Consensus Decision Making vs Delegated Decision Making

Developers should learn and use Consensus Decision Making when working in agile teams, open-source projects, or any collaborative environment where buy-in and collective responsibility are crucial meets developers should learn and apply delegated decision making in fast-paced, cross-functional teams where rapid iteration and local context are critical, such as in microservices architectures or feature development squads. Here's our take.

Consensus Decision Making

Nice Pick

Developers should learn and use Consensus Decision Making when working in agile teams, open-source projects, or any collaborative environment where buy-in and collective responsibility are crucial

Pros

• It is particularly valuable for making strategic technical decisions, such as choosing a tech stack or setting coding standards, as it reduces conflict and increases commitment to the chosen path
• Related to: agile-methodology, collaboration

Cons

• Specific tradeoffs depend on your use case

Delegated Decision Making

Developers should learn and apply Delegated Decision Making in fast-paced, cross-functional teams where rapid iteration and local context are critical, such as in microservices architectures or feature development squads

Pros

• It reduces dependencies on managers for routine technical choices, like selecting libraries or refining implementation details, thereby improving team velocity and morale
• Related to: agile-methodologies, devops-culture

Cons

• Specific tradeoffs depend on your use case

The Verdict

Use Consensus Decision Making if: You want it is particularly valuable for making strategic technical decisions, such as choosing a tech stack or setting coding standards, as it reduces conflict and increases commitment to the chosen path and can live with specific tradeoffs depend on your use case.

Use Delegated Decision Making if: You prioritize it reduces dependencies on managers for routine technical choices, like selecting libraries or refining implementation details, thereby improving team velocity and morale over what Consensus Decision Making offers.

The Bottom Line

Consensus Decision Making wins

Developers should learn and use Consensus Decision Making when working in agile teams, open-source projects, or any collaborative environment where buy-in and collective responsibility are crucial