Software development teams are always looking for ways to improve. In order to assist with this, I’ve been reading a book called Build an A-Team by Whitney Johnson. Before you ask, this has nothing to do with the American TV Show that aired from 1983-1987 called The A-Team. I was going to make some joke about Mr. T’s catch phrase, “I pity the fool,” but I digress.
In Build an A-Team, Johnson discusses constraints and teams rising to the challenges given those restraints. Think back to all your past releases and even if you can’t think of a restraint there is a silent one. What is that restraint? Time. We all have release deadlines and that time constraint is the brick wall we run up against every release.
So how do teams deal with this time constraint in software development? How do they work together to overcome this? Well, there are a few ways this can be handled:
- Reduce scope of the release
- Re-evaluate what MVP truly means
- Work smarter
- Work harder
- Put in extra hours
Most of these restraints cannot be overcome by one person. All members of the team must come together to overcome the time constraint. I enjoy this quote by author John C. Maxwell on teamwork.
“Teamwork demands that we focus a little less on ourselves and a little more on how the team looks. To succeed, we must value completing one another more highly than competing with one another.”
John C. Maxwell
Other Restraints
Time is just first restraint listed, but there are several other restraints that software development teams deal with. All of the team constraints mentioned in Build an A-Team are:
- Money or other resources
- Expertise
- Buy-in
How many times have you said, “If only we had one more software engineer or QA person to help, we’d be able to get this done a lot faster!”? At times we can get other resources or better yet a resource with certain expertise. However, in a down economy or rough sales quarters at your company, commandeering a new developer can prove difficult.
Overcoming
Teamwork is key to overcoming the software development team constraints. Having everyone on the team focused on the same goal, heading in the same direction, and working diligently to complete that goal is paramount to breaking through constraints. Take a look at yourself, see where you can be a good teammate to your team, and see just how much you can accomplish together!
