> It didn't turn out well, but there were some bad personality
> conflicts, so it's hard to say if any design process could have
> succeeded.

The XP books are quite weak on the topic IIRC. They all assume you
have an almighty manager to start with and people coming to form the
team out of random.

Our team manages recruting all by itself, candidates see at least 3
people, up to five or more if it looks good, no one goes in the team
if anyone having seen the candidate has a doubt. This greatly minimize
chances of personality conflict. Common sense I'd say but looks quite
rare (I'm no old-timer though).

I've been interviewed by 5 people of the team for a total of more than
6 hours when I joined 3 years ago. If I'm to change, I wouldn't even
consider joining a team without meeting a significant part of the
people I'll work with, if such a process isn't in place, chances of
personality conflicts and unsatisfying work in general are too
high. (Of course if I'm not starved and have a choice about where to
go in the first place :).

--
Laurent Guerby <[log in to unmask]>