Are you a junior developer working alone? Are you part of a team with no Development Team Lead (DTL)? Do you feel neglected, unloved and with nowhere to turn? Then this article is for you and your manager.

I’ve posted before on the role of Development Team Leads and how critical they are critical to the success of any project. But what happens when there is no DTL on a project? Ridiculous you cry – there should always be a DTL! Unfortunately this is not always the case but that doesn’t mean you cast these leaderless projects to the sharks. On the contrary, these projects require special attention and a different approach to ensure they stay on track.

So how is it that a project team can be formed without a DTL?

• Small Projects – this is the most common scenario. A project only has the budget and scope to require only one developer and the ones available aren’t DTL’s or senior developers. Further, even if senior resources are available you may decide it’s better for them to be working in a larger project team so they can be more effective in influencing the behaviour and mentoring more junior team members.
• Multi-vendor Projects – an increasingly common trend these days is for our clients to form project teams whose members come from different vendors. As one of those vendors, you may only resource one person and that person may not be a DTL. Further, there is often no designated DTL to coordinate cross-vendor development activities.
• The Abandoned Project – less common, but I’ve seen it happen. A project starts of with all the right players including a DTL. But, for whatever reason, the DTL is called off to work on something else, or (as happened here once) the DTL leaves the company and there is no-one to replace them.

So how do you, as a Development Manager or otherwise, support individuals working without the support of a DTL?

Here are a number of approaches that we use to make sure no-one feels stranded and to ensure all our projects have the best possible chance of success.

• Everyone has a Mentor – every member of the development team is assigned a mentor. Mentors are always senior members of the team with a lot of real world experience. Developers may not actually work on the same projects as their mentor but will generally catch up every 6 weeks to discuss a variety of things including career aspirations, morale or simply to provide a shoulder to cry on (OK, so this has never actually happened but you know what I mean). We have a general rule for all Mentors – if you are mentoring someone who is flying solo you must meet with that person more regularly, perhaps even weekly or more, and ensure they have the appropriate support. This will often be limited by the Mentor’s own project commitments but should at least be an opportunity to raise potential issues early - one of the key mistakes of more junior developers who (a) don’t want to rock the boat, (b) say they are 90% complete when they are 10% through a task, or (c) simply don’t see potential issues until the last minute.
• Encourage Collaboration – I run a team of almost 40 developers and everyone knows who the experts are in certain fields. We encourage shoulder-tapping at all times. People are encouraged to send group emails asking for help on particularly gnarly problem (this literally occurs daily). No-one should feel isolated from the wealth of information that is available in the minds and experience of the wider team. At Intergen, sharing knowledge and helping others is as much a part of our culture as wearing yellow at TechED.  
• Encouraging Leaderful Teams – this concept may initially seem contrary to the idea of actually having DTL’s but I don’t think so. I think the idea that everyone in the team should be empowered and encouraged to take on leadership activities and behaviours is crucial. Good DTL’s know this and understand that part of their role is to help others grow. If this approach is the norm then developers will be be better equipped to fend for themselves when they are the sole developer on a project.
• Intelligent Resourcing – of course, in an ideal world you would only put senior people on projects where they would be working alone. And you’d make sure your junior team members worked alongside great DTL’s who would teach them the ropes. Unfortunately this isn’t always possible. However, in my mind, the ideal person to put on a solo project is an intermediate level super-star. Someone who is destined for greatness and is looking for a new challenge. These people are most likely to be able to make enough decisions for themselves but be aware enough to know when to ask for help.
• Put Your Best Foot Forward – whenever a project starts (and especially if it’s a leaderless one) we make sure one or more senior members of the company review the solution and proposed approach. This helps to set the project up for success and give some initial guidance that can be a real help. The same “Solution Review Panel” concept is used to review RFP responses or when a project requests feedback on a significant design decision they are proposing.

So the bottom line is that whenever you’re asked to work alone or without a DTL you should always know where and when to get the help you need. If not, go and talk to your manager and ask them to read this article ;-)