Nov
30
Specialisation in Software Development
Filed Under Books, Technology |
One very interesting aspect of XP is its lack of specialisation among
the developers. Indeed, XP actively encourages a level of cross-training
that is unheard of in most other approaches. This can be very useful
because it lessens the risk that progress will be slowed as a result of
having to wait for one key individual to perform a task.
XP is a good counterexample to the idea that role specialisation is
useful in software development. Although there are strong arguments in
favour of specialisation for mechanical tasks, the arguments for
efficiency through specialisation are inconclusive for intellectual
tasks. By making the programmers responsible for doing their own design,
XP avoids the inefficiencies and miscommunications that can arise when
design ideas are passed from a designer to an implementer.
— Pete McBreen, Questioning Extreme Programming,
Chapter 10