Building Successful Software Teams

picasso in your software teamAll too often we see products that don’t make the transition from good to great.

Products with great potential let down not by a lack of innovative features but from a lack of user accessibility. Today alternatives are just a Google away and it is not sufficient for a product to be technically outstanding, it must be intuitive, low fuss and easy to use. A development team must nail the user interface and user experience so consumers can access the technology. I firmly believe many companies are still missing the mark here, simply because their team composition is stacked heavily with “scientific and technical talent”. A balanced team is in my opinion critical to success.

The challenge then is to ensure technical teams and managers hire talent from a range of intelligence pools, don’t hire just tech-heads (your Einstein’s).

Where to start? Howard Gardner suggests that there are multiple, unique forms of intelligence; he identified these eight:

  • Logical-Mathematical – scientific and technical talent;
  • Verbal-Linguistic – the ability to use words and language effectively;
  • Interpersonal – the ability to interact effectively with people and teams;
  • Intrapersonal – self-reflective and self–understanding tendencies and talents;
  • Visual-Spatial – imaginative and artistic talent;
  • Bodily-Kinesthetic – physical talent and dexterity;
  • Musical – the ability to create music; and
  • Naturalistic – an ability to manage and relate to the natural world.

Here is a great article “Innovation for Innovators”  covering team composition and what is now becoming the stereotypical comparison of Apple vs. Microsoft. I believe it should get you thinking. Get a few Picasso’s in your team and make that transition from good to great.

© Copyright John Wiese