There will be companies that emerge stronger from the global coronavirus pandemic crisis because they adapt to changes and invest: We are living in the remote collaboration era, in which more companies are becoming software, and open source software is eating the world. To come out stronger, companies need to learn to work in distributed remote teams and specifically in open source, adapt to the changes in industry by breaking down silos and improving collaboration, and apply data-driven management to their (open source) software development.
When we return to normal after the pandemic calms down, we will find ourselves in a different normal. In preparing for this new normal, companies can take specific actions that can improve resilience and strength. Here are three steps your company should consider in order to thrive.
1. Learn how to get involved in Open Source
Please, don’t just open some source code repositories on GitHub, use a bunch of open source projects for your internal projects and say that your company “is doing open source”.
Since open source software has been declared a key factor for gaining competitive advantage within the Software Industry, more and more companies begin to develop and collaborate within open source projects
According to IDC:
By 2022, over half of the code in 75% of new apps will be from external sources. The need to improve developer productivity is driving the use of open source and commercial code repositories
Contributing to open source is a new paradigm in how software is developed: everything is about cross-community collaboration. This implies an important growth within project ecosystems, with more complex interactions between projects.
Some companies are finding creative ways to overcome this change. A good example are OSPOs, a centralized business unit that manages a company’s open source strategy and helps align open source activities with company goals.
You may want to learn how to set up an Open Source Programs Office.
2. Break team silos and boost collaboration
Organizational silos have always been a nightmare. They reduce efficiency, burn out developers, and reduce talent retention. However, some big companies have managed to work this way for many years.
But now, the way people work is changing. Due to the coronavirus crisis, software developers are now working in globally distributed teams. That means working towards remote collaboration, transparency, and community building.
InnerSource describes the use of open source development techniques within a corporation. InnserSource methodologies have demonstrated to solve issues of silos while boosting collaboration in well-known companies such as Bosh, Capital One, Google, SAP, Zalando and PayPal.
It seems that InnerSource is a good effort to invest this 2020
3. Become Software development data-driven
Companies need to adapt their procedures and culture to keep developing software solutions at scale. Thus, what can companies do to improve digital transformation?
Taking care of your software development the same way you take care of your business development gives you a powerful competitive advantage. Let’s get into more detail.
In business development, you often hear that you need to be data-driven because data certainly makes it easier to understand, discuss, and determine the processes best suited to your company and its goals. Simple, right?
Why not apply a data-driven approach to your software development as well? Software has become one of the most precious assets a company can have. By understanding the maturity of your software development and identifying best practices across software development teams gives you the competitive edge to get more value out of your software.
In short, as a data-driven company, you need to analyze software development processes.
But, what can we measure in software development? Some critical areas can be summarized into processes and community. Some examples are:
- IT talent retention
- Community health
- Company’s footprint
- Project activity and engagement
- Developer behavior
- Project performance
If you would like to know more about Software Development Analytics for remote collaborative work, feel free to ask Bitergia, market leaders in software development analytics with 15+ years experience in research about collaborative software development methodologies and quality models.
Final thoughts
Contributing to open source is a new paradigm in how software is developed: Adapt to the changes of the industry, learn what other successful companies are doing within open source ecosystems and invest to meet the market expectations.
Working towards remote collaboration, transparency, and community building is mission-critical: InnserSource methodologies have demonstrated to solve issues of silos while boosting collaboration.
As a data-driven company, you need to analyze software development processes: This means considering adding to your company’s Data Strategy a new more pillar: software development.
Next week, Bitergia will launch a free webinar for those willing to learn more about InnerSource and software development processes in the remote collaboration era. Registration is now open!
In times of global crisis, don’t stay behind — ride the remote collaboration wave.
