Low-Code: Achieving 10x Productivity Through Better Dev Tools

Low-Code: Achieving 10x Productivity Through Better Dev Tools

The Mythical 10x Developer. A Creature As Elusive As Bigfoot.

Developers love to debate whether 10x developers really exist. But you don't have to be a 10x developer to increase your delivery speed.

10X Developers: As Elusive As Bigfoot


Do 10x Developers Really Exist?

Search "10x developer" on HackerNews, and you'll find many heated online debates on the topic. Expect nuggets of wisdom such as "Being a "real" 10X programmer is like being a savant. It's about being F** SMART."

We're not going to weigh in on the debate of the 10x developer. At least not in relation to individual talent. Instead, we want to look at it from the perspective of development tools.

How To Achieve 10x Productivity

Remember the story of the 30-story hotel built in China in just 15 days? If not, watch the video first before continuing to read.

Here are three lessons we can learn from the video regarding software engineering.

"If you're writing it from scratch, you're doing it wrong!" - Titus Winters, Software Engineering at Google

1. Pre-built components help increase productivity in complex engineering processes. The less you build from scratch, the faster you can build - whether that's a building or a piece of software.

2. Not everybody in your software engineering team needs to be a 10x developer to achieve 10x outcomes. Better tools and processes can make a difference that even a team of highly talented 10x developers would struggle to achieve.

3. The trade-off is between speed of development and customizability. Expect to sacrifice some customizability in return for faster speed of development. But also expect this trade-off to lessen as tools get better in the future.

What's the overall conclusion? Process improvements, be it through better dev tools, such as low-code solutions, management techniques or even organization culture, can trump individual skill. Software engineering is best managed as an engineering process. And outcomes are driven by making this process as efficient as possible.

If you'd like to learn more about low-code software engineering or build your first app using low-code, why not download Five (for free!). Simply visit five.co.

Stay tuned for more topics related to no-code / low-code, such as:

  • Are low-code and no-code the same?
  • What are the limits of low-code and no-code?
  • And, will low-code make developers redundant?

Originally published at https://five.co/low-code-achieving-10x-software-engineering-productivity-through-better-dev-tools/ on August 23, 2022.