How many psychiatrists does it take to change a light bulb?
Just one, but the light bulb has to really want to change.
Over the years, I've had the privilege of working with a lot of very productive teams. Sometimes I even think I had something to do with their formation.
Here are some of the common good elements of those teams.
Technically sound. They always had good people on them. Not necessarily great people, but people who could do the job. Great people help, of course.
Belief in the project. The team usually believed more in what it was doing than in anything else around it. They weren't just there to do a job, they were there to accomplish some higher goal.
Belief in the team. The team was built on trust, very real trust. They didn't have to agree, but they had to trust every member to do his or her job.
Belief in the process. The team believed that their way of doing things could and would result in success.
Introspective. The team paid attention to what worked and what didn't, and changed in response to what it learned.
Extreme Programming is a collection of practices that have worked over the years, for a number of people. Kent Beck has brought them together, but they have been part of successful projects for a very long time.
The specific rules are helpful, but what is important are the values: Simplicity, Communication, Testing, Aggressiveness.
If a team is essentially healthy, you can find those values in it and reinforce them. If it isn't ... well, I've never known a bunch of programmers who didn't want to be successful and have a good time ... and I hope I never do.
More when I know more ... and please, help me.
-- Ron Jeffries
Resources
Understanding Your Business Culture chapter from Soul Of An Organization
See original on c2.com 