First you must understand that a religious order is exactly like an "enterprise" in the sense of a group of people teaming together toward some goal.
All communities started as "startups", i.e. the founder, maybe a co-founder, a few early members and some advisors. They try to adress a problem, for ex. a social problem. Nobody believes in them at first, and a lot of young communities dies early. If they grow, they'll either seek recognition or be asked to establish rules and get "registered". Usually with the local bishop, but sometimes up to the Pope if they want to special statuses.
Examples :
- Francis of Assisi as a founder, who "was soon joined by his first follower (...) Bernardo di Quintavalle, who contributed all that he had to the work. Within a year Francis had eleven followers" (from wikipedia)
- Don Bosco, his mother as his first follower, Don Calasso as a mentor
Back to original question, it's frequent for a monk/sister to establish a new order. Usually, such a monk already wants to dedicate his life to God and enters the closest order he feels attracted to, and may then realize that he is looking for something a bit different or encounter a situation whom he/she feels need to be adressed more urgently. He/She will then ask for guidance, then permission to leave the existing community to try starting a new one.
An example is Mother Teresa, which was initially a member of The Institute of the Blessed Virgin Mary, serving as a teacher. But after being assigned to India, "she was increasingly disturbed by the poverty surrounding her in Calcutta" (wikipedia) She asked permission, and upon careful examination, was allowed by her superiors to quit the Convent and live with the poors. She then founded the Missionaries of Charity.
As for developpers, if they want to serve their human brother and sisters this way and shows some fruits, why not ? It would be totally acceptable.