When building a new team, do not create an empty team. Instead grow an existing team to a larger size and then bud the two teams off1. Build diverse teams, in terms of structure and seniority. Ideally you would want a team of Juniors and Mids, with 1-2 seniors playing an advisory. Treat work as an ability to challenge and grow a team. Do not just shunt hard problems to senior / experienced individuals.
While crafting a team, Rockstars and Teamwork. Be wary of splitting people across projects / teams, the switching costs and project overhead of multiple projects will result in less aggregate work being delivered2.
Ask “Given our skills, constraints, cultural and engineering maturity, desired software architecture (Conway’s Law), and business goals, which team topology will help us deliver results faster and safer?”
Team Sizing
- As a rule of thumb, teams should be about 6-8 during steady state1.
- Experienced leaders can lead approximately 5-7 people
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Compensating for different sized teams
- Too small (e.g. three engineers) teams are less resilient and under utilize leadership talent. Consider having a first time manager lead this team or have an experienced lead multiple smaller teams3.
- Too large (e.g. twelve engineers). Engineering leadership time will be pressed, they will likely have to make a decision between focusing on goals vs. focusing on team development. The team may or may not be more resilient, depending on if there is a key person risk3.
Anti-patterns anti-patterns
When designing teams two common anti patterns are4: 1. Ad hoc team design, including “evolution” design where a team grows to large and is just split. i.e. a lack of intentionality 2. Shuffling of team members
1. Larson, W. An Elegant Puzzle: Systems of Engineering Management. (Stripe Press, 2019).
2. Northrop, B. The Fallacy of Splitting Time. https://www.bennorthrop.com/Essays/2022/fallacy-of-splitting-time.php (2022).
3. Kolyaskin, K. First rule of the team: size. https://medium.com/@kolyaskink/first-rule-of-the-team-size-94cdad8bc79e (2022).
4. Skelton, M., Pais, M. & Malan, R. Team Topologies: Organizing Business and Technology Teams for Fast Flow. (IT Revolution Press, Portland, OR, 2019).