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An abstract representation of software developer teams collaboration, featuring interconnected gears of various sizes and colors working seamlessly together. The gears symbolize the coordinated effort of different team members in a development project, with light beams shining through to highlight the synchronization and unity in achieving a common goal.

Optimizing Software Developer Teams Collaboration

The GitKraken 2024 Git Collaboration Report offers valuable insights into how software developer teams collaboration impacts productivity, tools usage, and overall team dynamics. Based on extensive data, including GitKraken usage patterns and developer feedback, the report highlights trends that matter to tech leaders looking to optimize team productivity and collaboration. Below are the main takeaways.

 

Data Collection and Participant Statistics

The findings in the GitKraken 2024 Git Collaboration Report are based on a comprehensive analysis of both quantitative and qualitative data from developers worldwide. This data collection included:

  • 150,000 developers who were active users of GitKraken in 2023.
  • Over 1.2 million pull requests and more than 8.5 million commits were analyzed, providing insights into real-world collaboration practices and trends.
  • A survey of over 1,000 developers from various regions contributed qualitative insights regarding their experience with team dynamics, productivity, and collaboration.
  • Additional context was provided by the JetBrains State of Developer Ecosystem research, which included responses from over 25,000 developers.

This diverse pool of participants allowed for a broad, yet detailed, understanding of how developers across different team sizes and locations approach collaboration, and the key barriers they face in day-to-day workflows. These insights offer a unique opportunity for tech leaders to make data-driven decisions to enhance their teams’ effectiveness.

 

1. Team Size vs. Productivity

The report reveals an interesting dynamic: while most developers wish for larger teams, smaller teams tend to be more productive. Developers working in teams of 6-10 members were the happiest, with 48% expressing satisfaction with their team size. However, smaller teams exhibit faster pull request cycle times and greater efficiency.

For tech leaders, the lesson here is balance. While larger teams may offer broader collaboration, smaller, more nimble teams can often move quicker and complete tasks more efficiently. Leaders should evaluate their team structures and consider the right size for their goals while being cautious of the downsides of oversized teams, such as communication bottlenecks and slower decision-making.

 

2. Barriers to Developer Productivity

Context switching, shifting priorities, and excessive meetings were highlighted as the biggest barriers to individual productivity. On a team level, poor communication and unclear objectives slowed down progress. For distributed teams, these issues become even more pronounced, making effective collaboration tools essential.

Tech leaders should focus on minimizing distractions, establishing clear priorities, and reducing unnecessary meetings to maintain developer flow states. By ensuring alignment on important objectives and building good communication, teams can reduce friction and improve overall productivity.

 

3. Pull Requests and Code Reviews

Pull request (PR) reviews are important to both productivity and collaboration. Smaller teams tend to have faster PR reviews with fewer comments, leading to quicker merges and reduced rework. For larger teams, delays in reviews can cause bottlenecks, which slow down overall productivity. Submitting smaller PRs earlier in the process tends to result in faster merges and fewer conflicts. 

The report encourages tech leaders to promote early collaboration and feedback, even before the pull request stage, to minimize rework and improve overall efficiency. Tools that facilitate early discussions, such as GitKraken Cloud Patches, can help teams achieve this goal.

 

4. Distributed Teams and Collaboration

With remote work becoming the norm, 79% of developers report that their teams are distributed across multiple locations. While collaboration tools like Zoom and Slack help bridge the gap, developers in distributed teams face challenges such as slower pull request approvals and maintaining team cohesion.

Leaders must invest in tools and workflows that streamline collaboration for distributed teams. This includes video-based code reviews, real-time communication platforms, and promoting a strong remote culture to maintain a sense of connection and teamwork, even when physically apart.

 

5. Productivity Metrics: Developer vs. Leadership Perspectives

There is often a disconnect between how developers and leadership perceive productivity. While developers prioritize code quality and test coverage, leadership tends to focus on throughput and workload. This misalignment can lead to frustration and negatively impact team cohesion.

To bridge this gap, leaders need to communicate how productivity is measured and ensure that metrics align with both business goals and developer satisfaction. Recognizing the importance of quality code, providing feedback loops, and valuing developers’ contributions beyond just output can enhance team morale and effectiveness.

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6. Opportunities for Improvement in Tools and Workflows

Despite the advancements in collaboration tools, over a third of developers feel their tools and workflows could be significantly improved. Many believe that their current setup only scratches the surface of what’s possible. A notable 79% of developers believe there is room to enhance how their teams work today, particularly in terms of the tools they use for issue tracking, code management, and collaboration.

The report highlights that Jira remains the most widely used tool for issue tracking and project management, with GitHub and GitLab Issues trailing behind. However, developers stress the importance of seamless integration between their Git repositories and planning systems to improve collaboration. Many developers feel that improved integration would ensure that stakeholders remain informed and that development progress is more transparent, allowing for better planning and fewer bottlenecks.

Automation is also seen as an important opportunity to enhance workflows. As teams become more distributed, manual processes like code reviews and pull request management can introduce delays. Tools that leverage built-in intelligence and automation, such as GitKraken and JetBrains offerings, can expedite these processes. Automating routine tasks, such as identifying the best reviewers or automating the feedback process for pull requests, can free up developers to focus on high-value tasks.

For tech leaders, the takeaway: while the current tooling landscape is robust, there’s still room for improvement. Leaders should assess their teams’ workflows to identify areas where automation and better integration between tools can reduce friction and improve collaboration. Proactively investing in tools and processes that encourage earlier collaboration and reduce context switching will enable teams to work more efficiently and deliver higher-quality code faster.

Source: GitKraken 2024 Git Collaboration Report​