Software team size: The Mythical Man Month
Stumble It!In The Mythical Man Month, Fred Brooks points out that in a team of n members there are n(n-1)/2 potential links, leading to an n-squared scaling with team size.
A team of 15 has 50 percent more links than a team of 12, more than twice the links of a team of 10, and five times as many links as a team of seven. This is broadly consistent with the conclusions previously discussed under The maximum team size for effective working.
Time is limited, and each relationship requires time for maintenance. Because of this, it is practical to keep working groups small. Some claim the sweet spot is around a team as small as seven. For our purposes, we will place the practical upper limit at 12, based on an observed sociological phenomenon known as an empathy group . Larger teams can exist, but they will usually factor into sub-teams.
From an article in CrossTalk: The Journal of Defense Software Engineering.
Digg | 
del.icio.us | 
Reddit | 
Yahoo! | 
Add to my favourites
Bioteams Books Reviews
What teams can learn from wolves
If you think that there is not much human teams can learn from nature think again! Temple Grandin in her amazing book Animals in Translation: Using the Mysteries of Autism to Decode Animal Behavior (p303-307) puts forward the incredible theory that early humans only became today’s successful homo sapiens because they learned to act and think like the wolves they co-habited with.
Buy it now from:
Amazon.Com
Amazon.Co.UK
Related Virtual Teams Articles
Self organizing virtual communities
Major Oil Company, Schlumberger, exploits self-organizing virtual communities.
New Version of Bioteams Audio Presentation
Virtual Teams Can Thrive Without Adding New Technology - Audio-Visual Presentation Showcases How
Just in case you missed it my esteemed colleague Robin Good and I have now produced a new version of my first bioteams audio presentation.
Freeriding in teams, communities and networks: 5 tips for fighting it
One of the biggest problems in teams, communities and networks, whether co-located or virtual, is freeriding (aka freeloading or lurking or loafing) where certain team members do not pull their weight. Here are 5 things you can do about it.
Leave a comment