If you plan to create a software product—whether it is a web application or a desktop application—you have to learn what roles combine to form a development team. Each of the software development roles has a specific job description.
Project Executive
Experienced professionals with a good grasp of business serve as a project executive. An individual with this role must be granted with the required authority to take any rational business decisions for the project.
Product Owner
The product owner is responsible to make sure all the requirements of the project follow the business needs. An individual having such a role must be familiar with the strategic aim and objectives of the project.
Project Manager
As the name suggests, a project manager is entrusted with the responsibility to supervise and manage the project. This role is filled by a person who is organized and structured because it requires a certain degree of discipline. A reliable manager is one who ensures that everyone is completing their tasks on a daily basis. The selection of the right project manager weighs a lot; they can extract the best out of the team members and make sure that all the deliverables are finished timely. Therefore, ultimately, a good project manager can be the difference between the success and failure of the product.
System Architect
System architects plan the system design and integration of modules for a product. A system architect is a role that is filled by an experienced developer. It is usually one who has worked in a wide range of technology stacks. For example, if you are building an enterprise web application, then a good fit for your system architect is a professional who is well-versed in both .NET and JVM platforms—the two leading platform options to build an enterprise application.
Technical Lead
The technical lead is the think-tank of the product’s technical aspects. They are responsible to govern the implementation of the project. Whenever junior developers are stuck in coding, they ask the technical lead for guidance.
Business Analyst
The end users and product owner are often joined by the business analyst. A business analyst assesses the business aspect of the product and can help the stakeholders to gain insights on untapped opportunities. After they complete their assessment, they provide documents that cover a set of important requirements that are fundamental to deliver a powerful solution. It is important for this role to be covered by a person who can document the business aspects in such a way that they are understandable by the technical members.
End User
The end user is one for whom the product is being created so they can complete their tasks efficiently. Since they are the ones who will use the product, therefore it is crucial to have them on the board from the beginning to the end. For instance, a development team can ask the end user about a requirement lists which they wish to include in a product. Similarly, when a prototype is generated, they can be consulted for an opinion.
Quality Assurance
The role of quality assurance is a common one throughout different professions. They have to make sure that the team members follow the specified quality metrics.
Tester
After developers submit their work, testers have to pass it through a series of tests. To do this, they create test cases and determine how the product will perform for the end users. During these processes, they must find any existing bugs so it can be fixed before it is passed to the end user. Testers perform several types of testing including unit testing, integration testing, smoke testing, A/B testing, and regression testing.
UX Developer
Graphic designers and UX developers work in tandem. This role is well aware of how the end user will think, perceive, and use the product. These experts design wireframes and proceed with usability tests. Afterward, it is the job of a front-end developer to apply their approaches to real functionality.
Designer
Designers generate a suitable design for the interface of the product. They have to make sure that the product is well in line with the brand of the business along with offering a high-quality user experience.
Front End Developer
Front end engineers are known to code and design the visual representation of the product. This representation is based on the design and wireframes of the above-mentioned roles. Keep in mind, that the end user directly interacts with this interface; hence it is an extremely important part of the product.
Backend Developers
One of the toughest job roles is carried by the backend developer. They handle the business logic of the product. They take advantage of the available data and make it usable for the software. Back end developers manage all the requests and responses for the end user on the front end interface. For example, if an end user wants to purchase an online product on an e-commerce website, then the order functionality is created by the back end developer.
Database Administrator
Most of the software projects deal with some sort of data. While backend developers can manipulate the data but who will store and manage it? This is the responsibility of the database administrators. Such professionals are equipped with heavy database knowledge. They are fluent in SQL and NoSQL and are well-versed in using Oracle, SQL Server, MySQL, MongoDB, or any other database platforms.
SEO Expert
SEO experts can promote your products online. They make use of search engine optimization techniques through which your online brand can rank high on Google and other search engines.
Analysts
Analysts run use reporting tools and show a data visualization of different statistics and insights for the product.
Cybersecurity Professionals
Cybersecurity professionals are tasked to block any incoming cyber threats. They look for any possible vulnerabilities and openings in the product and fix them.
