We’ve talked about filtering well and testing developers, now let’s talk about some things to look for when interviewing.
It is actually rare that developers can understand and implement business goals effectively. There just aren’t many joint CS and Business programs in the world.
If you’re looking for a technology leader, one thing you’ll want to check is the way they think about the languages, frameworks, packages, tools, and other technologies they recommend.
Are they able to look at things through the business’ eyes?
They’ll be making decisions that will affect you for the life of the company. Once a piece of code is written and running, it is very costly to re-build, sometimes even more costly than it was to build originally.
When choosing a tech lead, make sure they’re looking at things through the eyes of the business. Make sure they’re choosing languages, frameworks, and open source packages when appropriate. If not, you may not have the right person on board.
Biases to Avoid
Here are some possible red flags to watch for:
- Adopting technologies too early for business. New things are shiny and interesting, that doesn’t mean they’re right for the business.
- Building vs. remodeling. Developers almost always recommend to rebuild vs remodel when it is rarely the best decision.
- Underestimating. Everything seems easy till the rubber hits the road.
- Dismissing languages. Writing off whole languages as if they’re dumb. PHP is an example of this. It is the most widely used language on the web and several of the largest websites use it. Including WordPress, Wikipedia, MailChimp, Facebook, etc.
- Dismissing frameworks. Writing off frameworks because they’re dumb. WordPress is the most widely used CMS on the web yet developers incorrectly think they could do it better, cheaper, and faster.
- Extreme positions or opinions on things. Some examples of this are that everything needs to be written in components. Design should always be mobile first. Extreme test driven development. The truth is, every decision has tradeoffs, try to understand them.
- The list could go on!
This article is part of our series on tips for non-technical founders. Download our free Guide to Tech Projects for Non-technical Founders.
If you need hands-on help with your project, Buink has years of experience managing and completing technical projects on time, under budget, and with a high level of quality. Contact Buink today.
