The role that is missing from the technology company’s C-suite

C-suite roles typically correspond to each of a company’s key needs. They are usually occupied to create and implement business and technology strategies, manage finances and ensure that the right people are hired. However, leadership typically lacks a voice advocating for executive-level developers — a surprising mistake given the competitive advantage that a good developer experience (DX) can bring.

If companies sell directly to developers, the value of focusing on DX is probably obvious. But a reputation for serving developers can help you get your foot in the door, either when you’re targeting potential clients or improving your own company’s development and UX workflows.

In addition, it is an important focus for companies, because at least 70% of developers feel they substantially or completely influence purchasing decisions, with 87% of companies consulting developers during the purchasing process, and 91% of developers saying it is important they are consulted.

A small number of pioneering companies are now appointing a Chief Developer Experience Officer (CDXO) roll. While many companies have lower-level developer advocates, the CDXO represents a major shift in the role developers can play in corporate strategy. The role can provide a competitive advantage by orchestrating DX improvements to executives on a larger scale and faster timeframe than a lower-level role would often allow. The DX focus also goes hand in hand with a product-driven growth strategy (PLG).

Why DX falls short without a CDXO

Without a DX voice in the C-suite, executives often fail to see the urgency of DX improvements and underestimate the substantial benefits they can bring. This results in a gap between lower-level discussions and the C-suite, and as a result, DX improvements are often slow and insufficient.

One possible consequence is that many developers are unable to meet their needs efficiently. a recent developer research of Stack Overflow found that more than 65% of developers encounter knowledge silos and more than 60% spend 30 minutes or more each day searching for the answers they need.

The developer role is dynamic and requires a lot of troubleshooting. Focusing on optimal DX requires both reactive and proactive improvements – meeting developer needs while adding useful features before demand. And only a CDXO has the high-level vantage point necessary to make sure this happens.

The CDXO role is also helpful in keeping a company honest about whether it is actually succeeding in its DX goals. It’s easy to brag about great DX (and many companies do), but it’s also easy for developers to spot when much-hyped offerings aren’t meeting their needs. Without a CDXO, getting a DX reality check won’t happen fast enough for executives to factor it into their decision making.

The CDXO’s greatest asset: their stakeholder connections

The utility of the CDXO is more than just the connection to the C-suite: it’s the connection to the entire company and customer base.

Even as more companies embrace the CDXO role, we probably won’t see dedicated DX divisions. Instead, DX excellence is a corporate mindset. The developer’s user experience is spread across the web, command line interface, APIs, and many more tools, and each of these elements should be optimized with DX in mind for a more efficient development lifecycle. The CDXO will serve as the link between these departments to coordinate improvements.

The CDXO can also help build, nurture and support a developer community. That community can include the company’s own developers, as well as those to whom the company’s products are sold. If the CDXO consistently responds to feedback to make changes, developers will start to trust and want to communicate with them. Open sourcing products go even further by communicating transparency by making the community feel part of the solution by allowing them to contribute directly to improving the product in a way that achieves their goals.

If DX is simple enough for developers to solve their own problems quickly, and will continue to do so even as the industry evolves, it will solidify the CDXO’s bond with the community.

Qualities to look for in a CDXO

As someone who needs to understand the developer’s point of view, the CDXO must have a technical development background. This is the only way to ensure that the CDXO fully understands the developer process, pain points and major challenges, as well as where fixes are most needed and key projects to launch for proactive improvement.

The CDXO must also possess strong leadership skills. After all, the core of the role is explaining to fellow C-suite members why improvements are necessary for the organization to gain a competitive advantage. There will likely be more issues to address than time to do so, and the ability to prioritize effectively is also essential to the CDXO.

Finally, enthusiasm is a must. For the CDXO, DX should be a real passion. Dealing with the developer community should not be a chore, but something that should be done regularly and out of interest. If the CDXO legitimately interacts and cares about developers, ordinary users become dedicated supporters.

The eight questions to ask when you need a CDXO

It is quite possible that some organizations are already holding themselves responsible for DX without a CDXO. However, if you’re considering taking on a CDXO role, consider the following questions, broken down into three categories, when evaluating your company:

Positively influence DX: Unless your organization can answer “yes” to these questions, your DX may lag behind competitors:

1. Does your approach to DX speed up delivery and increase productivity?
2. Does it deliver value to developers?
3. Does it help to improve the quality of the product?

Promoting the human aspect of DX: The answers to these questions reflect your ability to respond to developers’ urge to experiment:

1. Does your approach to DX allow developers to experiment and innovate?
2. Does it foster loyalty and a human bond?

Driving DX decision-making: Rapid DX improvements require rapid communication and coordination between every part of a business:

1. Does your approach to DX allow shortcomings to be communicated quickly between departments?
2. Does it affect C-suite decision making?
3. Does it notify developers of improvements?

The CDXO makes the technical C-suite more complete

As a company-wide driver, the C-suite must actively seek and address errors that prevent the company from operating as effectively as possible. As developer voices become more recognized, potentially impacting bottom line, many companies will realize how essential DX is to improving productivity, engaging customers, and building dedicated developer communities.

The CDXO role is perfect for coordinating the entire company in making major DX improvements, efficiently targeting marketing to the company’s core audience while serving as a friendly point of contact that developers can trust.

Alessandro Cauduro is chief development experience officer at Azion Technologies.