Every team I’ve worked with has had an informal locking method that gets used for really disruptive work. Instead of locking files in the VCS, you tell everybod

Every team I’ve worked with has had an informal locking method that gets used for really disruptive work. Instead of locking files in the VCS, you tell everybody that you’re going to be doing X, try not to make changes around that, and coordinate with that person if you really need to make changes on the same stuff. I think the informal technique works better since it’s a lot more flexible, but the basic concept is very useful.