Stack Overflow 2022 Developer Survey: Where Is The Industry Heading?

The results of Stack Overflow’s 2022 Developer Survey were recently published. The survey gathered information from 70,000 developers from various countries, roles, and technologies.

“This report is based on a survey of 73,268 software developers from 180 countries around the world.” – Stack Overflow Developer Survey 2022

Let’s look at my highlights from these survey results to understand where the industry is heading.

1. Git is the king: The use of Git is increasing year by year.

“No other technology is as widely used as Git. Especially among Professional Developers.”

What are the primary version control systems you use?

What are the primary version control systems you use?

2. Version Control Universe: GitHub, GitLab, Bitbucket, Azure DevOps.

If you’re building a product that integrates with version control platforms — that is what I did at Oobeya — this is your universe: GitHub, GitLab, Bitbucket, and Azure DevOps. You need to cover these immediately because the entire software development industry lives in this universe.

What version control hosting service are you using?

What version control hosting service are you using?

3. Docker usage is increasing year by year.

Every developer should now be familiar with Docker. Developers must first learn the concept and the technology behind it. Then, they must gain hands-on experience with it.

“Last year we saw Git as a fundamental tool to being a developer. This year it appears that Docker is becoming a similar fundamental tool for Professional Developers, increasing from 55% to 69%.”

Which developer tools have you done extensive development work in over the past year, and which do you want to work in over the next year?

Which developer tools have you done extensive development work in over the past year, and which do you want to work in over the next year?

4. Docker and Kubernetes are in every developer’s toolbox.

“Docker and Kubernetes are in first and second place as the most loved and wanted tools.”

Which developer tools have you done extensive development work in over the past year, and which do you want to work in over the next year?

Which developer tools have you done extensive development work in over the past year, and which do you want to work in over the next year?

5. Communication Matters: Developers love Slack.

Which communication tools did you use regularly over the past year, and which do you want to work with over the next year?

Which communication tools did you use regularly over the past year, and which do you want to work with over the next year?

But where is Discord?
I guess those who don’t like Slack have already gone to Discord, but Discord was not included in this survey. We have Slack and Microsoft Teamstons on Oobeya in order to communicate with developers and teams. We also plan to add the Discord integration for dev teams using Oobeya.

Which communication tools did you use regularly over the past year, and which do you want to work with over the next year?

Which communication tools did you use regularly over the past year, and which do you want to work with over the next year?

6. You probably have knowledge silos as productivity killers.

“68% of respondents say they encounter a knowledge silo at least once a week. For People Managers, 73% report encountering a knowledge silo at least once a week.”

Engineering leaders must first change the culture of one-time-communication (communicating need-to-know information once and quickly) to break down existing knowledge silos.

See below the tips for breaking down knowledge silos and increasing overall productivity:

  1. Create a clear and accurate documentation system
  2. Practice pair programming
  3. Perform better code reviews (See the code review tips here)
  4. Use Git analytics to identify knowledge silos in the development team. (Oobeya provides you insights into existing knowledge silos in your codebase and teams.)
How frequently do you experience each of the following?

How frequently do you experience each of the following?

“62% of all respondents spend more than 30 minutes a day searching for answers or solutions to problems.

25% spending more than an hour each day. Regardless of being an independent contributor or people manager, this is time that could be spent learning or building.”

On an average day, how much time do you typically spend searching for answers or solutions to problems you encounter at work?

On an average day, how much time do you typically spend searching for answers or solutions to problems you encounter at work?

“For a team of 50 developers, the amount of time spent searching for answers/solutions adds up to between 333–651 hours of time lost per week across the entire team.”

7. Smaller organizations often tend to be in the office.

“85% of developers say their organizations are at least partially remote. Smaller organizations are most likely to be in-person, with 20% of 2–19 employee organizations in-person.”

Which best describes your current work situation?

Which best describes your current work situation?

8. Developer Experience: Processes, tools, and programs within an organization.

I believe software organizations today should invest more in improving the overall developer experience. Development teams should gain more visibility into their software development and delivery pipelines and strive to build a transparent and accountable working environment to increase developer experience and productivity.

“Only 16% of organizations have Innersource initiatives.”

Developer Experience

Developer Experience

Resources