Sunday, November 11, 2012

What Makes Software Teams that Work, Work?

In pulling together some notes and reviewing some papers, I was struck by a seemingly simple question, and as I consider it, I pose it here.

Some software development teams are brilliantly successful.  Some teams are spectacular failures.  Most are somewhere in between.

Leaving the question of what constitutes a success or failure aside, I wonder what it is that results in which.

Some teams have strong process models in place.  They have rigorous rules guiding every step to be taken from the initial question of "What would it take for X?" through delivery of the software product.  These teams have strong control models and specific metrics in place that could be used to demonstrate the precise progress of the development effort.

Other teams have no such models.  They may have other models, perhaps "general guidelines" might be a better phrase.  Rather than hard-line metrics and measurement criteria, they have more general ideas.

Some teams schedule regular meetings, weekly, a few days a week or sometimes daily.  Some teams take copious notes to be distributed and reviewed.  Some teams have a shared model in place to track progress and others keep no records at all.

Some of each of these teams are successful - they deliver products on time that their customers want and use, happily.

Some of each of these teams are less successful.  They have products with problems that are delivered late and are not used, or used grudgingly because they have no option.

Do the models in use make a difference or is it something else?

Why do some teams deliver products on time and others do not?

I suspect that the answer does not lie in the pat, set-piece answers but somewhere else. 

I must think on this.

3 comments:

  1. If you find he answer then you can retire a billionaire

    Don't sports fans ask the same question ? Is it Belichick that makes the Pats great or the system ? Why are Barcelona the greatest soccer team ever, the players, team system, management or luck ?

    Why do some teams still produce despite working under conditions that would suggest otherwise ?

    Are you suggesting there are best practices for team formation and management ?

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    1. Hey Phil - My question is simple: Why are some software teams crazy successful and others settle for their rivalries against other basement dwellers?

      I am not suggesting "best practices" will solve every team's problems, but some may help some teams and others may help other teams. Is it the practice (or development model) that makes teams successful or something else.

      I suspect the "something else."

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  2. You might have to define what you mean by "crazy successful" - do you mean shipping what the customer wants, on time and with the team feeling like a team and not working stupid hours ?

    Some will say to hire the best and get out of their way ( Google and Facebook hire the best ), others will point to having a great leader that inspires with his vision ( Steve Jobs ? ), others will say that it is the development model and that agile with it's frequent iterations and empowering the teams stands the most chance of creating the conditions for success.

    "An example would be handy right about now" - so what are your examples of crazy successful teams ?

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