Scrum Prohibits all Specializations’. The part that stuck me was the following:

I understand that Scrum has been applied mainly to software products and that the elimination of “specialties” means that the database programmer, UI programmer and QA engineer should all be able to perform each other’s roles equally. This is valid.

 

Now I’m concerning myself with only the technical side of an agile team but I’ve seen this raised in a number of different agile circles. In those cases there seems to be the impression that swapping a database, physics or audio developer with any other specialisation like UI, animation or graphics and an agile team should be able to roll up their sleeves and perform the different roles to the same level with the same level of outcome.

To me, this is emphasised in how the product backlog is often used, which is a priority and risk ordered document that doesn’t take into account the skill set of the team that’ll be working on the final product.

Processes such as pair programming, constant re-factoring and code reviews (to name but a few) seem to be seen as ways to not only communicate intent and project information but also skillset and ability across an entire discipline.

 

So What Do Specialists Bring?

But we have specialist developers for a reason. They are great at what they do, they understand the area in which they work and they know how to get the best results in the shortest amount of time. They have a passion for the area they are focusing in which usually means they’ll go a step further to research their area and keep up with developments which other developers may not have the time or the understanding to do.

By spreading your talent thin and assuming that people can fill each others shoes leads to the following issues

  • You are not respecting the knowledge, skill, experience and passion that a specialist can bring to their work and as a result not respecting the developer themselves
  • You’re reducing the impact these people can have on a team and it’s often the experienced specialists that inspire younger members of the team into an area they are interested in
  • The ability of those specialists to learn more about their area and pass that onto others is drastically reduced.
  • The ability for the team to push their development boundaries will be indirectly reduced as everyone on the team aims for the ‘generalist’ role to fit in

 

What About Pair Programming?

Now I’m a massive fan of the various agile techniques out there. Pair programming is an excellent mentoring, development and training tool but it won’t allow one developer to fit into the shoes of another. True, they will have a better understanding of the tools, pipeline and systems being developed which will allow them to fill in, but it won’t transfer the amount of background experience the specialist has.

The same goes for code reviews, constant refactoring and feature discussions. It spreads the knowledge which reduces the risk to the project should the specialist not be around when needed, but the core experience and drive that made the specialist who they are simply cannot be replaced by dropping in a new developer.

 

But Everyone Does A Bit Of Something Every Once In A While?

Of course, sometimes people do need to jump into another developers shoes (illness, staff turn-over, hit by a bus etc.) but this is not the same as expecting a people to be able to fulfil each others roles equally. We can take steps to decrease the impact this will have on the team using the processes mentioned above but it will not allow those specialists to be inter-changed as the project continues development.

We need specialists in any development field because it’s these people that can push their respective fields in directions we might not even be able to imagine. By treating them as interchangeable we might be gaining flexibility to schedule our staff, but we’re losing something far more important and vital to a development team and the products they are creating.

As I said to some one (in 140 character or less of course) when pointed out that people have done this, and even the author of the original post has done it (see the comments)

I’m sure he has done it, I’ve done similar, but it doesn’t mean we did both with the skill of an expert of either.