How do developers achieve success?

When it comes to the technicalities within the tech purchase process, such as ensuring efficient software integration or researching new tools and solutions, who do tech leaders rely on? The answer: the developer. According to IDG’s 2019 Role of the Developer study, 56% of those on the application development team say they are brought into the tech purchase process during the research stage and 81% are satisfied with their level of involvement.

Developers play a major role in driving business forward – they assist with everything from building websites to working alongside clients during the planning stage of a project in order to achieve the best possible results. These individuals are expected to not only learn multiple programing languages but also be able to work with various colleagues, problem solve quickly and troubleshoot. Developers should be on a marketer’s radar, so here are some insights into the role of a developer and what leads to their success.

The Many Aspects of Developers 

Who are these developers? The titles people hold within the developer realm can vary from a Senior Software Engineer to Project Manager or Architect. Our survey of 362 IT decision-makers (ITDMs) who are involved in some part of the software development process within their organization, asked respondents to select the description they thought best described their role. The majority of the respondents are involved in full stack development (versus front end or back end) meaning they are capable of working on databases, building user-face websites, or even working alongside clients during the planning phases of projects.

Tools Assisting Developers’ Success

ITDMs involved in software development rely on various tools to be successful in their role and show proficiency in many different programming languages. And they are not done learning; 40% of developers say that their role requires new programming/language skills due to technology modernization initiatives that their organization is undergoing. The top three programming languages that respondents are currently the most proficient in are JavaScript (50%), HTML/CSS (46%), and Java (39%); however, 95% want to learn more about programming languages over the next 12 months. Python takes the lead for where developers would like to hone their skills, followed by JavaScript, and Node.js. As AI development continues to advance in organizations, InfoWorld put together a list of the 6 best programming languages for AI development – topping the list are Python, C++ and Java.

Growing their Skills for the Future 

Developers are curious and open to training. Besides programming languages, developers would like a boost in their problem solving/troubleshooting (62%), communication/collaboration (46%), agile development (38%), project planning (37%) and team leadership (37%) skills. The main areas where developers seek more education are in security issues like management/security knowledge (29%), DevOps methodology (27%), and DevSecOps methodology (26%). Developers also improve their areas of expertise by seeking advice and staying up to date on relevant information sources. When faced with a job-related challenge, these individuals rely on peers inside their company (39%), online communities/discussion forums (36%) and blogs (34%) for advice.