Is the Full Stack Developer as efficient as the Specialized Developer?

The answer to this burning question is a divided one, so a quick jump on a conclusion would not be useful. As you know, the IT industry is rapidly evolving, the companies are constantly working towards bringing out the best techniques and practices to match the pace with the growing needs. Hiring a developer for the project is extremely crucial for the company. A full-Stack developer is an all-rounder and Specialized Developer, being the master of his trade, both prove to be extremely useful in different scenarios, however, their efficiency is generally questioned.

Do you also think a Full-Stack Developer can be a replacement to multiple Specialized developers, without compromising with the efficiency? According to a survey done by StackOverflow, the majority of software developers are Full-Stack Developers i.e. 51.9%, clearly indicating its popularity in the industry.

However, following a trend blindly, can prove to be a matter of risk for a business. Hence, it is important to evaluate the resources on your criteria before implementing it.

Full-stack or the Specialized Developer, both are productive and unique in their own way – you need to choose your developer as per the need of the situation. However, before heading to the criteria to make a choice between both of them, you can go through a brief introduction of Full Stack and Specialized Developer.

Full-Stack Developer

A Full-Stack Developer is skilled in numerous technologies and is capable of working in various fields extending from front-end to back-end development. Along with handling the project, a full stack developer can also interact with the client and convey the entire idea of the project more clearly and effectively. Looking up the versatility of the Full Stack Developer, the demand for the Full Stack Developers is increasing at a great pace, in fact, it is expected to grow up to 5 times more till 2024, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

When should you hire a Full-Stack Developer?

Though Full Stack Developers work incredibly, taking charge of the entire project from its scratch to its release and maintenance, however, they do have certain restrictions, which might have a negative impact on the project and the company. Let’s check out factors that work in favour of the Full Stack Developer, making them an ideal fit for that criteria.

  • Small Sized Projects
  • Small Scale Business
  • Projects that require less investment.
  • Projects that are less complex

Specialized Developer

Specialized Developers are experts in their field, having years of experience, and in-depth knowledge about their respective disciplines such as Development, Designing, or Database Management. Specialized Developer is responsible only for the trade that he specializes in instead of multiple trades like the Full-stack Developer.

When should you hire a Specialized Developer?

Generally, during the Software development process, the tasks are distributed among teams and sub-teams. The developers are allocated with a very specific task in which he/she is specialized in, called as Specialized Developers. The Specialized Developers are more like a Master of the field they are working in, acquainted with all basic and propelled subtleties of that specific field and connoisseurs in dealing with the complexities of the projects. Let’s check out the factors that a Specialized Developer can contribute to a company.

  • Large Projects
  • Projects with higher investment
  • Innovative Projects
  • Complex projects

Full-stack Developer Vs Specialized Developer; Which one should you hire?

Full-stack Developers and Specialized Developers have their fair share of perks and disadvantages. None of them impeccably fit in all types of projects, For Example – hiring a Full-Stack developer can prove to be cost-effective, however, the innovation in a project cannot be promised.

As you probably are aware, Quality, Time, Cost, and Flexibility are a couple of significant variables considered during the development of the project, let’s dig a little deeper to find how the Full Stack developer and Specialized developer perform in each criterion.

Quality of Work

Specialized Developers, having explicit skill sets and deep knowledge in the dedicated domain, can deliver higher quality in the project. Since the focus of the Specialized Developer is centred on a specific technology, tracking and following the latest trends becomes comparatively feasible and easier for the developers. Being acquainted with the existing as well as the latest technical nitty-gritty, the Specialized developers can come up with some really trailblazing ideas based on that technology.

On the contrary, because of being the jack of all trades, it becomes difficult for the Full Stack Developers to track the updates of each and every technology which he is skilled in, thereby restricting their knowledge. This affects the quality of the product sooner or later, compromising the creativity as well.

Time Management

Time Management is an extremely crucial factor in the Product Development Cycle. This factor varies according to the size of the project, in case of a Small Scale project, having control over the entire project, a Full Stack Developer can manage the time more effectively, as he need not conduct any meetings or coordinate with other team members. However, a specialized developer can comparatively take more time in such projects, as the team members need to coordinate with each other regarding the modules.

For Large Scale Projects, the scenario is entirely different as in this case, the Full Stack Developers take more time in comparison to the Specialized Developer. Unlike Full-Stack Developer, task allocation to the Specialized Developer makes the project more innovative and efficient, reducing the development time as well.

Interdependency

Project development takes place in various stages which are dependent on each other. Hence, developing a project independently is simply impractical for a Specialized Developer, requiring him to be skilled in multiple technologies required in that project. The dependency among the team members not only slows down the development process but also makes it more prone to bugs and failures. Let’s say if one member commits a mistake or delays the work, the other following task is effected automatically.

Full Stack Developer, on the flip side, is at an edge here, having complete charge over the project and handling it independently. A Full Stack Developer knows each and every detail of the project, enabling him to find and fix the bugs and issues easily and efficiently.

Cost

The cost of a project is dependent on three major factors-

  • The Software and Hardware required
  • Basic resources
  • Human Resources such as Developers, Designers, and Testers.

Costs of Software, Hardware, and basic resources are inevitable, however, a huge difference can be observed in the cost of hiring human resources such as Full-Stack and Specialized Developers. Hiring numerous Specialized Developers for various fields proves to be costlier than employing a solitary Full Stack developer, making the development process more cost-effective.

Who Should You Hire in 2020?

Hiring an employee or choosing a career, however, confounded between Specialist and All-rounder?

Choosing a developer for your company/project is a critical process. Hence, before hopping to a conclusion, you should thoroughly analyze your needs and evaluate which developer can perfectly fit into your criteria.

Both the developers can work wonders, however in different situations. A Full-Stack Developer, being an all-rounder can prove to be extremely helpful for a low-budget as well as less complex projects, handling everything at his end. On the other side, if you want to focus on and innovate a specific part, a Specialized developer can work for you.

Are you still in two minds about making the choice between the two? Reach out our Experts, who, having experience of managing numerous projects, and hiring dedicated developers for the projects, will guide you through this and help you create a differentiator. Or If already made your mind, Hire Full-Stack or Specialized developer and kick start the development.

Hire a Full-stack or Specialized Developer | Ace Infoway