What Is a Development Team?

Written by Coursera Staff • Updated on

Learn more about development teams and how they operate.

[Featured Image]: A development team is brainstorming the goals of a new project at a whiteboard with sticky notes.

Key takeaways

A development team is a group of people who work together to develop a piece of software, product, or service from initial ideation to completion.

  • Although typically associated with software development teams, the term “project development team” can describe any team developing a project.

  • Roles within a development team can include both internal and external stakeholders. 

  • You can gain a clearer view of your role within a development team by understanding the Scrum framework. 

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What is a development team?

A development team is a group of people who work together to develop a piece of software, product, or service from initial ideation to completion. While many people use the term as shorthand to refer to a software development team (which develops software), a project development team can actually be any team focused on developing a particular project, whether it be constructing a building or manufacturing a new toy.

Development team roles

A project development team often includes a project manager, who oversees the planning and execution of the project, as well as project support members like a project coordinator. The roles of additional team members will depend on the nature of the project but can include both internal and external stakeholders who contribute to the project’s development in different ways. 

There are many ways to organize a development team. While some are organized in strict hierarchies in which everyone’s roles and responsibilities are clearly defined, many others consist of small, cross-functional teams in which all members contribute to the development and completion of the entire project (an Agile methodology known as “Scrum”).

Ultimately, much as the term “development team” can refer to many different types of teams focused on different goals, the structure of the team will differ based on the team’s overall objectives and the philosophy of the employer.

Scrum roles vs. Agile roles

The Scrum framework is a type of Agile methodology, which means all Scrum roles—commonly called "accountabilities" in current Scrum literature—are Agile roles. However, some Agile roles do not fall under the Scrum framework. A Scrum team has three roles: the development team, the product team, and the Scrum Master, who all participate in the sprint plan. An Agile team may have additional roles, including product owner and Agile coach. 

Read more:  What Is a Product Owner, and How Do I Become One?

Related terms 

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