Why senior developers get nothing done (and why that’s OK)

If you are a manager of developers, you may have noticed that some of senior developers seem to spend less time coding than junior ones. You may see them in meetings, answering questions, and switching between tasks. You may wonder if they are always busy, but not productive. You may also wonder how to support them and help them succeed in their role.

In this blog post, we will explain why senior developers get nothing done, but why that’s OK. We will also share some tips on how to help them manage their time and productivity better.

What do senior developers do?

Senior developers are often expected to take on more responsibilities than just writing code. Some of the tasks that senior developers typically do are:

• Mentoring junior developers and helping them grow their skills and confidence
• Designing architectures and systems that are scalable, reliable, and maintainable
• Reviewing pull requests and ensuring code quality and consistency
• Collaborating with other teams and stakeholders on product features and requirements
• Solving production issues and debugging complex problems
• Researching new technologies and best practices, coming up with innovative ideas and ways to improve the current setup
• Knowledge sharing and educating non-technical parts of the company

These tasks require a lot of communication, coordination, and decision-making skills, which can be challenging and time-consuming. Senior developers may also face more ambiguity and complexity in their work, as they have to deal with problems that have no clear or optimal solutions.

Why is OK that senior developers get nothing done?

As a result of their multiple roles and responsibilities, senior developers may have less focus time and less output than junior developers, who can concentrate on coding and learning new things. However, this does not mean senior developers are less valuable or productive. They contribute to the quality, reliability, scalability, and maintainability of the codebase and the system as a whole.

Senior developers also have a significant impact on the growth and development of their team members and the organization. They can share their knowledge and experience, provide feedback and guidance, and inspire others to learn and improve.

Therefore, senior developers should not be judged by the amount of code they write or the number of tickets they close, but by the value they create and the problems they solve. They should also be supported by you as their managers and peers, who can help them prioritize their work, delegate tasks, balance expectations, and avoid burnout.

How to manage it better?

Here are some tips that you can give to senior developers to help them optimize their time and productivity:

• Block some time in the calendar for uninterrupted coding. Make sure that no one can book a meeting during this time slot.
• Use timeboxing to group similar tasks together. For example, check the Slack messages only at certain times of the day, attend meetings in a row, allocate some time for the programming, and then check Slack again. Don’t respond to every notification as soon as it arrives.
• Usage of the do-not-disturb mode on the devices when the focus is needed.
• Write down all the questions and answers that other team members have and share them with the team. This way, senior developers can avoid repeating themselves and just send a link to the documentation when someone asks them the same question again.
• Encourage them to learn to say no or delegate when they are overloaded or overwhelmed. Senior developers don’t have to do everything themselves or help everyone all the time. They can also ask for help or refer others to other resources or experts.
• Help your senior developers to take care of themselves physically and mentally. You can advice them to get enough sleep, exercise, eat well, meditate, relax, and have fun. They can’t perform well if they are stressed or exhausted.

How Codeac can help?

By using Codeac, senior developers are able to streamline their code reviewing process as it can:

• Detect and fix common code issues
• Enforce consistent coding standards and best practices
• Provide actionable feedback and suggestions
• Reduce technical debt and maintenance costs
• Increase developer productivity and satisfaction

On top of that, we shouldn’t forget to mention that Codeac can help with the mentoring of juniors by giving constructive feedback and guidance on how to improve their code quality and security and teaching them the coding standards and best practices of the team.

By automating manual and repetitive tasks, senior developers can avoid the risk of making errors and missing important details in the code review process. This way, they can devote more time and attention to the big picture aspects of code review, such as design, architecture, logic, functionality, and readability, which are the elements that determine the quality and maintainability of the code.

Try Codeac.io for free to see all the benefits!

Conclusion

Senior developers are valuable and productive, even if they don’t write much code. They do many other things that matter but are hard to see and measure. They also face many challenges and distractions, which affect their focus and output. They need support and strategies to manage their time and productivity better. Codeac is a tool that can help them with code review, quality, debt, and mentoring. It can also help senior developers enjoy coding more.