In the previous section, we started to touch on what a developer can be expected to do over the length of a project. More importantly, though, we should also be able to see how even with all of those responsibilities there are still many things unaccounted for! Who is designing the layout of the screens we are building? Who is creating the assets that we will be using in our app? Who is keeping everything on schedule?
While we will be taking a lone wolf approach to development as we learn throughout this book, the real world of software development doesn't work that way. As a developer, you are just one of many roles on a team. Depending on the size of the team, you may even be splitting the technical responsibilities among several other people. Let's take a look at the other project roles you may interact with while making an app.
Note
Remember: every team is different! You may never encounter a team in your career where the roles resemble the descriptions below. (But I highly doubt that!)
If you think of the developer as the person who deals with the How of a project, the designer is the person who actually determines the What. Designers are responsible for developing what the application looks like, and the content that is inside of it. They will often approach problems from both a psychological and aesthetic point of view, trying to tie the two together to create an experience that is seamless and intuitive.
When working with a designer, communication is key. You are both trying to solve the same problems, but from very different angles; it is common to not understand where the other person is coming from. But remember, the success of the project depends on your cooperation. Taking a moment to explain a technical limitation (or to listen to feedback about your implementation of their design) will not only help avoid similar problems in the future, but will also promote trust within the team.
In addition to designers, the other role you will be spending the most time with is… more programmers. While some small projects can get by with a single programmer, it is much more likely that you'll be working with at least a few other programmers. With multiple programmers on one team, you'll be split up in all kinds of ways. Sometimes you will be evenly split between different major features. Other times each developer might be in charge of different tasks (build master, unit tests, etc.). It all depends on the needs of the project and the size of the team.
While there won't be as much of an understanding barrier between other coders as there might be with designers, there are still plenty of issues that can arise from working with other developers. It is common for every programmer to have his or her own unique style of coding, but when working on a team it is important to have at least some ground rules so that everybody can understand everyone else's code.
Sometimes, you will also be working with developers who might not be as experienced in a topic as you are (or maybe you will be the inexperienced one!). In those cases, it's still important to be patient and help those people understand what's going on. Teams thrive on trust, and you never know what that person might be able to teach you down the line.
A project manager's job is pretty self-explanatory. They need to make sure that everyone on the team is making progress towards whatever goal has been set. Perhaps more than any other role, the project manager can come in many different shapes and sizes. Every company, every team, every project even will approach the management of a project differently.
Many teams these days use some form of agile development, but the implementation varies greatly. Generally, the goal of an agile team is to work in short bursts called sprints that last for a week or two. During each sprint you'll be working on only a handful of tasks, with the intention of lightweight and rapid iteration.
On these kinds of teams, the project manager might be a dedicated person, or even a hierarchy of individuals responsible for leading small feature teams. Whatever arrangement you find yourself in, it's important to work with your project manager (or project management software) to make sure that your progress is being tracked properly.
An investor is one of the people (or perhaps the only person) who has a financial stake in your project. Investors could range from parents, to clients, to venture capitalists. The important thing is that they have put up some amount of cash to fund the project, and are most likely expecting to get a return on that investment.
Depending on your seniority in a team, or the type of project you're working on, you may or may not ever have to deal directly with an investor. While every investor you have to deal with is guaranteed to be very different from the last, it's always important to treat them with respect and honesty (unless the honesty will compromise the respect!). Remember, they're the ones putting food on your table.