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Editorial Team
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Asked: 2026-05-13T10:33:04+00:00

I realize that this is a subjective question, so I’ve marked it as a

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I realize that this is a subjective question, so I’ve marked it as a community wiki. I think that it is pretty specific to programming teams, though, so I’ve posted it here as opposed to somewhere else.

I’m leading a small game development team (four people) as a side project. We are a disjoint team, with everyone in different places, but we do have some of the mainstays of an organized team.

  1. Source Control
  2. Continuous Integration
  3. Bug Tracking
  4. Document Workspace
  5. Regular Meetings
  6. Calendar / Schedule

How do you keep your small, disjoint teams on-track? I tend to agree with Joel’s opinion about when and how to micromanage and know that my team is motivated, but it can be easy to fall off-course when everyone isn’t connected in a physical way and doesn’t see what other people on the team are doing. Suggestions, feedback, or criticisms are welcome!

Edit: I’m managing the team; I’m not looking for automated tools or anything to do my job for me, just ideas for approach or process that might help everyone feel more “connected” and involved.

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1 Answer

  1. Editorial Team

    You need a Team Leader with specific skills.

    1. Motivator: You have to keep your team Motivated. This is really hard to do, and requires a special personality. Without this skill, small teams like yours are hopeless.

      1a. Request thoughtful answers to a controversial question and then after 7 minutes accept one of few answers and go on to something else. This shows that you take the long view and is highly motivating to your contributors

    2. Intelligence: For small projects like this, it’s best if the Team Leader knows something about everything. If he knows something about everything, everyone is going to follow him.

    3. Objective: Remaining objective is very key.

    4. Organized: You have to be the most organized out of everyone, because when things get chaotic, people run. And I would say in small projects, this is the skill that most Team Leaders lack.

    I have been part of several small projects. I would guess that 90% of them fail. I would say it’s primarily due to the Team Leader lacking in certain skills.

    BTW. Good Luck. I couldn’t be a Team leader. 🙂

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