Flat organized coders vs. project-oriented development

why flat organization structure destroys your software product and how to avoid it before you exit the market

Product development with flat organizational structure

Flat hierarchies initially reduce costs by enabling the use of lower-budget developers under supervision of someone with more wide experience (PO or architect). 

You can relatively fast and efficiently create an MVP and support further product development for a while with such an approach.. In the long-term perspective this is a road to degradation and exit from the market. 

Why ‘flat hierarchie’ is bullshit?

Let’s start, that hierarchie cannot be flat. In other words flat is 2D, hierarchie is 3D. The problem is so, that without a deep understanding of the full system and clear oversight, developers may focus narrowly on their assigned tasks, leading to disjointed solutions with uncontrolled and unmanagable costs. Over time, these fragmented efforts can increase technical debt, slow down future development, and require costly rework, ultimately negating any initial savings.

Flat organization in the development process creates risks. Relying on lower-cost developers within a flat hierarchy often results in increased dependency on a few key individuals, like the lead architect or product owner, for critical decisions. This bottleneck can slow down decision-making and create inconsistencies in the codebase. 

Without a comprehensive view of the product, developers are less likely to foresee integration challenges or anticipate future scalability needs, leading to a product that is harder to maintain and scale over time. Consequently, while upfront savings might seem appealing, the cumulative impact of inefficiencies, delays, and necessary rework can drive up costs substantially in the long

Project-oriented approach 

A project-oriented approach, in contrast, promotes a more holistic understanding of the product among developers, which can significantly improve both quality and cost efficiency. 

By assigning teams to entire features or larger components rather than isolated tasks, developers gain a better understanding of the system architecture, user needs, and how their contributions fit into the broader scope of the project. 

Why projects increase speed of development

This alignment helps minimize technical debt and fragmentation, as developers are more likely to make design decisions that consider long-term stability and scalability. The transparency of your code grows, it becomes more stable, the support costs go lower and upgrade costs are also become more predictable. 

It happens because of the fact  that the developers and teams feel themselves are more invested in the overall success of their assigned project, which fosters a sense of ownership and responsibility for the final product’s performance. This focus on collective outcomes encourages higher-quality code, reduces the likelihood of rework, and improves cross-functional collaboration, ultimately streamlining the development process.

What are the financial outcomes?

In terms of cost efficiency, while this approach might involve higher upfront expenses by employing more experienced developers or investing in longer planning phases, the reduction in technical debt, fewer integration issues, and faster adaptation to changing requirements lead to lower long-term maintenance costs. The project-oriented approach mitigates the need for constant rework and firefighting, delivering a product that is both robust and cost-effective to evolve. 

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