What is so special with full-stack developers to make the job ads seem to repeat themselves?

”A full-stack programmer is a person who is comfortable working with all the technologies required to get an idea to a finished product. This guy is familiar with all the layers of software development. He has fair knowledge of Networking, Database, User Interface , API, Security etc.” He need not be well versed with all technologies used in front-end and back-end, which is near to impossible. Clearly this takes years of experience.

There are a few important remarks in that quote.

By reading definitions of full-stack developer profile, it becomes obvious that it takes years of experience to achieve ”street-credibility” as a recognised full-stack developer. Let’s think about this “credibility” a bit further in actual street context. Imagine your software as a city. You need to get around quite a bit before you know the best places around, the shortcuts to take in case of congestion, etc. The same applies to software. You need develop fair level of understanding of the system you are working on before you can deliver fast, deliver predictably and with quality.

When did you go for holidays last time?

Remember going to a previously unvisited city? You ask for guidance and person starts to talk about buildings and street names which you have no idea about. You are lacking understanding of your surroundings. It makes it really hard to accomplish simple tasks in that environment, such as move efficiently from place A to B. How can you accelerate your ability to achieve more in your new environment? I would pick a map! Or use some fancy app that shows me visual description on how to get to that nearest Mexican restaurant.

That’s why there’s so much value in software visualisation.

You can nurture every member in software team to gain that critical understanding – to be able to accomplish more! Visualisation is the way to accelerate that learning. Software visualisation is a good basis for ensuring that your primary working context, your software project, is understood the same way by everyone. Why full-stack developers are great – because they have that broad knowledge; they can guide the other folks around when they are stuck in jungle of dependencies. At Softagram we want to supercharge your entire team by exposing that knowledge in automated reports and easy-to-understand visual map. Nurture every member of your development team to gain the system-wide understanding. Start this from your existing team. And if you are lucky to get a new Full Stack developer on board, let the guy jump start h(er/is) work by offering a pleasant visual journey to your software as a welcome gift.   Does your company want to supercharge teams with increased Full Stack knowledge? Check below the best way to start for you!