From Melbourne in March to Abu Dhabi in December, I spend my weekends captivated by Formula 1 racing. And while the cars zipping around the track at earth-shattering speeds – and the occasional fiery crash – are exhilarating on their own merits, I’m particularly drawn to the nimble meticulousness of the pit crew.
Any race fan worth his salt, from NASCAR to Formula 1, knows racing is a team sport. The pit crew – that bustling crew of jackmen, tire changers and gasmen, operating in electrifying unison amidst the chaos of the track – can make or break the outcome of a race. Every position is crucial. Every move is perfectly coordinated, an elaborate choreography performed with dizzying precision to the point of making it look effortless.
When a top-tier race car driver meets with pit crew and engineers, the driver can articulate what the car is doing and what he or she needs. The engineer understands why the car is performing a certain way and will advise the crew on how to tweak and tune. The crew then executes expeditiously (Red Bull Racing recently set a new pit stop record of 1.91 seconds at the 2019 British Grand Prix!) to keep the car operating at peak performance, allowing the driver to slingshot past the competition.
Each member of the process is integral to the success of the driving team. If even one component is off, it can derail the success of the entire enterprise. The same goes for software development.
Clients (the driver) bring their pain points to their consultant (the engineer), whether it be siloed communications, a lack of data accessibility or a need for mission-critical software. The consultants then analyze the issues clients are facing and strategize the best way to solve these problems with trained architects and developers who then implement the solutions, giving the organization the grip needed to edge ahead in the marketplace.
Eliminating mistakes can shave a tenth of a second off a team’s lap time. That may not seem like much, but it can make a crucial difference on the leaderboard. As Jordan Golson writes in Wired:
“A single mistake during a pit stop can put a team as much as a lap or two behind, if not more… Consistency is key. The pit crew must do its job the same way every time. The crew succeeds, and fails, as one—five guys can do the fastest stop of their lives, but if the sixth guy is half a beat behind, it doesn’t mean a thing.”
Scrupulous consistency is as key in software development as it is on the pit lane. With the right consultative approach, your software partner should employ a diverse skill set, ask the right questions, understand your business goals and design the right architecture that’s both functional and appealing to avoid user frustration or performance problems.
While every business is unique – and each comes with its own unique set of challenges – your consulting team should guide you through your entire engagement to ensure a well-oiled machine.
Maintaining your competitive advantage is challenging enough. When it comes to transformational software solutions, you shouldn’t have to choose between pricey local development firms and risky offshore outfits. 27Global helps forward-thinking business leaders create and sustain a market edge through information technology, turning transformational ideas into game-changing solutions.
At the end of the day, a methodical pit crew is as crucial as the talented driver at the helm of the race car. And just as expert pit crew teams tweak to gain fractions of seconds on the track, an experienced software development partner will seek to implement the right technology, giving your business the power, downforce and traction needed to roll into victory lane.
Steve Roatch is founder & CEO at 27Global. Founded in 2008, 27Global designs, builds and operates custom software solutions for businesses of all sizes. The perfect pairing of a local leadership with offshore pricing, 27Global has the business acumen to understand your vision and the expertise to build your software solution. To learn more, visit 27global.com or connect with us on LinkedIn and Twitter.
