Coaching of a Dysfunctional Team of Developers

At 7N, the heart of our business lies in our dedicated consultants. Each day, they apply their expertise and go above and beyond to assist our clients in achieving the best possible solutions. It is for this reason that we aim to shine a spotlight on the remarkable efforts of some of our consultants, who are fueled by their knowledge, commitment, and wealth of experience. Let's unleash their performance.

7N’s client’s project concerned two companies with outdated legacy systems that both integrated via the same third-party integration tool. Initially, the objective of the project was to rewrite the legacy systems in order to optimize their functionalities. During the course of the project, 7N’s client realized that this entailed too great risks. Thus, the objectives were redefined. As a better alternative for getting rid of the older legacy systems while at the same time avoiding too many errors, the two integrations were fronted by an intermediary facade to replace pieces of functionality with new applications and services gradually.

Extensive changes in the structure and unclear definitions of the scope resulted in dysfunctional team performances. Hence, Jakob’s role was to coach a team of junior developers by being a one-to-one support function on a team that was neither like-minded nor well-functioning at the time. Jakob created a proper structure for the objectives of the project, as the team was not informed about the project’s scope. By clearing the path towards a new API that everyone in the team understood, Jakob helped the team get familiar with the otherwise unknown legacy system.

Jakob has been a critical resource for the project to succeed, which stated by the Product Owner of the team: “With his eternal persistence to find a way through the tunnel, Jakob is the main reason the team and the two integration projects are on a successful path today. His technical skills and creativity, his ability to talk to customers as well as technicians, his eternal support to the team, the architect, and the product owner, and his positive approach to whatever is thrown at him are admirable and very unique. To work with Jakob is a great pleasure and an exceptional value to a team.”

Jakob’s ability to keep calm and his spirits high and simultaneously take on responsibilities far beyond what to possibly expect has resulted in significant improvements within the team that now is high-performing and shares the same understanding of their workstreams and the scope of the project.

The Senior Manager states: “Jakob is not “only” a highly skilled external consultant, he is also a colleague. His ability to blend in to the team, take active ownership and act as a mentor for other developers makes a positive difference. Jakob has the competencies to maintain an overview in complex solutions and ensure deliveries meet deadlines. With no doubt, I can say Jakob has a large share in the team competency development and our on-time critical customer deliveries.”