If you can choose whether to work on a project alone or in a team, what would be your choice and why? And if you want to work in a team, what is the ideal team size?
Tell me more
×
Programmers Stack Exchange is a question and answer site for
professional programmers interested in conceptual questions about software development. It's 100% free, no registration required.
|
|
closed as not constructive by gnat, Jim G., Tom Squires, fish, maple_shaft♦ Jul 20 '12 at 14:31
As it currently stands, this question is not a good fit for our Q&A format. We expect answers to be supported by facts, references, or specific expertise, but this question will likely solicit debate, arguments, polling, or extended discussion. If you feel that this question can be improved and possibly reopened, see the FAQ for guidance.
|
I like working in a team. It's nice to be able to split up some tasks, bounce ideas off of each other, etc. I find that the code and the project generally benefits from that sort of collaboration. But, if the team isn't cohesive, then I'd rather work by myself to get the job done. As for the ideal team size, I think it depends on the size of the project, but anywhere from 2 to 5 people would work well. |
|||||||||||||||
|
|
My preference is to work alone. I'm a total control freak and unless I totally trust the other programmers on a team and they're top notch, I'd rather do it myself. |
|||
|
As usual, it depends. In most professional projects is better to be a team member. But I like work on personal projects alone. Is seems obvious but I like because I can exercise another kind of work, another kind of process and thoughts. Working alone I have different challenges. |
|||
|
|
|
I prefer working on a team because it's always good to have somebody pretty familiar with the work that I can bounce ideas off of. Being able to pairing as well on tasks helps out a lot. As for an ideal size, it really depends on the size of the overall project, but I'd say no larger than 5-7 people. |
|||
|
|
|
I prefer small teams by far. No more than 3 people. There are some nice things about working alone though. You don't have to convince anyone on a certain way to do things. Just do it and move on. |
|||
|
|
|
it always depends on the size of the project for small pet projects i prefer doing it alone,but if doing work as a freelancer it is good to have a partner on who to discuss design ideas and complement yours also is good for peer reviews and have someone to lauhg abuot you customer crazy ideas. i have been working in a 2 -3 team size for some years now |
|||
|
|
|
Depends on the size, although for me the smaller the better. Small Projects - I hate working in a large team for a small project. If I do it myself, I don't have to worry about merges, branches, keeping coding standards consistent, other people's IDEs, other peoples coding speed, other people, and all the extra headache that comes along with a team Big projects - In big projects where its just not possible to do it alone or X is really complicated, I would like to work in a team, just to help divide up the work. If we keep things seperate enough, then I'm perfectly fine. Its the separation though that's important. If people are working on my module at the same time I am, then I get frustrated. |
|||
|
|
|
It´s always more fun to work as part of a team. Also, you'll learn more. Anything up to 4-5 I think it's great, as you can really work with everyone and not making subgroups. Maybe the ideal number is 3 as the communication can be extremely fluid and productive. But for small projects you can do some interesting stuff working by your own. But usually you will tend to generate dirtier and less understandable code, as you can have all the project in your head and don't need to show/explain/coordinate with no one. |
|||
|
|
|
Smaller is better, but two (good) heads are better than one. The larger a team grows, the harder it is to maintain cohesiveness, conceptual integrity, forward progress and even good morale. Management of the group as a whole is far more important after it grows beyond a small handful. I've been working as the sole programmer in a two-person partnership (the other person is a domain specialist) and I like it pretty well, but it would be nice to have another software type to collaborate with and to be able to have some kind of division of labor. Having to know everything about everything at every level is quite demanding. |
|||
|
|
|
In an university setting, I've found out that if you are in a team you'll have to wait for the other to finish something. If he has other things to do and thus unavailable, this tends to be less productive for the project. Thus, in this setting I rather like to work alone than in a team, but in a work setting it would be the reverse... |
||||
|
|
|
I love socializing with other people and I love bouncing ideas off of other people, but give me work to do alone and it will be completed with a coherent, if not elegant, design and few, if any errors. |
|||
|
|
|
I prefer teams and I also prefer teams with high caliber developers for the same reasons as others have posted. Always good to learn from your peers. Heck that's why I lurk here. :) |
|||
|
|
