Scaling a software platform for a global audience is no easy feat in today's fast-paced tech landscape. It requires a balance of technical expertise and leadership to guide a team through building something flexible and resilient, especially in a system serving clients across diverse markets.
We sat down with Adam, an experienced development leader, to learn what it takes to lead such an effort. Drawing from his work at the forefront of MADCAP’s development team, Adam shares valuable insights about fostering collaboration, ensuring system scalability, and building solutions that adapt to client needs.
Creating a Collaborative Team Environment
“When you have a team working on different aspects of a large software system, the challenge is ensuring everyone stays connected to the bigger picture,” says Adam. In his experience, maintaining a strong line of communication is critical, especially when managing a platform with multiple modules and features.
While Adam’s team relies on modern collaboration tools to stay aligned—enabling real-time updates and seamless communication across different time zones—he believes the traditional weekly catch-up remains essential. These face-to-face meetings foster deeper connections, ensure alignment, and spark innovation in ways that digital tools can’t always replicate.
“It’s one of the simplest things we’ve continued doing for years—and it’s made a huge difference. Someone mentions a problem they’re having, and another developer, who’s worked on something similar, can offer a solution.”
This practice helps maintain a steady flow of communication and nurtures a team culture where collaboration thrives. It ensures that each team member understands how their work fits into the larger system, which is especially crucial when managing a platform like MADCAP’s, with its wide range of modules serving global clients.
“Flexibility is key,” Adam notes. “Priorities can shift quickly, and we encourage open conversations about what’s changing. The goal is to ensure every developer knows what to prioritize and when to escalate an issue. That kind of awareness has helped us remain agile.”
Balancing Speed and Stability in Software Development
One of the major challenges Adam faces is balancing the need for quick feature rollouts with maintaining long-term system stability. For the team, this means creating a modular system where urgent requests can be handled without disrupting the overall platform.
“We’ve structured our architecture to isolate features for specific clients. If one client has an urgent request, we can implement it without affecting others. For larger clients like Nestlé who operate across multiple markets, this flexibility is critical,” Adam explains.
However, when broader changes impact all clients, Adam emphasizes that there’s no rushing the process. “For changes that affect the entire platform, we take our time with thorough testing across multiple environments. Quick rollouts work for isolated cases, but we don’t cut corners when stability is on the line.”
Planning for Global Scalability from Day One
Building a software platform that can scale globally requires decisions that account for immediate needs and future growth. Reflecting on his early work, Adam highlights how foundational decisions have enabled MADCAP’s platform to scale seamlessly.
“One of the smartest moves we made early on was designing the system to handle client-specific features without compromising the overall stability. That decision has paid off time and time again,” he shares.
Adam advises other development teams to code with future maintenance in mind. “An overly complex piece of code might seem clever today, but future developers will struggle if it’s not easy to maintain. We reinforce this in our code reviews, and it’s been invaluable.”
Upskilling and Staying Ahead of the Curve
With technology constantly evolving, staying ahead is a priority for Adam’s team. His approach focuses on understanding the product’s future needs and the team's current skills, identifying gaps early.
“We’re fortunate to have a lot of self-driven team members who are always on the lookout for new trends,” Adam explains. “Often, developers are eager to learn new languages or tools that can help us tackle challenges more effectively. This proactive attitude keeps us ahead of the curve.”
Recently, the team has been diving into technologies like Next.js, React, and TypeScript. “The excitement around learning these tools has been fantastic,” Adam shares. “It not only boosts our skill set but also enhances our ability to respond to evolving client needs and industry demands.”
Managing Customer Feedback and Development Priorities
Customer feedback is invaluable, but it can also be overwhelming. Adam emphasizes that effective filtering and feedback prioritisation are critical to ensuring the team can address client needs without sacrificing system integrity.
“Our support team does an excellent job filtering requests,” Adam says. “What might seem like a minor issue on the surface can have a big impact if it’s something a user deals with hundreds of times a week. By seeing things from the customer’s perspective, we ensure the most pressing needs get tackled first.”
Adam attributes much of this success to the close collaboration between the support and development teams. “Our support lead sits right next to me. Direct communication helps us act fast when there’s an issue. Many companies face challenges with outsourced support, but since ours is in-house, we can communicate more efficiently and solve problems faster.”
This close-knit team relationship made all the difference recently when a client faced a critical issue. With detailed information passed on from support, the development team quickly identified and resolved the problem, ensuring minimal disruption for the customer.
For Adam’s team, this approach has been vital to managing development priorities and delivering a high level of service as MADCAP scales to serve more clients globally.
Leading Through Change and Stress
Leadership is more than managing tasks—it’s also about managing people. For Adam, a key learning experience has been understanding the importance of stress management within the team.
“If a team member is stressed, it affects their performance and job satisfaction,” Adam explains. “Sometimes, all it takes is identifying the issue and developing a plan together. It’s about communication.”
Adam encourages development leaders to create an open environment where issues can be raised early before they escalate into bigger problems. “When you foster a culture where people feel comfortable discussing challenges, you catch small issues before they become bigger.”
Reflecting on Success
When asked about his proudest achievement, Adam doesn’t point to a specific technical milestone. Instead, he highlights the team’s ability to work together, especially when helping new members grow.
“More than anything, I’m proud of the team’s ability to support each other. It’s that collaborative spirit that drives our success.”
For Adam, a standout moment was during one of his first large-scale implementations. “At the time, the timelines seemed unrealistic, but I was amazed at how quickly we delivered. That’s when I realized just how capable the team was.”
Final Takeaways
Adam’s journey as a development leader offers valuable lessons for anyone tasked with building and scaling software platforms. From fostering open communication within teams to prioritizing customer feedback and planning for scalability, his approach is a masterclass in balancing technical excellence with strong leadership.
For those in similar roles, his advice is simple: build flexibility into your systems, encourage collaboration, and never underestimate the power of clear, open communication.