrations
Automations
Apps (for custom views, widgets, integrations, etc.)

5. Zoho Projects

Zoho Projects is a cloud-based project management software with an intuitive user interface coupled with many useful features.

Gnatt charts, task automations, timesheets, and project customization name some of the software’s biggest pros. You can also integrate Zoho with numerous third-party apps.

6. Basecamp

Ironically enough, the notorious Ruby on Rails was created to build Basecamp. And it was undoubtedly successful.

Some features of Basecamp are message boards, to-do lists, group chats, scheduling, automatic check-ins, documentation, and project activity dashboards.

In spite of all this, Basecamp isn’t designed for software development and lacks boards, estimations, and other helpful assets for Agile development.

7. Asana

Initially, Asana was an internal tool at Facebook. But released to the public, the tool quickly got its own bearings.

Asana features Kanban-style boards, Gnatt charts for project scheduling, and an advanced search engine for finding files and tasks.

5 Stages of Project Management in Software Development

Whether you’re a junior or senior project manager, a common principle in the software development and management pipeline will always hold true: following and maintaining the Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC)

By adapting the SDLC process to your project timeline, your project initiation, planning, monitoring, and closure will be streamlined, enabling the team to finish in time without sacrificing the integrity of the given project!

Project management in software development essentially uses the general project management template with software-specific goals that streamline the process.

The 5 stages of project management in software development are outlined as follows:

1. Project Initiation

It may seem intimidating, but do not worry—by establishing a simple foundation of ideas and preliminary goals for your project, you’re bound to create a surefire template for the next four phases of your project management timeline.

Project initiation involves morphing an abstract idea into a meaningful goal with actionable future steps.

During project initiation, a PM should develop a business case and define the project on a broad level. Project managers can easily initiate this with a project charter.

A project charter is a document consisting of critical details, including project constraints, goals, appointment of the project manager, expected timeline, budget(s), staffing, etc.

Once a manager has illustrated a clear path forward with their charter, they should identify key project stakeholders (i.e. future members involved in the project). This can be easily accomplished by creating a stakeholder register.

In a project charter, two evaluation tools are used to decide whether a project is worth pursuing.

These tools can be tailored to optimize the process of project management in software development.

Business Case Document: This document justifies the necessities of the project and includes an estimate of potential financial benefits.
Feasibility Study: PMs use this to evaluate a project’s objectives, timeline, and costs to determine whether a project is worth executing. Feasibility studies simply allow you to assess a project based on:

Requirements of the project, and;
Available resources.

It’s important to note that although clear objectives of the project are established during the initiation phase, a project charter should not include complex technical details that are discussed in phase two (project planning)!

2. Project Planning

It is crucial that a project manager diligently lays out the project planning stage, as it is a decisive factor for the project’s roadmap.

Typically, this can be fulfilled with agile project management, effectively breaking down weeks of planning into mere days.

The PM should identify technical requirements and develop a detailed project schedule by creating a clear communication plan and establishing goals/deliverables.

Additionally, requirement analysis can be used during planning with inputs from the customer, sales department, market surveys and domain experts in the industry.

For project management in software development, cross-collaboration is crucial, as it links the development team with the business management teams.

3. Project Execution

During project execution, all hands are on deck, and team members begin completing the actual work and subtasks of the project.

A project manager should look forward to establishing efficient workflo.ws while diligently monitoring the collective progress of the team.

Additionally, a project manager must maintain effective collaboration between stakeholders and all team members involved.

Ultimately, this will ensure that everyone is one the same page and the project runs without any glaring issues.

4. Project Monitoring and Controlling

Although project monitoring is a process that associates with each and every stage of the project management timeline, project managers should use this time to specifically ensure those project objectives and deliverables are fulfilled.

A project manager will ensure that no one deviates from the original course of the project by setting both Critical Success Factors (CSF) and Key Performance Indicators (KPI).

Finally, the manager will also quantitatively record and track the effort/cost during the process, ensuring that constraints such as budget and time are met with long-term sustainability in mind.

5. Project Closure

Finally, you’re here—phew! This final phase of the project management process typically follows after the final delivery of the product. Occasionally, external talent is hired specifically for the project on contract.

Additionally, a PM will be responsible for terminating these contracts and completing any necessary paperwork and documentation.

Oftentimes, teams will hold a reflection meeting upon project completion in order to contemplate their comprehensive successes and failures before, during, and after development.

This method of reflection provides a sense of continuous improvement for the team, enhancing the overall productivity and output of the team for the company.

Finally, a project manager should review the entirety of the project (from start to finish), complete a detailed report that covers after facet (e.g. five stages of project management in software development) of the project, and securely store it for future reference.

The Most Important Skills for a Project Manager to Succeed

Be a Supportive Team Leader

A rising project manager should develop leadership for the mutual benefit of the project, the company, and its team.

More specifically, an effective software project manager arranges a team of diverse members with various skills who can efficiently complete their given task(s).

Motivate your team members

By encouraging your team member(s) to work properly, a project manager ensures that a non-intimidating, yet effective, team atmosphere is established.

Additionally, this will prevent burnout amongst team members and enable them to fulfill project requirements in a timely manner.

Tracking progress

Ultimately, it is imperative that a project manager monitors progress in real-time for both the short-term and long-term stability of the software project.

Additionally, the PM will ensure that the product is developed with the correct coding standards.

Documentation and project report

The PM will eventually prepare final documentation of the project for future reference and implementations, detailing project features and techniques.

All in all, these reports will contribute to future project management in software development-related tasks.

Acting as a liaison

Remember when I mentioned that software project managers are the butter between the breads of business and software?

Well, this is put into action, as PMs link the development team with the customer by analyzing customer requirements and relaying them to the development team.

Through a proactive relationship between development and management, managers will communicate new updates to the client(s) and finetune the project when necessary.

Conclusion

Whether you’re grappling with a large corporate team that develops cutting-edge software solutions, or a small to mid-sized startup in the first round of creating their beta software, project management in software development is more essential than ever before.

By streamlining your software development process with a five-stage SDLC and project management timeline, your company is bound to finish and release final products in a timely and organized fashion.

However, in order to accomplish this ‘holy grail’ of efficiency and organization, project managers must enthusiastically manage a team of developers and guarantee that deadlines are met!

For most companies to fulfill a project, finding the right people is like finding a needle in a haystack, leading to missed deadlines.

However, you can outsource and hire remote developers to complete and build your team, guaranteeing that project deadlines and constraints are met. Learn more by reading our complete guide here!

Frequently Asked Questions

What is project management in software development?

Software project management involves the planning, scheduling, resource allocation, execution, and delivery of software on time and on budget.

What does a project management do?

Project managers are responsible for efficiently executing all the nitty-gritty details of the software project from start to finish.

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What Is a C developer?

C developers are closely familiar with the fundamentals of systems programming. They develop code that integrates into base computer systems. Embedded systems, operating systems, and kernel modules all rely on systems programmers like C developers.

C++ is nearly a superset of C. Save a few minor details, the two languages are very similar. Expert C developers may learn C++ as well to increase their effectiveness.

Other languages in the repertoire of C developers might be higher-level languages and frameworks that work well with C like Java, Node.js, and Python.

As systems programmers, C developers have strong problem-solving skills and use structural programming to write clean, reusable code.

Why Use C?

The first and foremost justification for using C would be if you wanted to build an operating system. After all, in the 1970s, C was the vessel in which UNIX was re-designed. But despite the goal-oriented origins of the C language, various elements of its development make it a fitting language to use for an array of needs.

Middle-level

There are only a handful of middle-level languages. And if you were to pick them out, you’d probably come up with Java and C++ in addition to C, and there’s even some dissent there.

Either way, the general consensus is that C is a middle-level language. Because of this, C is one of the best languages for building both systems and applications. Therefore its usage is by definition flexible.

Structured

As a programming paradigm, structured programming allows developers to make complex programs by compartmentalizing their codes into simpler structures via task-oriented functions. Some examples of structural programming in action are if-else statements and for-loops.

Though many languages make use of this type of programming, C may very well be the oldest structural programming language that still maintains its popularity. This is because C is reliable.

Portable

Portability describes how compatible certain computer programming languages are in diverse environments. In the case of C, the language plays a major part in Windows, UNIX, and Linux operating systems, demonstrating its portable nature.

General

C is general-purpose. In effect, no matter what you want to develop, C is there for you – for games, graphics, applications, and more.

Advantages of Using C

C is equipped with a number of supportive features to develop keeping high-level functionality in mind. As the intent of C was to develop operating systems, its features must be fully comprehensive and performant.

Case-Sensitive

C is case sensitive. Lowercase and uppercase letters are differentiated. This can make certain elements of coding far less confusing and more direct. It’s also easier to parse through case-sensitive code.

Dynamic Library

The library C offers is rich with built-in features and is furnished with dynamic memory allocation. What’s more, C has much less library functions than other languages but just as many functions, simplifying their deployment.

Keyword Simplicity

In computer programming, keywords are the smallest building blocks of programming that work as gateways to writing complex code.

Keywords like if, else, and return may be familiar to you. The C language only has 32 keywords, overall only a small number to remember and eventually master.

Embedded Usage

C is the go-to language for developing embedded systems, Embedded systems contain hardware and/or software designed for specific functions. Digital cameras and robots are good examples of embedded systems.

Developers use C for embedded systems because it is flexible. The high-level abstraction of C combined with its low-level alliances make it a great language for this sort of development.

Companies That Use C

IBM
Nokia
Samsung
VMWare
Huawei
Microsoft Windows

Reasons to Hire a C Developer

It’s fairly common for businesses to go the mobile app route in contemporary software development. They’ll cross out a couple of months on their calendar, get a grasp of Java or Swift – for Android or Apple respectively – and be on their way.

App development is an accomplishment no matter how you do it. But when things become commonplace and you follow the lead of your competitors, it becomes difficult for your business to stand out.

If you wish to stay competitive, your business needs to be challenged. Rather than putting an app on the app store, why not develop an entire software.

Adobe, most Google applications, and the entire Linux operating system was built with C. These are software systems that have topped the technology sector and have garnered worldwide familiarity and usage.

Most popular C programs aren’t simply apps, they’re relevant components of daily work and life for millions of users. Depending on the developers you hire, you’ll have the resources you need to do the same.

It starts with a good idea, and the right developers to manifest it. Hire a C developer.

Hire a C Developer

C is well over 30 years old. With languages being built every other fortnight, it’s hard to keep up with the competition. But somehow C has managed all the while.

Of course, old age does come with consequences. The market favors young people who favor young languages. This doesn’t make C less trustworthy or useful, but it is a little tougher to find the professionals you’ll need to program in C.

Trust the process, trust your research. Trio also has resources to help you. Take a look.

How do you hire a C developer?

For those who wish to take the high road and hire C developers on your own, we’re still here to help.

Hiring a developer on your own is a very focused and hands-on process that requires considerable knowledge about software development in general.

The last thing you want to do is trust your hiring process to someone with no technical ability. If you are a non-technical manager looking to learn a thing or two, we have a great resource here for you to learn more about the hiring process in detail.

Otherwise, we’d recommend you contact Trio for consulting and developer allocation.

What should you look for in a C developer?

C developers at a high-level should demonstrate the following skills:

Proficiency in C and preferably in C++ as well
Knowledge of high-level languages that are often integrated with C such as Java, Python, Go, or Node.js
Abstract critical thinking and problem-solving aptitude
Ability to write and implement algorithms and data structures

How much do developers cost in the U.S.?

ZipRecruiter data reports that the average yearly salary of a C developer is $117,673 On the higher end, C developers can make as much as $155,500 per year. But C developers can also make as little as $67,500 annually.

How much do developers cost in South America?

Due to economic differences between the United States and South America as a whole, the cost of offshoring software development is significantly lower than hiring full-time with U.S talent. For Senior C Developers in South America, the average salary is currently around $100,000 whereas a mid-level developer costs around $76,000.

How much do developers cost in Ukraine / Eastern Europe?

Eastern Europe shares very similar rates to South America, again due to the economic differences. When looking at salaries in Eastern Europe, data shows that a Senior C Developer costs around $100,000 on average.

Hourly Rates for Developers

Another way to look at developer costs is through hourly rates. While salaries are good to understand for hiring developers for full-time and long-term, you might just need a developer for a period of 3-6 months or 6-12 months. In these types of situations, it’s best to calculate your costs based on the hourly rates of a developer.

Below is a table that lists the various hourly rates of developers in different locations based on their job title.

Why Hire a C Developer?

Trio C developers are pre-vetted, interviewed, and then trained further to become true software professionals, capable of adapting to situations that are both within and outside of the scope of their general expertise.

At Trio, we hold our developers to a higher standard. Much like how elite special forces units recruit only the best from main branches of the military, we recruit developers who either show amazing potential or demonstrate exceptional skill. We then take their talents and sharpen them even further.

Another benefit of hiring a Trio developer is that you won’t incur the costs of hiring, which can add up to be around 30% of a developer’s salary on average, as well as overhead costs associated with full-time employment.

By working with Trio, you can enjoy a highly experienced full-time developer for a fraction of the cost, along with the added project management assistance.

To learn more, tell us about your project and we’ll get you started.

C Resources

Daniel Alcanja •

6 min read

The Ultimate Flutter Hiring Guide for 2023 Success

Introduction

Are you feeling overwhelmed by the prospect of hiring a Flutter Developer? Perhaps this particular technology is not your area of expertise and are you are unsure how to structure your hiring process. Fear not, as we are here to help you navigate this process and find a skilled Software Engineer who can add value to your business.

By leveraging our expertise in hiring high-level developers, we can help you evaluate technical talent and strengthening your engineering team. With our guidance and support, you can confidently conduct a hiring process with Flutter Developers and enhance the performance of your Engineering Team.

We would like to thank you for taking the time to visit us today. We hope that you will find the information provided to be both helpful and informative. Please stay with us and read on as we share some valuable tips that we believe you will find useful in your daily life.

What’s a Flutter Developer?

A Flutter developer is a software engineer who has proficiency with the Flutter framework to develop mobile, web, and desktop applications. By association, Flutter developers have fluency in writing code using the Dart programming language and are therefore Dart developers as well.

Flutter developers can be web or mobile app developers. As such, they may have prior experience and expertise in other frameworks and languages like JavaScript or Ionic. Some Flutter developers may only be familiar with Flutter.

The Flutter framework is intentionally and wholeheartedly tied to UI design. Widgets are one of its defining characteristics. They must have comparable skill in optimizing graphical interactions for the user.

The role of this type of developer is crucial in the software development industry. The responsibilities of a Flutter developer may vary depending on the project requirements, but some common tasks include:

Developing and maintaining applications;
Developing and implementing custom widgets and UI components;
Integrating third-party libraries and APIs;
Ensuring the application's performance, quality, and responsiveness;
Collaborating with cross-functional teams, including designers, product managers, and other developers;
Participating in the development process from design to deployment and maintenance.
Working with cross-platform frameworks.
Debug and test Flutter code, using tools such as the Flutter DevTools, unit testing, and integration testing.
Use version control tools such as Git, SVN, or Mercurial to manage their codebase.

What you can build using Flutter

Flutter is a versatile and powerful framework for building mobile applications for Android, iOS, and other platforms. With Flutter, developers can build a wide range of applications, including but not limited to:

Social media applications: Flutter is a versatile platform for building social media apps that can include a range of features, such as instant messaging, push notifications, and media sharing capabilities.
Business applications: Flutter is a great option for creating business apps that require robust functionality, such as CRM, inventory management, and project management tools.
E-commerce applications: Flutter is a great option for creating e-commerce apps that offer features such as a product catalog, shopping cart, payment gateway integration, and more.
Educational applications: Flutter enables developers to create educational applications such as e-learning platforms, online courses, and interactive learning tools, all while providing a user-friendly experience.
Gaming applications: Flutter is also capable of building games with 2D and 3D graphics, animations, sound effects, and other exciting features.

In general, Flutter offers developers the versatility and features to create a variety of mobile apps for various industries and purposes.

Companies that use Flutter

The New York Times
Square
Google
eBay
BMW
Alibaba

Which are the soft skills a Flutter Developer should have?

As you need to hire a Developer who can perfectly unfold within your team and company taking into account just technical skills would not be enough, and this is when soft skills play a big role. So now let’s dive into some basic soft skills good developers should have.

Some essential soft skills for a Flutter Developer should include:

Communication: Being able to communicate effectively, especially in remote and asynchronous environments, is a real necessity for any professional nowadays. Communication skills are always in high demand, whether it's through describing ideas, discussing approaches, giving presentations, providing status updates, giving feedback, asking questions, or voicing concerns. The ability to communicate ideas clearly and to understand communicated ideas is of critical importance to ensure a well-aligned, agile team.
Team Work: Individuals should demonstrate adaptability to various projects and environments. However, it is extremely important for them to value working within a team that allows for easy navigation, knowledge sharing, idea contribution, and learning from other team members. They should also be able to provide and receive feedback, pass on information, ask questions, and offer help when needed.
Collaboration: Every project involves multiple people, and team members must be able to work with one another effectively. Collaboration is the combination of all of the above qualities in order to effect positive change and move the project and company forward.
Adaptability: The ability to adapt to new circumstances, situations, scenarios, and environments is vital for professionals to cope with changes, challenges, fast-paced environments, uncertainty, and lack of predictability. It enables them to be more creative and resilient, providing solutions and new strategies whenever any shifts occur.

Hiring Process for a Flutter Developer

To hire technical talent who is the best fit for your company and project, you should ensure that your hiring process is aligned with your needs. This will provide you with useful and valuable information to help you make an informed decision before extending an offer letter to a developer.

We have listed below some steps that can be implemented in your hiring process to help you ace it and bring on board the right developer for your business.

Main Steps in the Hiring Process

Job Description

A great process starts with a well-written job description. It should contain important information, such as a brief description of the company and project, the main responsibilities of the professional, the seniority needed for the role, technical requirements, desired soft skills, salary, and perks.

An appealing and accurate job description can better attract targeted candidates, providing you with a more qualified list of applicants. It's important to remember that you don't want to get attention of all software engineers available in the market, but rather the ones that are aligned with your company's culture and the specific role.

Sourcing

Unlike other fields, the technical industry has its own unique challenges when it comes to attracting candidates. Simply posting job openings on job boards may not be sufficient to generate a substantial pool of qualified applicants. Therefore, it is important to proactively source candidates from a variety of channels, rather than solely relying on applicants to respond to job postings. Some of the sources that tech recruiters use to find candidates include GitHub, GitLab, LinkedIn, Telegram, Discord servers, and consultancy companies.

To use some of the aforementioned platforms, your team should know how to apply Boolean search to filter only candidates that align with your vacancy.

Screening

After gathering a sufficient number of applicants, you will begin screening candidates to determine their suitability for the position. During this part of the process, you may review resumes, portfolios, cover letters, and repositories to ensure that you only got to candidates who meet the minimum requirements for the role.

Among the relevant skillset for the vacancy, recruiters and hiring managers typically look for experiences, seniority, certifications, fluency in some specific language, educational background, certain projects or business, main technologies used, location and candidates’ salary expectations.

Screening can be done manually, through a specific platform or an Applicant Tracking System (ATS). Choosing the best option for your needs will depend on the company's budget. A robust ATS with integrations with other tools and the ability to filter candidates by their expertise is ideal because it saves a lot of time and resources.

Interview

This is one of the most important steps of the hiring process for developers. It’ll allow you to fully understand if the talent is really aligned to the company and project. A good interview can extract valuable information from candidates that will make it possible for you to decide whether they will continue in the process or not. For that, it’s essential to have good questions to gather answers regarding technical and soft skills.

During an interview, you can ask various types of questions, such as behavioral, situational, competency-based, fact-based, skill-based, and technical questions, among others.

It’s also important that you present the company to the candidate, letting them know more about your culture, working environment, way of working and anything else that defines your company.

Technical Validation

After making sure the developers align to the skillset the role requires, you will need to check their technical abilities to ensure it meets the project’s expectations. Knowing exactly what’s the technical level that the candidates should have can help you design the type of technical validation that best adapts to your needs.

To technically validate candidates you can use technical interviews, technical tests/assessments, pair programming, project executions, live coding, work portfolio/GitHub reviews and team interviews, among others.

If you don't feel prepared to conduct technical interviews with developers because you're unsure of what questions to ask or how to evaluate their answers, you can try Genie, Trio's AI-powered interview question generator.

Hire a Flutter Developer with Trio

Trio Flutter developers are pre-vetted, interviewed, and then trained further to become true software professionals, capable of adapting to situations that are both within and outside of the scope of their general expertise.

We offer flexibility in terms of project requirements and team size adjusting it according to the project's needs. This allows our partners to scale up their project requirements as needed.

Moreover, we are committed to delivering high-quality apps within a reasonable time frame, with a proven track record of delivering projects on time and within budget without compromising on quality. A Trio developer is that you won’t incur the costs of hiring, which can add up to be around 30% of a developer’s salary on average, as well as overhead costs associated with full-time employment. All in all, by working with Trio, you can enjoy a highly experienced full-time developer for a fraction of the cost, along with the added project management assistance.

Last but not least, we value excellent communication and support throughout the project's life cycle. This ensures that our partners’ requirements are understood, and the project is delivered as per their expectations.

How much do flutter developers cost?

The cost of hiring a Flutter Developer can vary depending on the size of the company, their budget and also the seniority of the role. It is advisable to ask candidates about their salary expectations and compare them to your own budget. This helps to avoid putting candidates through the entire hiring process only to find out you cannot meet their expectations. It is important to be transparent throughout the hiring process.

It is also essential to consider that the cost of hiring software engineers in Latin America is significantly lower compared to American or Canadian professionals.

While hiring developers in Ukraine or Eastern Europe may also yield cost savings, the time zone difference may present challenges depending on the team's availability for collaboration. In such cases, hiring developers from Latin America proves to be a viable alternative as they can readily adapt to the Eastern or Pacific Time Zone.

At Glassdoor you can run some searches about the paid salary for Flutter Developers accordingly to their region.

We hope this guide can assist you in structuring your hiring process. However, keep in mind that you do not have to do it alone, as Trio is here to add value to your business by providing vetted and experienced talent that can easily meet your requirements and navigate across various business and project types. Additionally, Trio simplifies the hiring process by providing valuable insights into candidates' salary expectations, allowing you to make informed decisions about who to hire. Overall, if you require a senior Flutter developer, Trio is an excellent resource to consider.

Camila Rodrigues •

7 min read

The Ultimate Guide to Engineering Manager One-on-Ones

Structured one-on-one meetings are like following a recipe, they provide managers with the opportunity to connect with your team members, understand their goals and challenges, provide feedback and guidance, and ensure all the necessary ingredients are in place so that everyone is aligned and working towards a common goal. In this guide, we'll explore some best practices for engineering managers hosting one-on-ones with team members.

7 benefits of one-on-one meetings

You can use one-on-one meetings for a variety of reasons, including:

Connecting with team members

Creating a supportive space for discussion can foster a team culture of open communication and feedback. One-on-ones provide managers an opportunity to get to know team members as a person and teammates.

Helping employees achieve their goals

Identifying goals and action items for your employees is an important part of supporting their growth and development. Here are some steps to help you identify goals and action items for your team members:

Discuss aspirations: Ask about career aspirations and what your employees would like to achieve in their role. This can help identify areas where they are motivated to develop their experience.
Identify areas for improvement: Review performance and identify areas where employees can improve their skills or knowledge. This can include technical, soft, or management skills.
Establish accountability: Determine who will be responsible for each action item and set deadlines for completion. This can help ensure that progress is being made and that goals are being achieved.
Set SMART goals: Work with your employee to set SMART (specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound) goals that align with their aspirations and areas for improvement. These goals should be challenging yet achievable and provide a clear direction for their development.
Create action items: Identify specific actions individuals can take to achieve their goals. These should be practical, realistic, and aligned with the employee’s skills. Some examples include:
Attending a training course or workshop
Shadowing a senior team member on a project to gain more experience and exposure to new skills and techniques.
Setting up regular 1:1 meetings with a mentor or coach to receive feedback
Taking on a leadership role in a project
Collaborating with another team on a project to gain experience in cross-functional team dynamics.
Writing a technical blog post
Contributing to an open-source project

Sharing performance feedback

Providing constructive feedback to your peers as an engineering manager is an important aspect of building a strong and effective team. Here are some tips on how to provide constructive feedback to your team:

Be specific: Provide examples to support your feedback. This will help your team members understand what they did well or what they need to improve on.

Example: "I noticed during the last team meeting that you interrupted others while they were speaking. I love that you're excited about this topic, but try to let others finish their thoughts before sharing your own ideas."

Be objective: Don’t making personal attacks or being overly critical. Focus on the facts and be objective in your feedback.

Use a positive tone: Frame your feedback in a positive way, emphasizing the things your team members did well and offer suggestions for improvement.

Example: "You did a great job presenting during the last client meeting. However, I think it would be even more effective if you could use more visual aids to support your points."

Focus on behavior: Focus on the behavior or actions that you are providing feedback on, rather than on the person.

Example: "During the last sprint, there were a few instances where your communication with the team could have been clearer. Let's work on improving our communication going forward to avoid any misunderstandings."

Offer solutions: Provide specific solutions or suggestions for improvement. This can help your team members understand how they can improve and feel more motivated to make changes. If you have a solution or action plan right away, that’s OK. You both can take time to brainstorm possibilities.

Example: "I noticed that you've been struggling with a particular coding challenge. Perhaps some training sessions or taking an online course to improve your skills in that area might help. What do you think?"

Follow up: Check in with your team member after providing feedback to ensure that they understand the feedback and are making progress towards improvement.

Example: "Thanks for taking my feedback on board. Let's check in next week to see how things are going and discuss any further"

Addressing concerns or issues

Giving your team a safe environment to discuss concerns or issues allows managers to identify and resolve hiccups before they escalate and become bigger problems.

Prioritizing career development

Helping employees identify areas for growth and development, as well as provide guidance on how to achieve their career goals is essential for long-term success.

Aligning team members Bringing team members together

Carving out time on a regular basis (i.e. monthly) to review team objectives, discuss progress, and identify areas for improvement is key to making sure your team is working toward the same goals.

Offering recognition and rewards

Recognizing and rewarding team members for their hard work and achievements can boost morale and motivation. Regularly acknowledging successes, offering praise, and discussing rewards creates an environment in which everyone feels trust, safety, accountability, and equity.

How to prepare for one-on-one meetings

Be consistent but flexible

To create consistent and open communication, establish a regular cadence (weekly or bi-weekly) for one-on-one meetings with each team member. However, leaving room to adjust as needed is crucial. For instance, if a team member is struggling with a particular issue or project, you may decide to increase the frequency of your one-on-one meetings to provide additional support and guidance.

Give ample time

The length of one-on-one meetings between a manager and a team member can vary depending on the needs and goals of the team member and the availability of the manager. However, a typical length for a one-on-one meeting is between 30 to 60 minutes. It's important to note that the length of the meeting should not be the primary focus, but rather the quality of the conversation and the outcomes achieved. The meeting should allow sufficient time to cover the key topics on the agenda and provide an opportunity for open and productive communication between the manager and team member. The one-on-one meeting should be focused on the team member's goals, challenges, and development. Give the team members ample time to speak and share their thoughts, ideas, and concerns.

Provide an agenda

Before your one-on-one meetings, take some time to review the team member’s recent work. This will help you identify any areas where the team member needs additional support or guidance. Use this information to create and share an agenda 24 hours prior to the meeting that outlines the topics you want to discuss. Here's a sample agenda:

Topic	Summary	Time
Check-in	Begin the meeting by asking how the team member is doing and if there are any updates or concerns they would like to discuss.	5 mins
Progress and accomplishments	Review the team member's progress on current projects and discuss any accomplishments since the last one-on-one meeting	10 mins
Challenges and obstacles	Discuss any challenges or obstacles the team member is facing and work together to identify potential solutions.	10 mins
Feedback	Provide feedback on the team member's performance, including strengths and areas for improvement. Encourage the team member to provide feedback on your performance as well.	10 mins
Goals and development	Set goals for the team member, both short-term and long-term, and identify actionable steps to achieve them. Discuss opportunities for growth and development within the team or organization.	15 mins
Action items and follow-up	Recap the key takeaways from the meeting and identify any action items and next steps. Follow up on action items in the next one-on-one meeting.	5 mins
Wrap-up	End the meeting by thanking the team member for their time and contributions, and reiterate your support for their success.	2 mins

Questions to ask yourself before your next one-on-one

Career desires	What does each team member see as their next role?
	Does each team member have a career plan, or are they seeking guidance?
	What are their aspirations for their next role and how can we help them get there?
Team skills	Who are your high performing team members?
	Which key skills does each team member own?
	What do they enjoy doing the most?
	Which projects did they excel at?
	What is their main area for improvement? How can I help them improve?
	Who works in a close capacity, and which team members rarely speak with one another?
Strategic team alignment	Does everyone on the team feel on the same page?
	How is team communication?
	Are there frequent fire drills, and how are fire drills handled?
	Is anyone carrying significantly more weight?
	How are they feeling about their workload?
	What obstacles are they running into with their current work projects?
	What makes their job harder?
	Is there anything I can do to be more helpful leaders to them?
	Do team members know the strategy for the quarter and year?

Questions to ask during one-on-one meetings

By asking the right questions during one-on-one meetings, you can encourage your team to share thoughts and ideas and support development and career growth.

Here are some questions to ask:

Type	Use case	Example
Open-ended questions	Use open-ended questions that encourage team members to share their thoughts and ideas in detail.	"What's been challenging for you lately?" or "What do you think could be improved on this project?
Clarifying questions	Ask clarification questions to ensure you fully understand your team members’ perspective.	Example: "Can you explain what you mean by that?" or "Can you give me an example of what you're referring to?"
Follow-up questions	Ask follow-up questions to explore a topic in more detail.	"How did that make you feel?" or "What do you think we could do differently next time?"
Goal-oriented questions	Ask goal-oriented questions that help your team members focus on their development and career aspirations.	"What are your career goals in the next 12 months?" or "What skills do you want to develop in your role?"

End the one-on-one meeting on a positive note, acknowledging the team member's progress and accomplishments. Provide clear expectations for the next meeting.

How to handle difficult conversations

Listen

Actively listen to your team member's concerns and show genuine interest in their perspective. This can help build trust and encourage more open and honest communication.

Stay calm

Keep the conversation focused on the issue at hand and avoid getting emotional.

Focus on solutions

Brainstorm ideas together and come up with a plan for moving forward.

5 reasons why taking notes matters

It’s important to capture key points and action items, but also to be present and engaged in the conversation. Your notes don’t need to be a transcript, rather use a consistent format or template to recap the conversation. You can use a shared document or note-taking app, to keep your notes organized and easily accessible. Here are five reasons why meeting notes are essential to success.

Document progress: Taking notes can help you document the progress of your team members and keep track of their goals, accomplishments, and areas for improvement.
Prepare for future meetings: Notes can be used to prepare for future one-on-one meetings and ensure that you are following up on action items and addressing any ongoing concerns.
Identify patterns: By taking notes on common themes or issues that arise during one-on-one meetings, you can identify patterns or trends that may require further attention.
"John expressed some concerns about workload and time management.
Provide feedback: Notes can be used to provide feedback on the team member's performance and identify areas for improvement. "Steve has been struggling to meet deadlines lately. Let's work together to identify any obstacles and come up with a plan to improve."
Demonstrate active listening: Taking notes can demonstrate to your team member that you are actively listening and engaged in the conversation.

4 tools to enhance your one-on-one meetings

There are many tools available for capturing one-on-one meeting notes and actions as an engineering manager. Here are some we’ve found helpful:

Note-taking apps: Apps like Evernote, OneNote, and Google Keep are popular for taking notes during one-on-one meetings. These apps allow you to create notes, tag them for easy organization, and share them with others.
Task management tools: Tools like Trello, Asana, and Monday.com can be used to track action items and deadlines discussed during one-on-one meetings. You can assign tasks to team members, set due dates, and track progress.
Communication platforms: Platforms like Slack, Microsoft Teams, and Google Chat can be used to record notes and actions during one-on-one meetings in a dedicated channel or chat. This allows you to easily reference past discussions and keep all related information in one place.
Dedicated software: There are many dedicated software solutions available specifically for one-on-one meeting management. Examples include Lattice, 15Five, and Reflektive.

By prioritizing regular check-ins with your team, you can improve communication, foster stronger relationships, and ultimately drive better business outcomes. If you're looking to take your staff augmentation efforts to the next level, Trio can help!
With our experienced team and comprehensive solutions, we can provide the support and expertise you need to achieve your goals.
Visit our website today to learn more.