In the tech industry of today, there’s a growing preference for full-stack developers rather than the traditional roles we had so far. As a tech leader, my experience has shown me that finding individuals who excel in every aspect of software development is quite uncommon. Although the term Full-Stack implied that the one possesses the knowledge of multiple programming languages and knowledge of various aspects of a Software, the question that bothered me most was “Yes, but at what depth?” It’s simply unfeasible for one person to possess expertise in both front-end design, back-end engineering, and DevOps practices.
Full-stack, FE devs, BE devs, Devs with Testing skills, Devs with devops skills, Devs with Architecture skills and the list goes on of specializations with different niches. The question from a professionals perspective on what expertise to follow as well the same question from an organizational perspective on what skills to hire and train employees on just gives a headache.
Therefore a different question arises. Is it useful to go down that rabbit whole or is there something that can provide a solution to avoid this all together?
That’s where the T-shaped model comes on the foreground, not necessarily as a savior but undoubtedly as a valid alternative. Of course it’s a different rabbit hole of how that model should be implemented, in what terms, in what aspects etc and this is the purpose of this article.
What is a T-shaped model?
A T-shaped model – as the letter “T” indicates – is when a professional has a deep understanding of one principle either this is developing or testing, as well as a wide understanding and working knowledge of related areas. The purpose of such a skill-set is not to perform the job of 5 people but to be able to produce a well rounded result of his/hers discipline since he/she has a holistic understanding of all aspects. In simple terms, this could be a Developer with testing knowledge, business understanding, UI/UX knowledge, devops and architecture understanding. For example, upon receiving a feature development request, this individual, can analyze the request by considering the Architecture, DevOps needs (common dependencies that create blockers), come up with requirements, build a testable code (including Unit testing) and develop a feature in such way that aligns with existing business model.
How to apply the T-Shaped model
The T-Shaped model has gained vast popularity the recent years, but in reality it’s a concept that exists for the last 30 years give and take. So what’s the fuss about someone would ask.
Well, the fuss is that given the T-Shaped model is a concept, it can be understood and applied in various t ways based on the needs and current situation of an organization. As software teams nowadays move in different and more flexible Agile setup versus the traditional pure Scrum, this opens up more possibilities. Instead of applying the T-Shaped model on individual level only, you could apply it on Team level as well. Again, in simple terms, in a team with devs, QAs/SDETS and Product Managers, the devs can develop Unit Testing as well, SDETS can join the development efforts, Product can test the business logic of a new feature, FE devs can contribute and test BE, BE devs can contribute and test FE, BE/Fe devs can contribute to the Solutions Architecture effort, come up with DevOps needs and the list goes on.
The new approach of T-Shaped not only produces T-Shaped devs but produces T-Shaped everyone.
Such discipline can -as well- produce the new definition of Full-Stack professionals but this time the Full-Stack term will mean that an individual has working understanding of multiple aspects of software development vs having knowledge on multiple programming languages.
Is the T-shaped model arose Garden?
Simply, no, as everything in life, everything has a down-side. In this case the disadvantages could be:
Not super deep in one thing: T-shaped workers know a bit about many things, but they might not be as expert in one thing as someone who focuses on just one area given that one started as a junior in such a model.
Feeling overwhelmed: T-shaped workers might find it hard to handle both being really good at something and knowing a lot about different things. This can make them feel tired or make them less productive.
The mentioned disadvantages though can be avoided by multiple (i would say) ways, but this is not the focus of this article.