- Architecture decisions - They will be another set of eyes to help make decisions about setting up the appropriate architecture.
- Oversight - They see the project from the eyes of an outsider, making easier to spot holes. They look for problems and make sure best practices are being followed.
- Adds value with quick projects - Things like setting up CI, setting up deployment scripts. Quick win projects that improve project efficiency that are hard for other developers to make time for.
- Quality - Having a developer who can oversee the project, even at 20% time, means the quality of the code goes up dramatically.
- Backup plan - If the main developer gets sick, goes on PTO, or leaves the company, we have someone else who can get up to speed quickly in an emergency, or at least help smooth the transition.
- Developer longevity - We’ve found that developers on projects without this in place have a high chance of quitting the project and Bitovi. Adding a 20% person reduces the feeling of isolation, which reduces this risk, which is better for everyone.
Even if the budget isn’t there for this person, if the budget exists for one full time developer, we can make room for the Senior Dev within that. Between vacation, sick days, and scheduled Bitovi time off for internal trainings and reviews, everyone averages 3-4 days of time off from client work per month (close to 20%). We will use whatever time is taken each month as PTO as the budget for the Senior Dev.
The end result is the budget of 1 full time dev will not be exceeded, but the flexibility to use this budget for two people provides the benefits listed above.