Summary

The MSF Development Team Model and principles for application development that we've outlined in this chapter aren't a guarantee for project success. Factors other than team structure help determine the success or failure of a project. However, team structure is critical. Proper team structure is fundamental to success, and implementing the MSF Development Team Model and utilizing its underlying principles will help make teams more effective and, therefore, successful.

In Rapid Development, Steve McConnell illustrates this point by saying:

Even when you have skilled, motivated, hard-working people, the wrong team structure can undercut their efforts instead of catapulting them to success. A poor team structure can increase development time, reduce quality, damage morale, increase turnover, and ultimately lead to project cancellation.

The MSF Development Team Model for application development is meant to address exactly the point McConnell makes.

In examining the qualities that make teams successful, we identified key leadership traits and effective team traits. Then we discussed some simple individual and team evaluation tools.