Team Size vs. Communication Overhead

Research Team

Team size 5

Communication overhead 0.15

Synergy bonus 0.08

Live Output

Net output0.0

Comm. overhead cost0.0

Optimal team sizen = 1

How it works

Each research team of size n produces raw output that grows with synergy — every added collaborator lets the others build on their ideas — but every pair of collaborators also needs to talk, and that grows quadratically (Brooks's Law): with n people there are n(n-1)/2 communication channels to maintain.

Raw output   O(n) = n * b * (1 + s*(n-1))
Overhead     C(n) = c * n*(n-1)/2
Net output   N(n) = max(0, O(n) - C(n))

where b is a fixed per-researcher baseline (1.0), s is the synergy coefficient and c is the per-pair communication cost — both set by the sliders above. Because O(n) grows linearly in n while C(n) grows quadratically, N(n) always has a single interior maximum: the optimal team size n*. Push the overhead slider up and n* shrinks toward tight pairs; push synergy up and n* grows, favouring bigger teams.

Bar chart — net output N(n) for every team size from 1 to 12; the bright bar is your current size, the gold marker floats over n*.
Team ring — your current team, drawn as a complete graph. Every edge is a channel that must be kept in sync; the pulses riding the edges are messages, and their count scales with C(n).

This is the same curve behind "The Mythical Man-Month": adding people to a well-coordinated small team helps, but past n* the coordination cost outgrows the extra hands.

Current team size Communication pulse

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Research Team Size vs. Communication Overhead