To put it mildly, software developers have something of a reputation for not delivering work on time. A key reason for this is that regardless of the contributions of individual developers, team management processes are often sloppy. Team integration has become even more challenging with the rise in the use of contract development staff and the increasing use of offshore development companies.
Effective team management is thus one of the most critical factors in getting software out the door on time, on budget and to specification.
Experts agree that the single most important element in team building is communication. -Communication is absolutely crucial to make sure business objectives are met," says Richard Dowling, Rational technical manager for IBM ANZ. As well as day-to-day information, developers must also be clearly informed of overall goals."
-An effective development team works together, in a common direction. In order for staff to understand and share the goals of the business, managers need to communicate the direction of the business and explain how the individual contributes to the bigger picture," says Dr Eugene Dozortsev, vice president of research and development for Computer Associates in Australia.
That's not always an easy task. -Balancing the commercial requirements of a software vendor with developer creativity and quality can be tricky," says Geoff Masters, Asia-Pacific vice-president for Altiris, which also develops systems management software in Australia and the US. -Development teams can be easily sidetracked from objectives and it's quite easy to get caught up in the technology itself rather than the end goal."
It's also important to strike a balance in this regard. -Too much team involvement can be counter productive and create a design by consensus without a clear objective," warns Masters. -This increases risk of not delivering the required product, or delivering late. Both are detrimental to the business and staff morale."
Communication becomes even more critical once detailed and technical development planning begins. -The process by which agreement is reached within the development team can have as much impact on team dynamics and performance as the agreement itself," says Steve Baty, senior analyst for Internet development agency Red Square. -Allowing project team members to have input into the planning and specification stages of a development project is a good way of engendering the motivation to see the project succeed that will encourage productivity and commitment."
Once work is assigned out, how can you ensure staff get the best results? One possibility is highly specific division of tasks. -Our software is modular which means we have the benefit of allocating individual programmers to a specific module," says Debra Asciak, director of technical services for messaging solutions developer System Solutions Australia. -These programmers retain this module for the period they work for us and therefore are fully responsible for its operation and bug-fixing. By making it personal, we find that it is in their interests to write good reliable code."
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