Coming together to advance understanding of scientific software teams
This project is maintained by Collegeville
Teatime theme - Collegeville 2021
James Willenbring - Sandia National Laboratories
Many scientific software projects have very small teams. Sometimes as few as one person, often working at a fraction of full-time. In these situations, it is challenging to conduct code reviews, be at least two deep in understanding (bus factor > 1), and motivate sustainable practices such as code readability and sufficient developer documentation.
What does teaming look like for projects with very small development teams, particularly for teams of 1 or where a small number of people are assigned at a very small fraction of thier time? How can sustainability be promoted in these situations? Should single developer teams reach out for code reviews and perhaps even provide funding? When should an organization impose a 2-deep requirement on projects to protect asset and investments, or should this ever be a requirement?
In this tea time session, we will look at these and other questions associated with teaming with very small teams, including teams of only one person. The discussion will look at issues from the perspective of quality, risk, efficiency and other key factors. Of particular interest are stories of challenges or success in this kind of situation.