Git for Teams

Chapter 1. Working in Teams

I’ve been teaching version control for more than a decade. The largest percentage of the folks who attend my in-person workshops are dealing with political issues, not technical ones. The issues vary, of course. Perhaps they are struggling to get their coworkers to see the light on how important version control is; perhaps they want to force accountability; or perhaps they have been nominated by the team to go figure out how to make sense of the mess that’s become the team’s workflow. No matter what the issue, understanding and dealing with the underlying social problems first can make learning and using Git a lot easier.

By the end of this chapter, you will be able to:

• Identify roles within a complete team

• Structure meetings so they have useful outcomes

• Recognize key phrases from people who are working in an opposing state from what the team should be working on

• Apply strategies to cultivate empathy and trust within your team

You must begin by understanding your team and the requirements for your software. By beginning from a place of trust and compassion, you will almost always find it easier to map out the Git commands necessary to accomplish your goals. By working with a trusting team, you’ll be able to help one another out when people get stuck with commands (and people will be more honest when they need help). And when people feel supported, and they understand the reasons why they need to use specific commands in Git, they will be that ...