Programming Heroes and Ball Hogs

Combine a shortage of skilled workers with the common tendency to set overly optimistic schedules, and the stage is set for the programming hero. Programming heroes take on challenging assignments and write mountains of code. They work vast amounts of overtime. They become indispensable to their projects. Success, it seems, rests squarely on their shoulders.

Project managers both love and fear hero programmers because they are smart, temperamental, and sometimes a little self-righteous, and because the managers don't see any way to complete the project without them.^[26] In a tight labor market, replacing them isn't an option.

Unfortunately, the reality is that for every programming hero who is capable of monumental coding achievements, there are other pathological programming disasters who just don't know how to work well with others. They hoard design information and source code. They refuse to participate in technical reviews. They refuse to follow standards established by the team. The sum total of their actions is to prevent other team members from making potentially valuable contributions. A significant number of programming heroes don't turn out to be heroes at all; they turn out to be prima donna programming ball hogs.

Individual heroics can contribute to project success, but teamwork generally contributes more than individual accomplishment does. A study at IBM found that the average programmer spends only about 30 percent of the time working alone.^[27] The rest is spent working with teammates, with customers, and on other interactive activities. Another study of 31 software projects found that the greatest single contributor to overall productivity was team cohesiveness.^[28] Individual capabilities also significantly influenced productivity but were less influential than team cohesiveness.

Many people like to take on challenging projects that stretch their capabilities. Those who can test their limits, follow sound software development practices, and still cooperate with their teammates are the true programming heroes.