How do you give a junior developer a chance for a big project with tight deadlines?

Question

I am looking for advice on how to give a junior developer a chance to gain experience in a large project with tight deadlines, without prejudice to the timeline. If we all know that it will take a little longer with the developer due to less experience, then what is the best way to give them part of the project and spread the risk? Giving these developers the ability to learn from working on real-world projects, rather than constantly supporting maintenance work, is very important to me, and I want to find a way to make it work.

Answer 1

You need to know if they understand the problem you are communicating. When I have to do this, this is my approach:

• Give them a piece that I think is stretched out for them, but doable.
• Explain the importance of the part, how it fits into the larger picture and how they will contribute to the success of the project.
• Ask them to leave, take time to think about it, and then write a few possible solutions with the pros and cons of each. This shows me if they understood the problem and whether they can develop a solution.
• If they come up with something that looks reasonable, then let them on it. If not, we meet and discuss the problem a little more, and I give them one more chance.

Providing them with the opportunity to develop a solution gives them ownership and allows them to prove themselves. When they convey the design to you first with the pros and cons, you are sure that they will be able to complete the decision in a timely manner.

If they cannot think of any possible solutions and possible results of each solution, they are not ready to approach this problem. They will need more thorough mentoring and smaller problems that were developed by an even more experienced developer.

Answer 2

Very short, clear goals that are measured and verified very often.

A byte-size approach will help the youngest realize that big things are done by doing very small things, very well, over and over ...

Also, consider making a conceptual design or specification, or even a technical specification, so that their feet are wet, and let them talk more and more if they take it like a fish to plunge into the water.

Answer 3

Although this will not work in all stores, pair programming is a great way to quickly get juniors on board. However, pair them with some of your more sociable developers for best results. In this way, they get mentoring, do important work, and learn important things related to your work style, and the more sociable developers at your store are likely to enjoy junior mentors anyway.

Answer 4

How well do you know the younger? Of course, there must be something that he or she has shown interest or special abilities. Try to find fragments of the project that can be digested and fit the profile.

Assigning a mentor and making sure that code design and reviews are part of the process is important, especially if the youngest is not known.

If the youngest is not familiar with the subject, technology or team, it can also be useful to make sure that the piece that he / she should work is one of the best documented works (determining worthy requirements and, possibly, even the technical design has already been prepared by the senior). I have been able to do this in the past. I had a well-thought-out technical design of the medium-sized task, the scattered parts of it to a new member of the team, then also reviewed code reviews and fixed the work. Even with the time spent reviewing and adjusting, it was a great way to attract new developers and use their ability to help solve problems. The new developer also learned a lot along the way.