The 5 Stages of a Software Teams Life Cycle

Most of us have been in teams at varying stages of the teams life cycle. Some of us are there right at the inception of a team, and some of us are unfortunately there at the winding down of a team.

From my observations over 15 years in Software Engineering is some teams never go. They are just reinvented with fresh faces. I have experienced some teams almost being brought back to life in waves. These waves of life for some teams have always fascinated me. Over time, most of the engineers in a team might leave, and in the team will be new engineers forming a new wave of life for the team. This can happen over and over again. In turn more legacy is built and knowledge of past architectural decisions can be lost. Have you been in a place where you heard things like: ‘Ah, the previous team did that’?

In 1977, a researcher named Tuckman and a student named Mary Ann Jensen built upon the 4 stages defined by Tuckman originally in 1965, creating what we know now as the 5 stages of team development.

Forming

As in the title, the team has been formed here. This is the first stage.

The team is coming together. It has it’s team members, it’s supposed direction. The team was put together for a reason so we are understanding that here.