A Note on Team Chemistry

“Private Kefalín, what do you imagine team chemistry means?” Anyone who's ever played a team sport will know what I'm talking about. I like looking for parallels between sport and software development. A good one is how a team works and how people get along, what people in sports call team chemistry.

A football team is much like a group of developers. You can pack a team with marquee names, as Real Madrid once tried, but that guarantees nothing. You'll probably end up like the peasants at Chlumec, soundly beaten. On a software team, too, you have to make room for all sorts of players.

You need workhorses to do the dirty work, the people who bust their backs getting it done. Just like in football, they get much less credit than they deserve. You also need dribblers and playmakers who give the game shape and purpose and catch the spectator's eye. On a software team, these are the people who bring something extra. Every team needs leaders who can shoulder the pressure when the match reaches a crucial point. Software development makes that a little easier because decisions don't have to be made in a split second. Every team also needs a manager, the coach who decides what everyone's role is and who does what during the release, or the match.

People on a team have to click. That's why you sometimes read in the papers that the dressing room never took to a player. There's also an unwritten rule that the older players set the tone in the dressing room. On a software team, the more experienced people give newcomers the advice they'll need and help them settle in. Sometimes that means showing them how to configure the IDE. Other times it's a demo of an interesting technology or a conversation about a problem that draws them into what the team is doing.

There's more to life than kicking a ball or tapping at a keyboard. After a season or a big match, people like to let off steam, a euphemism for an all-out bender with hookers, booze and open-faced sandwiches. Players or developers get together over a mug of beer to grumble or celebrate, depending on how things went. It clears the air, and the next day they're back to training or back at work. Team chemistry is the same everywhere…