When starting a new software development project, you would usually need to hire individual developers who are well-versed in certain skills to execute specific requirements of the project.
However, there is a trend of many companies seeking to make their custom software development teams as lean as possible. This is because lean teams can move through development phases and achieve expected results very quickly. They choose to hire software development experts who can work on not only one but various facets of a software project. These professionals are called full-stack developers.
A full-stack developer is a multi-skilled software development expert: they can work with front-end, back-end, APIs and more. In addition, they are fluent in several programming languages. Basically, a full stack developer can perform a variety of tasks independently or as key members.
The question is, can you choose to hire IT professionals who can help handle several types of development tasks at once which would help to reduce development time and effort? To answer the question, let’s examine closely at the role of full stack developers in software development projects. This also helps to learn why these full-stack experts are in demand, and how you can benefit from their expertise.
Full-Stack Developers: The All-in-One Tech Experts
There is a myth that any senior software engineer who has been in the business for over a decade is automatically considered a full-stack software developer. The idea behind this concept is that professional developers can work well with different tools and programming languages during their software development career. They have years of experience working with a variety of technology stacks and can therefore be called full stack developers.
The problem is that many developers still rely on a specific area of expertise. But full stack developers are different.
Full-stack development: What are the business’s advantages?
Each software development project has unique needs and individual software developers can add great value to the project. Sometimes project requirements can be subtle or complex. In these situations, you need a multi-skilled IT professional that can perform many tasks at once efficiently. And that’s exactly what full-stack development services are for: providing a tool to meet a variety of business needs.
Agile teams
One of the biggest benefits of full-stack development is that it enables you to transform your teams and make them more flexible. This is especially advantageous for large projects that span months and years. If you have enough experts who understand the exact needs of the project, you can easily rotate the team, move team members around, replace them as needed, etc. and continue the development process as usual with no interruption.
Likewise, if you have many smaller projects to work on, you can replace your full-stack experts without hiring new ones. Full-stack developers can move on to other jobs more quickly, and you don’t have to spend as much time recruiting new people.
Project management
With extensive experience and deep project knowledge, full-stack developers can assist you in the decision-making process related to the technology needs of your company and your product. Skills and knowledge drive technological innovation that benefits your product development and your business as a whole.
Costs-Effectiveness
Software Industry experts will help you find the best way to achieve project goals without compromising quality. Because of this, full-stack development outsourcing ultimately leads to faster product delivery, lower costs, speed up time-to-market, and faster ROI. While full-stack experts are more expensive individually, they help you achieve the perfect balance between price and performance.
Smooth communication
The fewer people on your team, the less communication you need to create effective collaboration. Experienced and reliable IT professionals can make and validate decisions independently. Lean teams can move through development phases and achieve expected results very quickly. To paraphrase a popular saying, with more responsibility comes more power, and experts have more access without having to discuss their decisions with more people.
Total dedication
Full-stack development improves the likelihood for the continuity of the project and the continuity of your product vision. From product discovery to market launch – experts are involved in the entire process. In this way, you can be sure that all technical product requirements are met on time, with appropriate solutions and with the optimal amount of resources.
Full stack development adds significant value to a wide range of software development projects. From newly established startups to enterprise software, individually or as part of large teams, these professionals will benefit your business and deliver the ROI and innovative capabilities you seek.
But before you dive into a full-stack development, be aware that this isn’t the only option.
Is full-stack development an All-in-One Tech Solution?
It’s important that you do not mistake a high-performing full-stack developer for someone that will be able to do all the development tasks on their own. Someone who can complete and deliver the whole project. Remember that one person can only work so many hours a day, which would hardly be able to deliver results faster than an entire development team. Call it overwork syndrome – but being all-by-yourself and responsible for the entire software project is stressful enough and can negatively affect productivity.
Before starting your project, you need to clearly understand the requirements and know what kind of business and technical expertise you will need, in order to bring the product vision to life.
Let’s say you need to optimize the performance of your database to handle a growing number of users. Would you need full-stack services here? You can hire a full-stack developer for this job, but a solid back-end specialist would do the job just fine. While a full-stack developer could certainly take on the task, a dedicated back-end specialist with deep knowledge of database optimization might be a better fit for this specific challenge.
Moreover, as full-stack developers are solely responsible for project execution, you need to ensure that you have 100% confidence in their expertise. An inexperienced developer may not be able to understand or notice every detail of a project. The solution mainly depends on the requirements and scope of your project and the level of skills of the developers to be hired.
If you’re looking to hire full-stack developers from external agencies, it’s essential that your development partner is qualified to deliver the software solutions meeting quality standards.
How to hire qualified full-stack developers?
Instead of hiring individual full-stack developers on your own, find a trusted technology partner that has all the IT specialists you need. You want to ensure the developers you hire have all the necessary expertise and knowledge, and you want a vendor that gives you access to the best developers in the industry. Here are some important factors to consider when choosing a software development partner for your project:
Years of experience
The first thing you need to know is how many years your potential partner has been in the industry. To ensure project success, choose companies that have been around for years with track records of successful projects delivered.
Number of full-stack experts
You need a software development partner that gives you access to a large pool of talent. Mid-sized companies are great because they strike a balance between flexibility and number of staffing.
Industry knowledge and proven success
Choose a partner with diverse experience working with clients across industries such as BFSI, logistics, retail, fintech, telecommunications, healthcare and more. Also check out their portfolio and see which clients they have worked with. Look for reviews to see if you can find any familiar names among their customers. Extensive experience means that your software development partner has experience working with a wide range of clients. A strong number of successful projects demonstrate their ability to solve complex problems and deliver expected results.
Technology stacks
There are different stacks available to suit different project needs, the developers you hire will determine the stack that best suits your project needs. The three most common ones include:
- MEAN stack (MongoDB + Express + Angular.js + Node.js) – best suited for building dynamic web sites and web applications.
- MERN stack (MongoDB + Express + React + Node.js) – similar to MEAN stack, MERN uses Angular.js with React to improve the speed of development, particularly for small-scale web apps.
- LAMP stack (Linux + Apache + MySQL + PHP) – most commonly used for developing large-scale, high-performing web apps.
Specific Project Requirements
While full-stack developers can play an important role in almost any project, their experience is invaluable for companies working on smaller projects, including developing MVPs and prototypes, as well as projects with tech stacks that remain the same throughout the software development lifecycle. Of course, larger long-term projects can also benefit from full stack expertise, so it is important to assess the context of your business and consult with the potential partner to make the right choice.
Conclusion
Full-stack development services can be valuable for a company that wants to make the development process more efficient, save costs, build agile teams, reduce costs quickly and release the product to market faster. Although full-stack development is not a one-size-fit-all solution, and there are other options you can choose in different circumstances, it is one of the most effective ways to get your project off the ground.