One Pizza Teams vs Two Pizza Teams: When Size Actually Matters

🎯 Can AI really shrink your development teams from two pizzas to one?
In this episode of Definitely Maybe Agile, Peter and Dave explore the promise and reality of smaller teams in the age of AI agents. While AI can handle documentation, test automation, and other "hygiene" tasks teams often skip, the real question isn't whether you can reduce team size, it's whether you should.

They dig into when one-person teams make sense (startups and greenfield projects), when they don't (complex legacy systems), and why the biggest gains might come from augmenting existing teams rather than downsizing them. Plus: why most AI initiatives fail and how to find the real business problems worth solving.

What You'll Learn:
✓ How AI agents can boost team capacity without reducing headcount
✓ Why communication channels matter more than you think
✓ When one-person teams actually work (and when they don't)
✓ The hidden complexity of AI agent interactions
✓ Why most AI initiatives fail to deliver business value
✓ How to identify real business problems worth solving with AI
✓ The difference between ephemeral capacity and true productivity gains
Key Moments:
0:00 - Introduction: The One Pizza Team Concept
0:40 - From Two Pizza to One Pizza Teams with AI
1:53 - What AI Actually Does Well (And What It Doesn't)
4:56 - The Reality Check: Are We Really Getting More Capacity?
7:13 - Why User Experience Isn't Getting Better Yet
8:28 - The Complexity Problem in Large Organizations
11:54 - Where Small Teams Actually Excel: The Startup World
14:30 - Communication Channels and Team Dynamics
16:47 - The Hidden Cost of AI Agent Communication
17:59 - Key Takeaways: When to Shrink vs When to Augment
20:49 - The Real Problem: Solving Business Issues, Not Tech Problems

This Week's Takeaways:
AI as Capacity Booster, Not Team Replacer - Focus on augmenting existing teams rather than downsizing
Context Determines Team Size - Startups and greenfield projects work with smaller teams; legacy systems need larger teams
Solve Real Business Problems First - Target genuine business needs, not cool technology

Hosts: Peter Maddison & Dave Sharrock

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