“Software development can benefit a lot from … process standardization, automation of the production line, and test automation and simulation.”
— Joost Visser
The Author
Joost Visser is a Dutch software engineering expert and author, best known for his work on software quality, software metrics, and team productivity. He holds a PhD in computing science and has served in both academic and industry roles.
He was formerly the Head of Research at SIG (Software Improvement Group) in the Netherlands, where he led efforts to quantify and improve software maintainability and quality at scale, working with large codebases in enterprise settings.
His work emphasizes:
- Evidence-based improvement,
- The importance of Goal–Question–Metric (GQM) methodology,
- Early integration of quality,
- And systemic thinking across teams and processes, not just code.
The Book
Building Software Teams is a practical guide to improving software quality and team performance through evidence-based practices and measurable goals. Aimed at software professionals, team leads, and managers, the book focuses on integrating engineering best practices into team workflows using concrete metrics and automation.
Key Themes
- Goal–Question–Metric (GQM) framework: Helps teams define meaningful goals, ask the right questions, and track progress with relevant metrics.
- Quality is built-in, not added later: Encourages teams to embed quality from the start using CI, automated tests, static analysis, and clear definitions of done.
- Team accountability over individual blame: Emphasizes systemic process improvement and shared team responsibility for code and delivery.
- Actionable best practices: Covers key practices like continuous integration, deployment automation, coding standards, and architectural consistency.
The book is ideal for software team leads, architects, and quality-focused developers looking to align development processes with team goals and measurable outcomes.
What I liked
It emphasizes that software quality is a shared team responsibility rather than an individual’s burden, encouraging collaboration and reducing blame culture.
Although aimed at team leads and architects, the principles and practices apply to developers, testers, and managers alike, helping align diverse roles around shared goals.
The book encourages iterative reflection and measurement cycles, which fits well with Agile and Lean methodologies and helps teams evolve steadily over time.
The book avoids vague theories and delivers actionable advice grounded in real-world software development. It’s built for practitioners who want to improve their teams, not just read abstract ideas.
What I disliked
Because chapters are concise, some readers looking for in-depth technical guidance or advanced tactics might find the coverage too surface-level.
The book includes some diagrams, but overall the layout is quite text-heavy, which could feel dense and harder to skim compared to more graphically rich guides.
What to expect?
Expect to learn the Goal–Question–Metric (GQM) framework, which helps teams connect business goals with meaningful measurements.
The content is organized into short chapters that make it easy to read a section quickly and apply it immediately.
It promotes iterative reflection cycles where teams regularly measure, learn, and adapt their processes.
Conclusion
Building Software Teams by Joost Visser offers a solid, practical roadmap for software teams striving to improve quality, productivity, and collaboration through measurable best practices. Grounded in the Goal–Question–Metric framework, the book empowers teams to align their efforts with clear goals and data-driven insights rather than guesswork. While its style is concise and focused on process and technical practices, it delivers valuable guidance that helps shift the culture from individual blame to collective ownership. Ideal for team leads, architects, and developers committed to continuous improvement, this book is a useful resource for fostering disciplined, quality-driven software development at scale.