# Tekin Süleyman: Balancing Complexity and Team Size

EP-179 | August 13, 2024 | 42:31


In this episode, Robby chats with Tekin Süleyman, Co-founder of the Join Together Cooperative. Süleyman joins us from Manchester, England, to share his insights on maintaining software within a small team and the importance of sustainability in development practices.


## Show Notes

### Topics Discussed

- **Characteristics of Well-Maintained Software** : Tekin emphasizes the importance of software that is easy to change and tailored to the team's needs.
- **Balancing Complexity and Team Size** : Tekin discusses how his small team manages complexity and features to maintain sustainable work practices without overburdening the developers.
- **GovUK Project Insights** : Tekin shares his experiences working on the GovUK project, highlighting the challenges and breakthroughs in rationalizing the UK's government digital real estate.
- **Version Control Best Practices** : Tekin and Robby delve into the importance of well-written Git commit messages and how they preserve institutional knowledge.
- **Connecting with End Users** : Tekin advocates for developers to get closer to end users to better understand their needs and deliver more effective solutions.

### Key Takeaways

- Maintaining software sustainability is crucial, especially for small teams.
- Intentional decisions about growth and complexity can prevent burnout and maintain productivity.
- Direct interaction with end users can significantly improve software quality and usability.
- Effective version control practices help preserve valuable institutional knowledge.
- Organizations should balance parallel work to avoid overburdening development teams.

### Resources Mentioned

- [GovUK GitHub Repository](https://github.com/alphagov)
- [Programming as Theory Building by Peter Nauer](https://pablo.rauzy.name/dev/naur1985programming.pdf)&nbsp;
- [User Story Mapping by Jeff Patton](https://jpattonassociates.com/story-mapping/)
- [A Branch in Time (a story about revision histories)](https://tekin.co.uk/2019/02/a-talk-about-revision-histories)
- [Tekin on Ruby.social](https://ruby.social/@tekin)
- [Join Together Cooperative](https://jointogether.online/)
- Book Recommendation: [Palestine +100: Stories from a Century After the Nakba](https://commapress.co.uk/books/palestine-100)

Don't miss this insightful conversation with Tekin Süleyman as he shares his journey and best practices for maintaining sustainable software within small teams.

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## Transcript