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Solo people working on projects aren't too bad so long as they communicate the work they're doing and document it well. Some people just work better on their o

Solo people working on projects aren't too bad so long as they communicate the work they're doing and document it well. Some people just work better on their own. IMO, what's worse are "knowledge hoarders". Usually they've been in the company for a long time and they maintain their position by being as stingy as possible with their knowledge. You usually find these people in big orgs, and they can be quite toxic. They also don't write good documentation.

Drdrdrq 7y ago
> Solo people working on projects aren't too bad so long as they communicate the work they're doing and document it well. Strongly disagree, been there, hurt like hell. Solo people on projects mean that other people can't give meaningful reviews (because they don't know the project that well, and because they have their own work), leading to 1. developer not getting good feedback and improving, 2. higher risk of them going down some rabbit holes, 3. bus factor of one and stressful vacations, 4. less guarantee that the docs and the code are any good, 5. a danger that this solo developer will turn into one of those "knowledge hoarders". Solo development is never OK (imnsho). Sometimes you can't avoid it, but it should be a calculated risk, and only a temporary one.
- tatar 7y ago
  I've found your comment compelling. I'm assuming you have some unit economics implied here, I'm very curious to learn from your experience. What would you say, in a team of 6 devs, if a pm just walked up and said "If we can get 6 different tasks done in a week versus 3, guess which one I'm gonna pick?"
- raxxorrax 7y ago
  In my experience it can work quite well. I work alone on many projects. Given, you need support staff. I have someone to document everything aside from the most technical parts that I need to write myself. Also a project manager that extracts requirements and expectations from customers. Doing that myself would increase project duration tremendously. It is pretty common in the embedded world in smaller companies. There just aren't enough developers to render enough support. The problem with one-man-shows is the dependability. A lot of web developers go that route. But if they are unavailable because of private stuff or illness, the project they are working on is basically iced.

Drdrdrq 7y ago

> Solo people working on projects aren't too bad so long as they communicate the work they're doing and document it well. Strongly disagree, been there, hurt like hell. Solo people on projects mean that other people can't give meaningful reviews (because they don't know the project that well, and because they have their own work), leading to 1. developer not getting good feedback and improving, 2. higher risk of them going down some rabbit holes, 3. bus factor of one and stressful vacations, 4. less guarantee that the docs and the code are any good, 5. a danger that this solo developer will turn into one of those "knowledge hoarders". Solo development is never OK (imnsho). Sometimes you can't avoid it, but it should be a calculated risk, and only a temporary one.

tatar 7y ago
I've found your comment compelling. I'm assuming you have some unit economics implied here, I'm very curious to learn from your experience. What would you say, in a team of 6 devs, if a pm just walked up and said "If we can get 6 different tasks done in a week versus 3, guess which one I'm gonna pick?"
raxxorrax 7y ago
In my experience it can work quite well. I work alone on many projects. Given, you need support staff. I have someone to document everything aside from the most technical parts that I need to write myself. Also a project manager that extracts requirements and expectations from customers. Doing that myself would increase project duration tremendously. It is pretty common in the embedded world in smaller companies. There just aren't enough developers to render enough support. The problem with one-man-shows is the dependability. A lot of web developers go that route. But if they are unavailable because of private stuff or illness, the project they are working on is basically iced.