fielding a tech team - getting what you want by knowing what you want
TRANSCRIPT
FIELDING A TECH TEAMJOE JACKSON / DIRECTOR OF DEVELOPMENT AT SMASHING BOXES / NOLA
#NOEW2016 / @anything_joes
THIS TALK SHOULD ANSWER THESE QUESTIONS:
HOW DO I FIND AND HIRE THE RIGHT PEOPLE
FOR MY STARTUP?
HOW DO I RECOGNIZE WHAT I DON’T KNOW ABOUT MY BUSINESS?
HOW DO I ADAPT TO CHANGE?
MY QUALIFICATIONS
POOR QUALITY
SOFTWARE
A PATTERN WITH STARTUPS
1
IMPROPER SOLUTIONS /
TECH DOESN’T MATCH
BUSINESS PLAN
2
A NEED TO SPEND
A LOT ON REWORK
& REPAIR
3
BUSINESS GETS
PUT ON HOLD TO
FIX SOFTWARE
4
THIS IS WHY
THEY BOOTSTRAPPED
THEY RUSHED
THEY HIRED CHEAP
404PAGE NOT FOUND
WHAT DO YOU NEED?
YOU DON’T KNOW AND THAT’S OKAY
AGILEBUILD NARROWER AND BETTER
YOUR OPTIONS
HIRE IN-HOUSE
HIRE AN AGENCY
FIELDING YOUR OWN TECH TEAM
BIGGEST MISTAKE
1IT’S BETTER TO GET SOMEONE REALLY GOOD FOR LESS TIME.2
DON’T GO BARGAIN BASEMENT FOR YOUR TECH NEEDS.
CONSIDER CONSULTING
QUALITIES TO LOOK FOR
THEY’VE BUILT A PRODUCT
FROM THE GROUND UP BEFORE
THEY’VE MAINTAINED
A PRODUCT IN THE PAST
DEVELOPER MATURITY
CAN CLEARLY COMMUNICATE DEVELOPMENT CONCEPTS
UNDERSTAND TRADEOFFS FOR DIFFERENT TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS
AREN’T COWBOYS
HAVE REASONABLE BUSINESS IQ (YOU ARE HIRING A CTO)
HIRING AN AGENCY
A GOOD AGENCY
HAS YOUR BUSINESS GOALS FOREFRONT
CAN HELP YOU DEVELOP YOUR BUSINESS
WILL BE PARTNERS
WILL HELP YOU FIELD AND TRAIN YOUR OWN TEAM
HAS A LOT OF EXPERIENCE BUILDING PRODUCTS
CAN CLEARLY
EXPLAIN HOW
THEY WORK
QUALITIES TO LOOK FOR
1
UNDERSTAND THE
VALUE OF YOUR
PRODUCT, THE MARKET
& DIFFERENTIATORS
2
HAVE A WIDE
VARIETY OF
SERVICES BEYOND
DEVELOPMENT
3
THEY
ARE LOCAL
4
DO YOUR HOMEWORK
TLDR
CAREFUL HIRING
UP FRONT CAN SAVE
YOU A LOT
AGENCIES AND
CONSULTANTS ARE A
VALUABLE RESOURCE
YOUR PRODUCT IS A
FIRST CLASS CITIZEN,
TREAT IT LIKE ONE
THANK YOUJOE JACKSON / DIRECTOR OF DEVELOPMENT AT SMASHING BOXES / NOLA
#NOEW2016 / @anything_joes