How to Assemble a Web Design Team Based on the A-Team
March 10th, 2008 by John Reeve
To be successful in designing and developing web sites, you are going to need a specialized and diverse team who share a common goal of doing quality work. The A-Team, although stuck in the 80s, is a perfect example for building a web design team. Their skills complemented one another perfectly, and they knew how to get things done. Here are four personalities that any web team should have, based on the A-Team.
Col. John “Hannibal” Smith | Project Manager
The A-Team would not have been without Hannibal and his tactical skills. You need a project manager to plan and plot a course for your team, sometimes in the heat of client frustration. You need a master of disguises who can interact with clients on different levels. You need a leader like Hannibal, someone who “loves it when a plan comes together.” The cigar is optional.
Lt. Templeton “Faceman” Peck | Designer
Face was smooth and suave, able to make himself and the A-Team look good on many fronts. A designer with the confidence of Face is essential to give your team credibility and success on a visual level. Designers, like the Face, tend to round out their skills with expensive clothes and hip accessories.
Sgt. Bosco Albert “B.A.” Baracus | Developer
B.A. Baracus was a highly-skilled mechanic, able to fix or build anything with “a pair of pliers and a little time.” Developers tend to have quirks similar to B.A.; interesting taste in fashion, dedicated drink, and a desire to stay grounded. Web sites are becoming more complex. Your team needs a qualified developer, a strongman and mechanic, to fix all sorts of code-related issues, from AJAX cross-browser conundrums to server-side code errors.
Capt. H.M. “Howling Mad” Murdock | Walking Encyclopedia
Murdock is an expert pilot who can fly anything with rotors or wings. Although he appears to be insane, and interned in a psychiatric hospital, he is a thoroughly competent member of the team. It is a good idea, though not necessary, to have someone on your team like Murdock who knows a lot about everything. You will be thankful you have him when you need to write a complex regular expression or have a question about converting dollars to yen for an ecommerce site.
April 13th, 2008 @ 1:09 am
March 12th, 2008 @ 1:40 pm
Very Funny.
March 12th, 2008 @ 4:57 pm
Fantastic, crazy analogy but it actually works well. Don’t forget on the MR T developer business, you need a strongman to *coerce* IE6 to play ball.
March 12th, 2008 @ 5:47 pm
Very true on a lot of levels, it’s very difficult to do all of these tasks at once too, you end up just as Howlin’ Mad!
March 13th, 2008 @ 6:50 am
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September 7th, 2008 @ 6:42 am
October 14th, 2008 @ 7:52 am
October 26th, 2008 @ 8:59 am
April 28th, 2009 @ 10:05 pm
this is great! lessons for life, esp. as I study Strategy and Team Building for my MBA. Will have to bring this up. well done.
June 11th, 2009 @ 12:13 pm
bookmarked :)
July 2nd, 2009 @ 12:48 pm
August 3rd, 2009 @ 8:14 am
People like Murdock are also useful because they often come up with solution nobody else would have thought of.
September 6th, 2009 @ 2:35 pm
November 12th, 2009 @ 5:42 am
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