I believe that the Surgical Team method proposed by Miller for tackling a programming job is without a doubt significantly more efficient than having each team member involved in the design and implementation of the project. I do believe, however, that it is hard and frustrating for the majority of both programmers and managers to make a decision to implement the Surgical Team method. Despite the presence of statistics, logical explanations, and even personal experiences all indicating the superior efficiency of MillerÕs method, there are some instinctive factors in human nature that make even the most rational and intelligent people feel very uncomfortable with adopting this strategy. 

One of these factors, which is especially troubling for managers, is the unfounded fear of wasting manpower. It is natural to have the feeling that if any of the programmers are not using their mind and expertise to their fullest extent, they are wasting resources. Despite the knowledge that the cost of integrating the ideas of more people outweighs the benefits, when its time to make a decision it is hard to avoid that illusion that makes one think Òthis time it will workÓ.  

A different issue for many programmers is disagreement. Different people have different styles, tricks, and methods when it comes to the design and coding of programs, and it is often hard or impossible to determine which one is the best. As a result, it can sometimes be very frustrating for a member of a Surgical Team who is not leading the project to witness and accept the application of other peopleÕs methods.  

Although the Surgical Team approach was not being explicitly employed, I once personally experienced this situation when working on a project in a group of five. At the beginning of the project there was one member who insisted on taking care of all the coding, so we agreed to leave him in charge. Throughout the execution of the project I often found myself frustrated with his way of design and coding, and frequently believed that our team would not be able to successfully complete the project in time. It was mainly my inability to follow and visualize the way his code functioned and fit together that caused my discomfort. To my surprise, however, everything came together very nicely at the end our project was very successful.