Organizational Patterns for Teams

By: N.B. Harrison
Published in: PLoPD2
Pages: 345-352
Category: Organization and Process

Summary: Solves problems of designing in teams.

Pattern: Design by Team

Pages: 345-346

How can people work together to design and develop software? Use Unity of Purpose, Diversity of Membership, Lock 'em Up Together, and Validation by Teams

Pattern: Unity of Purpose

Pages: 346-347

To get different people pointed in the same direction, the project leader must instill a common vision and purpose in all members of the team.

• Self-Selecting Team describes how a team should come together. When a leader with a vision emerges, people with similar visions will gravitate to that leader.

Pattern: Diversity of Membership

Pages: 348-349

To determine your product's required capabilities, the resources for its completion, and other information, create a team to specify user requirements. The team should include a developer, a user or user's representative, and a system tester.

• Early involvement of system test is addressed in Get Involved Early

Pattern: Lock 'em Up Together

Pages: 349-350

How can a team of different people come up with a single, coherent architecture? Gather the team in a room and require that every person commit to total participation until the architecture is complete or complete enough that a clear picture emerges.

• Architect Also Implements, Architect Controls Product, Review the Architecture

Pattern: Validation by Teams

Pages: 351-352

You're using Unity of Purpose and Diversity of Membership. To ensure that designs are valid, hold a design review. Don't use formal design documents. Have the designer explain the design to the rest of the team. Each team member should check internal interfaces for consistency. The team should execute the design orally.

• Creator-Reviewer, Group Validation, Review the Architecture