People matter most
In PeopleMatterMost, Martin Fowler states that the key element in a software development effort are the people doing the work.
Martin says something like “Many writers talk about this stuff and stress the ability of the people is really important. While that’s true it misses out the fact that it’s not just about ability – it’s also about collaborative ness. It’s equally important that everyone on your project is pleasant to work with.”
I fully agree with him.
I worked on lots of projects with lots of people and also discovered not all of them were equally collaborative.
Sometimes working with very capable and knowledgeable team members can be a hell of a job, but sometimes you cannot choose to do the project without them.
On the other hand, working with collaborative team members is what makes life fun, so most of the time you would not choose to do the project without them.
On my next project, I know which team members to choose …