Effective Software Project Management

Traditional Versus Extreme Teams

As I discussed earlier, the Traditional projects can work with distributed teams of specialists and junior technical staff. The details will not be repeated here. Recall, however, that the junior technical team members work under the direct supervision of the more senior members of the team. It is not necessary for the traditional team members to be co-located. The requirements specification document and project schedule are their guides.

Almost without exception, Extreme projects should have co-located teams of senior technical staff. The project is so encompassing that they should be assigned 100 percent. You don’t want to have conflicting priorities getting in the way. The team members must be single-purposed for the entire project. A constant exchange of ideas is needed to fuel the Extreme engine.

Distance and time are the enemies and must be minimized wherever possible. About the only concession is to use Instant Messaging or some equivalent for members that are not within eyesight of one another. Like the Adaptive project team, the Extreme project team should have a team “war room.” This is the space where they work together and that they own for the duration of the project. The walls of their war room are covered with the same information as in the Adaptive project team war room, as well as additional information such as the results of brainstorming sessions and any other ideas that have been proposed. A parking lot is a good tool to use. ...