Editor’s Note: Here at Dispatches, we are always looking for ways to help our readers do things. For some of our readers, that means helping navigate the working world, for others, it means assisting in the ever challenging question,“what’s for dinner?” For still others, it means figuring out how to balance family life with everything else. In an effort to aid in all of these endeavors, we have collaborated on this article written specifically for our readers.
While this list is geared toward employees you should have on board or have access to on an as needed basis for a tech startup, the list is a good one fo all companies, even solopreneurships.
Developers
People often misunderstand what is meant when someone says they need a developer. They often believe that a developer is just another word for a programmer (or coder). In the tech world, a developer is often a programmer. But a programmer isn’t necessarily a developer. There are differences.
A programmer is handed a specification and writes the code you need accordingly. If you’re lucky, they’ll fix some bugs for you after the testing phase. But what you likely want is a developer. Someone who will help write specs. Who will write out automated test cases. Who can study the code that was in the system before they arrived and can work with or improve the current architecture. The problem here is that you can’t just go to a job website and look for developers “instead of” programmers. You need to assess applications as they come to you in order to verify their suitability to your business’s needs.
Tech support
When something goes wrong with the office tech you are likely looking for dedicated tech support if something goes wrong. Some business owners decide to work with tech support only when they’re needed, which may save you funds but also migh cost more over time. You can find full-time, part-time or freelance tech workers on sites like Valintry.
UX designer
This position remains one of the most underestimated positions. Most people couldn’t even tell you what they do, even if they know that “UX designer” means “user experience designer.” In fact, many people in the tech industry are user experience designers without really realizing this is what they do.
But nature, any designer of the interaction between your users and your product should be a UX designer. But the problem many businesses find is that a lot of designers don’t know as much about the UX philosophy as they should do. Hundreds of techniques are employed by the people who fully understand the way a user might interact with your product. Try to aim for a designer with explicit experience with UX work.
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