I’ve noticed that when our family’s bar of Zest is reduced to a certain size, it becomes ineffective. There’s still soap in there, but it just doesn’t seem to produce any quality lather. I suspect the same is true of small software development teams.
A team of one or two programmers is small and nimble, but susceptible to external forces. If a team member gets sick, goes on vacation, or takes another job, your team is reduced by 50% or 100% for that time. That’s a lot. The remaining team member is almost certainly forced into some extremely inefficient task-switching, further reducing throughput.
I think it’s OK to dedicate a very small number of people to a task, as long as they’re part of a larger team with members who can help out in a pinch. Plus the team will naturally cross-train as they ask each other for help or advice.
