How to Fail at Software Development

4. Is there anyone on this project who has ever finished a project?

This question is scored by a percentage. If a quarter of the members of this team have never been on a successful project, score 1. If half, score 2. If nobody on the team has ever been involved with a success, score 4.

Fortunately, over the past few years, the importance of at least one experienced mentor has been recognized and is considered as necessity in some circles. But be careful. Just because someone has been around for a long time doesn't mean they really know any more than anyone else. Doing lots of inhaling and exhaling in the right room doesn't make one automatically smarter. Neither does being the loudest and most opinionated person in the room.