Tech challenges facing digital health start-ups and SMEs - Part 3 – Why is your tech team not performing?
For start-ups and SMEs in digital health, the performance of tech teams can make or break a company's success. It can be tough to manage a development team but we’re here to share the knowledge we’ve gained working as CTOs for over 25 years.
In the third instalment of our series on tech challenges in digital health, we explore the issue of tech teams not delivering as expected and, more importantly, how you can sort it out.
Why aren’t digital health start-up tech teams performing?
Tech teams that fail to meet expectations and develop products at a snail’s pace are often the result of:
An absence of a clear roadmap
A lack of visibility
Ambiguity in objectives
No roadmap
Imagine heading to a place you've never visited before. You don't have a map, you're turning Google off, and you have no idea how you’ll reach your destination. You wouldn't step foot out of your front door, would you? To get yourself from A to B with minimal disruption, you'd prepare for the journey. However, that's precisely the situation many tech teams find themselves in. Leaders aren’t equipping their teams with sufficient direction.
A roadmap is a directional tool that shows the path from idea to delivery and highlights the milestones. Without one, teams can be left in uncertainty, directionless and lost.
Lack of visibility and clarity
Transparency is key to building a cohesive and productive team. When visibility of a project’s progress isn’t clear, and objectives remain muddied, your team become confused. They’re often left grappling in the dark, unsure of their roles and how they contribute to overarching goals.
On the road towards success
A well-crafted roadmap is the foundation for a successful project. Here's our advice for developing one:
Set clear objectives and milestones
Begin by defining clear and measurable objectives. What are your desired outcomes? What milestones show that you’re making progress? Establishing solid goals provides the team with a sense of purpose and direction.
Engage stakeholders
Working with stakeholders when developing a roadmap is more likely to result in success because you’re encouraging buy-in. Also, other people's insights and perspectives can help enrich your plan. Engage stakeholders across your business to ensure alignment between tech projects and business objectives.
Introduce collaborative tools
Explore collaborative tools like Miro and Figma to visualise and build on the roadmap. These platforms encourage real-time collaboration, allowing people to contribute ideas, identify dependencies, and refine strategies as a team.
Continually communicate
Transparency breeds trust and alignment. Keep the lines of communication open throughout the project, providing regular updates on progress, challenges, and adjustments to the roadmap. Clear communication is the antidote to misunderstandings and creates shared purpose.
We talk about the power of the two c’s (collaboration and communication) in a blog called The difference between Boards & IT teams and how you can get the most from each other.
Powering up the performance of your digital health tech team
In addition to developing a robust roadmap, here are some best practice tips for digital health tech startups and SMEs to use to set teams up for success:
Create a culture of accountability
Empower team members to take ownership of their work and hold themselves accountable for delivering results. Establish clear expectations and provide support and resources to help them meet their objectives.
1.Encourage collaboration and knowledge sharing
Working as individuals or lone teams can slow down innovation and progress. Build a workplace where collaboration and knowledge sharing are celebrated, where ideas are freely exchanged, and where expertise is shared across teams.
2.Put learning at the heart of your business
Invest in the growth and development of your team. Provide training, upskilling, and mentorship opportunities to cultivate a culture of continuous learning and improvement. If you empower and motivate your people, they’ll be better equipped to tackle challenges and drive success.
We’ve written a three-part blog series on what tech team development means for your business. Here’s part 1, part 2 and part 3.
3.Embrace agile methodologies
Agile methodologies can help you quickly adapt to changing requirements and market dynamics. Frameworks like Scrum and Kanban promote iterative development, helping teams to deliver value incrementally and respond to feedback effectively.
The performance of your tech team is one of the main elements you need to consider if you want your start-up or SME to become a success. By addressing common pitfalls such as missing roadmaps, lack of visibility, and ambiguity in objectives, you can empower your people to deliver and exceed expectations. By sharing our best practice tips, we hope we inspire you to start developing a culture of collaboration, accountability, and continuous improvement.
You can find the other blogs in the Tech challenges facing digital health start-ups and SMEs series here. Part 1 – personalised healthcare and Part 2 – overspending on data storage. Or, if you’d like to find out how our CTO services can help your business scale and grow in digital healthcare, get in touch.