Developer Onboarding Tips
The first day sets the foundations for the whole project. Optimizing onboarding process for developers who join new teams is something we are constantly improving. We made a process for this that I will share with you.
Have an onboarding checklist
When a new developer joins AGILEDROP, we go through a couple of checklists that ensure the new person has given and received all the information needed.
I strongly recommend you to have an onboarding and offboarding checklist. If you are onboarding an external person into your team, you can still use the same list and cherry pick the tasks that make sense. The idea is not to forget something.
Have an introductory meeting
While giving access to tools make sure you have an onboarding call. During this call, you can explain the nifty details of your workflows and processes. During this call, do not talk about specific tasks on the project. Acknowledge that you are bringing a new person on board who has never seen how your team works.
Some key points:
- Who are the people on the project and their responsibilities?
- Who gives assignments and assigns tasks?
- What is the workflow and who is responsible for each step?
- Who is responsible for testing and QA?
- Where does developer tracks work time? Where to track idle time?
- To whom does developer turn to when having deployment issues?
- Are there any daily or weekly meetings? When?
