Have you heard of Developer Experience (DX)? Companies like Heroku and Microsoft design their tools, platforms, and APIs for a positive developer experience. They realize that good DX is a competitive advantage because developers have a broad range of choices about the software they use.
I applaud this kind of DX, but I don’t think it’s the most important kind of DX.
The most significant experience that your developers have aren’t with their tools, platforms, and API’s. It’s their experience with you.
Where DX needs improvement
- Here are some areas where many developers want a better experience.
- Onboarding newly hired developers
- Transitioning into a new role (after a promotion or lateral move)
- Being assigned to a new team or project
- Giving and receiving honest feedback
- Annual evaluations
- Deciphering company values
- Understanding the team pecking order
- Learning your real peer review culture
- Understanding management’s actions
- These are areas of frustration for many developers. But they don’t have to be.
Which areas would you like improve this quarter?