How do you rapidly scale a project team 6 fold in a matter of weeks? How do you train a growing team on an unfamiliar technology whilst under pressure to deliver? As a leader how can you be sure your team has what they need to succeed?

Callum will share the challenges faced and lessons learnt while rapidly scaling a team to transition an app for the NHS from a messy inherited codebase to a clean microservices architecture in a matter of weeks.

Using this experience as an example, we’ll take a look at how to craft a smooth onboarding process for people of every discipline (developers, QA, designers, PMs) and the important role that documentation and planning plays. Finally, we’ll explore the impact that a growing team can have on the leader themselves - the mental burden and how to reduce pressures, the importance of having a mentor, and how to maintain a good relationship with the team when the project gets tough.

It’s rare that in the tech industry we’ll stick with one single job. As developers, we’re constantly learning: whether it’s figuring out how to solve new problems, learning new skills and technologies, or switching to a completely new role, we’re in an industry that requires constant change.

As leads, we should make it easier for developers to understand what options are available to them, allow them to make time for learning and provide structures and processes for them to develop the skills that they want and need for future roles.