Scaling Made Easy: Growing Your Developer Organization in the Enterprise

As your business grows, scaling your software teams becomes a necessity for continued growth.

In the simplest terms, growth means adding. Scaling, however, is much more than that. It is an equal parts strategy and process to enable efficient and sustainable growth. Scaling is a framework that enables your dev organization to add structure to key workflows, improve dev operations and evolve the software development process itself. It can empower large organizations to pursue ambitious growth, and to do so efficiently.

Many enterprise companies face difficulties associated with scaling, which can be challenging for larger companies working with more processes in place and with significantly bigger teams. Below are four key tactics to consider while scaling your development organization.

1. Process

Clearly Define Areas of Change

It is vital to identify the areas that need to be transformed so that efforts are not wasted by uselessly adding processes and people in the name of growth. Look for areas that need improvement most, and stay focused on the efficiency of your teams and team structures from the start. For example, can you find ways to divide your development projects, thereby delegating certain functions to specific teams? Can you empower regular communication between your team leads to ensure that all teams are working towards the same goal? Can you focus on team structure and dynamics? Have the right people working well together in an environment that enables efficient problem-solving.

Remember that effective scaling doesn't mean that you continue blindly adding engineers. Be strategic in your approach. Scaling development teams involves knowing what types of skills and personalities to put together in a team to achieve the best sustainable outcome.

2. People:

Understand Commonly Affected Functions

Scaling up your organization will have far-reaching effects, often impacting teams beyond engineering. The following functions undergo changes when you scale the development org:

• People

• Processes

• Culture

• Communication

• Projects

• Code

• Architecture

• Budget

• Testing

The impact of scaling impacts the organization as a whole, not solely the software teams, so this process is not only about engineers. Be strategic in your approach. Scaling your teams involves knowing what types of skills and personalities to put together in a team to achieve the best outcome, and accounting for all the functions which will be impacted in your organization.

3. Timing:

Determine the Right Time to Grow

The best strategies for scaling in software engineering are well-timed. The decision to scale your development organization depends on several key factors:

• Your strategic goals

• The state of your business

• Your organizational needs

• The overarching business strategy.

As a leader, you need to have the vision to analyze if it's the right time for scaling engineering teams. When you find yourself missing development timelines based on lack of resources on board or have a gap on the team tech skills that are required to deliver unique capabilities -- that's your cue that scaling is becoming a necessity.

4. Tools:

Lean on GitHub for Scaling Simplified

The GitHub Platform is the world's leading developer platform, trusted by 90% of the Fortune 100, and backed by Microsoft. It is the most trusted platform for Enterprise companies for good reason. With robust integration capabilities that seamlessly unite your development ecosystem, GitHub leverages the largest open-source community to help you scale your organization. Together, your teams can accelerate projects and build faster.

GitHub also leverages the largest open-source community to help you scale your organization. As projects and teams grow, the platform regularly reassesses and adapts to changing needs. When it comes to collaboration, version control, and community-building around software projects, the GitHub Platform has the power to transform the way your developers work, both individually and collectively.

Remember that your organization is unique, and your scaling strategy should be as well. While there may not be a one-size-fits-all approach to scaling development organizations in the Enterprise, it is vital to refer back to your product and business strategy as your North star to help you anchor to that which is most important. Scaling software teams in the enterprise can be challenging, however, with the right process, people, timing, and tools, it will help you drive massive impact and sustainable growth.