Full Stack vs. Specialized Developers: Business Insights

Introduction:

Hiring developers is a constant challenge for any company as often they are confused about whether to accept a full-stack developer or a specialized one. Companies thinking in multiple dimensions and the more successful ones also have this challenge. Almost all information technology companies have this problem from start-ups to Multinational Corporations (MNC).

Before we answer the question of whom to hire, let’s first find out who’s a full stack developer and who’s a specialized developer.

Full Stack Developer Vs Specialist Developer

Full-stack developers, typically referenced as a jack-of-all-trades, are developers, specializing in both the front-end (client-side) and back-end (server-side) technologies. Front-end development involves the aspect of user interaction and understands the different steps involved in software development.

Specialist Developers on the other hand may be better suited as specialized app developers who focus on a specific domain. Specialized developers try to acquire great in-depth knowledge about their domain area.

Your Business: Full Stack Developers or Specialized Developers?

Who is Best for your Business? It’s a divided option when it comes to choosing full-stack or specialized developers. Many think of versatility, but it’s not helpful in all the scenarios. Hence, let’s discuss more the skills and other aspects of these developers.

The Skill Set of Full Stack Developers

They haven’t mastered every technology, even though they are expected to know various languages and the layers of software development, A full-stack developer can also fill the of a CTO. A full-stack developer is better If you are looking for a CTO who based on the various facets of the project can take decisions. More than a specialized developer, a full stack developer is usually paid higher.

Pros of Full-Stack Developer

Hiring a full-stack developer team has its benefits:

Dependency

Full-stack developers pride themselves on their adaptability and dependency. You can depend on full-stack developers to code any feature, as they deliver flexibility they quickly learn and identify a path to production.

Economical

You can have a small, powerful team of full-stack developers, rather than having a large team. Hence, lower workforce and savings to the company. A full-stack developer can be put in place of two or more specialized developers.

Development Time

Due to a full-stack developers’ more comprehensive skill set, their ability to switch between tasks from client-side to server-side, the project can be completed more efficiently. You can expect more efficient production times but don’t expect a beautiful code.

Cons of Full-Stack Developer

There are generalized downsides to hiring a full-stack developer, even if the term “Jack-of-all-trades” sounds appealing to most.

Latest Trends and Technologies

Working across the different technologies means that the full-stack developer doesn’t often find time to keep up with the latest trends and technologies. They might not be the most up-to-date on the latest trends of technologies.

Solution

To keep your developers up to date on the latest trends, consider subscribing to different seminars and various newsletters.

Project Tracking

Full-stack developers’ project tracking can be difficult, as it’s typically broken up into larger chunks with less task distribution.

Solution

Keep an open communication channel and set regular meetings at scheduled weeks to check in on the progress. Use the different tools available to break down the task and assign it to the team.

Allocation of Responsibilities

For front-end developers the breadth of knowledge gives them versatility, assigning multiple small tasks at different development processes can disrupt time management. Specifically, a full-stack developer might lack expertise compared to specialized front-end developers or back-end developers when the assigned task has more complexity or higher quality work demand on a specific stack.

Solution

Assess the complexity of your project and understand the limitations of your full-stack developers.

The Skill Set of a Specialized Developer

Specialist Developers are those who focus on a specific domain and have gained in-depth knowledge and troubleshooting abilities from experience.

Specialized developers can make a strong team who can complete work on time. From design and databases to architecture, they are your go-to resources for a specific area.

Pros of Specialized Developer

The benefits of hiring a specialized developer team.

Quality of Work

Since they are experts in their area of working technology, the quality of work is generally quite high for them.

Latest Trend and Technologies

Specialized developers are focused on a specialized area. They keep themselves updated with the latest happenings and technologies, which in turn improves the overall product quality.

Allocation of responsibilities

The allocation of responsibilities is easy. The work can be divided into tasks and allocated to specialized developers.

Easy to Hire

With a wide range of talent available in the market, it’s easier for companies to analyze the best resource.

Cons of Specialized Developer

Even though they have a higher quality of work there are some downsides too.

Investment

Compared to a full stack developer the investment for a specialized developer in various areas costs higher.

Dependency

In a project, a specialized developer is depending on another one. In some cases, a developer cannot go ahead with his task unless the other completes it.

Solution

Proper task allocation based on priority and data flow.

Coordination

Coordination between various teams involved in the project has to be ensured. Understanding the other team is important.

Solution

Regular meetings and discussions have to be scheduled.

When to choose a Full-Stack Developer?

A full-stack developer can be hired if requirements are of a small project with the size being from small to medium. The project complexities are low as complex projects require having in-depth knowledge which a full stack developer may not have.

If the company is a small business or startup then time and budgetary constraints are a challenge hence a full stack developer is best suited in these situations.

When to Choose a Specialized Developer?

Selecting a specialized developer means having to go through various resources. The requirements often include having a complex or quality project. The budget and company size has to be considered when hiring a specialized developer team.

Before building your team, it’s always best to outline the parameters set by your company and the need of the project. Due to the increase in startups and smaller-sized companies, the requirement for full-stack developers has increased and that is going to continue. But with larger companies who look towards complex projects and first-rate solutions will hire specialized developers. The skill set of each is an important criterion. We need master as well as jack of all.