Biggest Challenges For Software Developers Today

Software development is a dynamic industry and developers are finding it a challenge to stay on top of new technologies for their profession. That’s according the Applications Developers Alliance’s first ever Developer Insights report. We breakdown the results the report’s results.

Software developer picture from Shutterstock

Over 850 developers worldwide were surveyed for the Insights report, which was done with the help of research firm, IDC. The aim was to paint a picture of what today’s developers look like:

One of the more interesting parts of the report is that it details the biggest concerns developers routinely face. A staggering 57 per cent cited staying current with new languages, frameworks and tools as their most pressing challenge. Around 43 per cent listed striving to develop high quality, high performance and secure code as a major concern. Coming in third was the struggle for work/life balance, with 39 per cent of respondents noting that as a big challenge.

Surprisingly, difficulty in communicating with teams and stakeholders wasn’t higher on the list with only 14 per cent highlighting it as a worry.

The survey also explored the reasons behind failed software projects, which is naturally a hot topic for developers. The top reasons for failure included poor documentation of requirements (48 per cent), underfunding or under resourcing (40 per cent), poor team or organisational management (37 per cent) and insufficient time allocated to testing (32 per cent).

Documentation had not been a huge issue for developers in the past, so it’s intriguing that this has now become a big problem.

So what are developers most excited about? It would seem wearables have piqued their interest, with 44 per cent saying they are most excited about this group of technology. This is consistent with what’s happening in the broader technology market with Apple and Google ramping up efforts in the wearables space with Apple Watch and Android Wear. Prepare to see developers come out with a swathe of apps for wearable in the near future.

The software development space is constantly evolving and developers are becoming a crucial part of organisations. Over 69 per cent of developers work within an organisation on a permanent basis.

Knowing more about what keeps developers up at night and what excites them will help business leaders learn how to work better with their development teams and create software that will ultimately benefit their business.

Do you think the results of the Developer Insights Report are accurate? Let us know in the comments.


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