Facts: - Developers are the lifeline of the business. - Open source software development is hard. - It is unfortunately easy to take developer's work for granted. In this session we will talk about common issues that lead to burnout and attrition. But most importantly we will talk about key tactics to keep your development (and all other staff) happy, inspired, creative and most importantly, part of YOUR team.

1. How to Keep Your
Drupal Developers
Happy and Inspired!
Stanford DrupalCamp 2016

3. ● Developers are the lifeline of the business.
● Open source software development is hard.
● Unfortunately it can be easy to take a
developer's work for granted.
Facts

4. Common Issues

5. ● Frustration with organizational
bureaucratic necessities.
● Diminishing returns in mutual value.
● Simple boredom.
● Lack of accountability.
Common Issues

6. Hire the Right
Developer for the Job

7. Be Organized

8. Developers as
Problem Solvers.

9. What Makes Them
Unhappy?

10. ● Clueless Project Managers
● Low-level QA
● Data Entry
● Incomplete Information
● What makes YOU unhappy?
Obstacles to Good Rapport

11. Create a Culture of
Awesomeness

12. ● It’s not about free lunches and ping pong.
● Like attracts like.
● Ask your developer up front what style of
culture they enjoy.
● Create your own #FreedomFridays.
Creating Awesome

13. Make your Developers
Feel Valued

14. ● Provide a Fair Base Salary (duh).
● Involve them from the start!
● Appreciate their work.
● Show them the small ways in which you care
for them.
Recognizing Good Work

15. Be the Intelligent
Meat Shield

16. ● Ask them for reality, assume nothing.
● NEVER throw them under the bus.
● Be there at the 11th hour with them or when
they need you.
● Communicate regularly. Find out about
blockers early and often and help them
troubleshoot.
● Listen and learn from them.
The Good Project
Manager

17. Detect and Avoid
Burnout

18. ● Make time for breaks, period. Force breaks!
● Force developers to take vacation - or simply
unplug!
● Set realistic timelines.
● Don’t cry wolf - not everything can be ‘High
Priority” but when it is, they’ll believe you.
Encourage Balance

19. Flexible Work Schedule
without Sacrificing
Client Service

20. ● Night owls, early birds, they are all magical
creatures - let them work when inspiration
is at its best - as long as the work is
consistently delivered on time and on
budget.
● Support one another.
● Communicate when you are on and offline.
Flexibility + Accountability =
Trust

21. Build it and
They Will Come

22. ● Bored developers will leave or produce
poor work or miss deadlines.
● Provide freedom to experiment and be
creative.
● Ask what their work style is and try to
accommodate.
Creating the Right Environment

23. Mental Vacation from
Endured Stress

24. ● Take a support vacation.
● Take a client vacation.
● Refocus on a different type of client or
project or pet project to take a mental
break.
Dealing with Stress

25. Give Credit

26. ● Figure out how your developers like to be
recognized.
● Give them credit in front of clients, peers,
and on social networks.
● Send a small token of your gratitude.
● Do it in the heat of the moment, when
stress is the highest.
Positive Reinforcement

27. Listen to their Advice
and Solutions

28. ● They are not there to delay a release or
undermine profits.
● They may have solutions to issues on
projects they are on or for others on your
team.
● Do not interrupt them. A million pings a
day does not get the work done.
Developers as Partners

29. Educate the Client

30. ● It goes back being an intelligent meat
shield.
● Communicate roles and development
processes to clients so they understand
how developers work.
● Create realistic timelines and budgets that
set everyone up for success.
The Project Manager -
Part 2

31. Feed them Beer.
Regularly

32. Do you think your
developers are
unhappy?

33. ● Hold a developer meeting to discuss
issues.
● Look at internal policies and see if there
are areas for improvement.
● Revisit and see what is working and what
you may need to adjust or address new
issues.
Troubleshooting Issues

34. Becoming the
Developer People
Want to Keep

35. ● Create trust
● Communicate early and often
● Are realistic - Don’t over promise but
keep their word.
● Are honest about their skill set.
● Are flexible
● Anticipate problems and offer solutions.
Good Developers

36. Thank You!
Anne Stefanyk
anne@kanopistudios.com
@kanopi_studios