 Does size really matter? Small Teams do, in fact, operate differently than larger teams and they require a very different level of process. I have implemented enterprise wide software configuration management solutions that impacted hundreds of developers located all over the world. It is tempting to think of a big team as being a collection of small teams and sometimes that’s true. Most often though small teams have unique requirements and there are some practices that essential to employ if you want to be successful.
Respect the Team
Small Teams often have very strong cultures. I have learned to respect the collective intelligence of small teams and what is often a very strong cohesive structure. I have learned that Small Team often do things in a way that surprises but often have excellent reasons for their choices. I respect everyone that I work with, but I reserve an extra dosage of respect for Small Teams.
My Small Team of Blind & Handicapped People
My regular readers know that I was blind using Braille a White Cane when I was in college. Over the period of many years and a couple of surgeries I lived a journey of gaining perfect visual acuity. As a person with a handicap, I knew well that small teams have a fierce sense of determination and pride. As a blind guy – I looked down upon sighted people as being the “real handicapped” people. The accomplishments of my fellow handicapped friends was incredible and behaved much like a motorcycle gang with a fierce sense of solidarity that can only come from a significant shared experience. I looked to Industrial Psychology to help me process and understand my experience. One source was early studies on the Israeli Army which I studied in the early 1980s.
Studies in Industrial Psychology
The Israeli Army has long had a reputation for having a strong culture. The American Army had a short-lived slogan of an “Army of One” – which I believe was meant to bring the importance of the individual contribution of each person. In contrast, the Israeli Army focused on the importance of the group and had many amazing successes – surrounded by overwhelming odds. (Naturally, I do not mean to denigrate the amazing contributions of the US Navy Seals, Rangers or any other specialized units), but the point is that small groups often perform admirably as documented in numerous studies that I devoured in my years studying Industrial Psychology at NYU.
Small Teams accomplish big results.
Small Teams Grow
Successful small teams can suffer significant growing pains when they grow (often due to their success). It is very common for a top notch small team to add a couple of people and then find that their dynamics have changed significantly.
Less is More
Small teams know that they should adopt as little process (e.g. ceremony) as possible Too much process can really undermine the effectiveness of a small team. You still need to be able to baseline your code. You still need to be able to automate the build and release packaging process. You also still need some form of change control – although the meetings are often held online and last about 20minutes. When it comes to process – less is usually more and you want to have just enough process to get the job done without making mistakes.
Standy by to Help Out
Resistance to change is often fierce in a small team. I find small teams often have source code management solutions that are held together with scotch tape and chewing gum. I usually communicate my concerns and then give them time and space to realize that they need help. Attempting to move a team before they are ready is rarely successful and small teams can be especially tough.
It’s the Risk to Watch Out For
So how do you decide what is essential in an SCM process for a small team? It has been my experience that it is always best to arisk based approach. That means that you focus on addressing the most serious challenges (based upon potential impact) and that you should not try to fix things that aren’t broken. There is usually plenty of work to do already and you are not likely to be successful in a small team without their buy-in and commitment.
Conclusion
Small Team or Big Team you want to have just enough process in place to get the job done without any extra ceremony. Make sure that you recognize the special culture of a small team and respect their autonomy. Then stand by to don your cape rescue them when they are ripe for growing up and embracing process improvement!
About the Author Bob Aiello is the Editor-in-Chief for CM Crossroads and the author of CM Best Practices: Practical Methods that Work in the Real World, Addison-Wesley Professional ( http://cmbestpractices.com). Bob is the Executive Director of Practices and Services at Configuration Management, Inc. ( www.cmi.com) where he specializes in Software Process Improvement including Software Configuration and Release Management. Mr. Aiello has over 25 years experience as a technical manager in several top NYC Financial Services firms where he had company-wide responsibility for CM, often providing hands-on technical support for enterprise Source Code Management tools, SOX/Cobit compliance, build engineering, continuous integration and automated application deployment. Bob is the Vice Chair of the IEEE 828 Standards working group (CM Planning) and is a member of the IEEE Software and Systems Engineering Standards Committee (S2ESC) Management Board. He is a long-standing member of the Steering Committee of the NYC Software Process Improvement Network (CitySPIN), where he has served as the chair of the CM SIG. Mr. Aiello holds a Masters in Industrial Psychology from NYU and a B.S. in Computer Science and Math from Hofstra University. You may contact Mr. Aiello at bob.aiello@ieee.org or link with him at http://www.linkedin.com/in/bobaiello
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Behaviorally Speaking 
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