The T-Shaped Concept in Software Product Development: The Key to Agile and Collaborative Teams
In the ever-evolving world of software product development, the T-shaped concept has emerged as a powerful framework for building agile teams, with the goal of increasing collaboration and efficiency between teams.
The concept has gained popularity across a wide range of industries. It describes experts as individuals who combine a high level of expertise in one area, represented by the vertical line within the T (Figure 1), but also as individuals who possess a broad understanding of other disciplines, represented by the horizontal line of the T (Figure 2).
This unique skill set is recognizable within Byteink, as working on multiple projects such as Tracey or Lab4u or MediCare Companion requires adapting to various obstacles. Here, within small teams of people, a large percentage of experts contribute their knowledge and skills to other members who are in the development process as developers, devops, testers or designers.
What makes an expert in the concept of the letter T shape?
A person who is affected by the T-Shaped concept is not just a specialist or just a generalist, but a combination of both. Their depth of knowledge in one domain, such as UI/UX or DevOps or developer, allows them to excel in their primary role, but they are also distinguished by their ability to understand and contribute to neighboring areas.
For example, a developer with basic knowledge of frontend technologies or testing can collaborate more effectively with other team members and even jump in to solve bottlenecks when needed.
Why are T-shaped skills important in product development?
- Improved collaboration
In traditional teams, also called silos, with I-shaped experts representing experts with deep knowledge that is limited. The concept of traditional teams in our work environment practically does not exist, resulting in the completion of more tasks in a shorter time frame, which makes us more competitive in the market. Therefore, our teams, which are created mostly from T-shaped experts, bridge the gap by understanding the workflow of other roles, enabling easier communication and faster decision-making.
- Improved troubleshooting
With knowledge from multiple domains, our workers can approach problems from different perspectives. For example, developers within teams who understand user experience can propose solutions that balance technical feasibility with user needs, and this approach leads to more innovative and effective results.
- Adaptability
We remain competitive in the fast-paced and sometimes chaotic environment of software development. With flexibility and a high degree of adaptability to everyday problems, we maintain our place in the market despite changing trends, changing client requirements, and with all this, changes and upgrades in technologies that are needed to build software products. The T-shaped experts in our teams are better equipped to adapt to the listed changes, because their broad skill set allows them to change roles or responsibilities without significant downtime.
- Increasing efficiency
Our teams are composed of individuals in the shape of the letter T. Teams created in this way can achieve more with fewer people. Our teams of three to five versatile specialists can replace larger groups of narrowly focused specialists. Therefore, with such an approach, we reduce labor costs and speed up product delivery timelines by minimizing dependencies between members.
How to develop T-shaped skills
Becoming a T-shaped expert requires a lot of effort:
- Determine your core specialty
Each team member has their own narrow specialty in which they are an
expert and the area in which they can contribute the most with their knowledge and experience.
- Expand your breadth
Younger members gradually learn from experts within the company, through mutual work and good communication. By gathering experience and advice and learning technologies that are not part of our core domain, all members expand their knowledge.
- Encourage collaboration
Close collaboration within teams, while also fostering a better working atmosphere and productivity, also creates a sense of additional cohesion among team members.
Building better teams with T-shaped experts
The T-shape concept is more than just a “trendy” word. It represents a practical framework for creating resilient and highly effective teams, which Byteink possesses.
We foster deep expertise to improve collaboration and quickly adapt to changing project needs. By investing in T-shape skills, we understand how essential they are for long-term success. We can say that embracing the T-shape model undoubtedly brings significant positive results across the business.
