How GitHub Uses GitHub: Communicating with remote teams

Hear from two of our seasoned managers as they share how we pattern our work to build tools with 60% of our team members being remote. We'll cover communication patterns, the tools we use, and the cultural elements that contribute to more successful collaboration across timezones.

Transcript

1. the best way to build and ship software Communicating with Remote Teams How GitHub uses GitHub
2. the best way to build and ship software 2 Cynthia Rich @crichID, Manager of Training
3. the best way to build and ship software 3 Bonnie Chatterjee @BonnieC, Director of Professional Services
4. the best way to build and ship software A few logistics 4 ▸ 40 minutes presentation, 10 minutes Q&A ▸ Please ask questions in the GoToWebinar Q&A panel ▸ Recording ▸ Yes, we are! It will be sent via email after the presentation. ▸ Additional Questions ▸ services@github.com
5. the best way to build and ship software In this session, we will focus on how we use GitHub to make remote work more effective. This includes: ▸ Why remote teams are important to us ▸ The tools we use to work effectively ▸ Getting things done in remote teams ▸ Culture building in remote teams 5 Our goals
6. the best way to build and ship software Our remote philosophy 6
7. the best way to build and ship software “In order for us to meet our goals we can't have a hub. We are distributed out of necessity.” 7
8. the best way to build and ship software Intentionally remote 8
9. the best way to build and ship software “If you look at the carbon footprint ... or the time wasted by people traveling to work, remote working is making a positive change on the environment, employee happiness, and the way teams work.” 9
10. the best way to build and ship software “I am remote because I'm not based at HQ but I don't feel remote.” 10
11. the best way to build and ship software Remote Workers 11
12. the best way to build and ship software Remote Workers 12 Distributed
13. the best way to build and ship software 13 Creating togetherness
14. the best way to build and ship software “our meetings are a pretty evenly split between "business" and "I'm building a tube amp for my headphones" kind of discussion.” 14
15. the best way to build and ship software “Help people pair up on projects they can do or review together, so ICs form relationships amongst themselves.” 15
16. the best way to build and ship software Cultural values for successful distributed teams 16 ▸ Focus on inclusion ▸ Assume positive intent ▸ Be empathetic ▸ Form genuine relationships
17. the best way to build and ship software 17 The tools we use
18. the best way to build and ship software 18 How we communicate
19. the best way to build and ship software “consider Slack the office building, and public channels are open work areas or meeting rooms; private channels are team meetings/hallway/over the cube wall conversations …” 19
20. the best way to build and ship software We write things down 20 GitHubbers put a URL on it: ▸ We believe in open communication ▸ We track our work, discussions, and decisions in Issues and Pull Requests ▸ We write with the reader(s) in mind ▸ We are committed to being thoughtful
21. the best way to build and ship software “remote team members do not default to async-only communications” 21
22. the best way to build and ship software 22 Getting things done
23. the best way to build and ship software Team patterns 23 ▸ Weekly radar ▸ Regular team stand-ups ▸ Projects ▸ Tracking issues with checklists
24. the best way to build and ship software We brainstorm in Issues and Pull Requests: ▸ Include a tl;dr ▸ State the problem and ask for input ▸ Do your research and cross-link ▸ Make it easy for team members to contribute in 5 minutes or less ▸ State when you will close the ideation phase 24 Brainstorming
25. the best way to build and ship software ▸ Agenda in an Issue ahead of time ▸ All meetings include a zoom link ▸ Take notes in the same Issue ▸ Discussion items ▸ Checklists and PRPs for next steps ▸ Decisions are documented and cross linked with the relevant Issue or Pull Request ▸ Use emoji reactions to ensure absent team members are in the loop 25 Meetings
26. the best way to build and ship software ▸ Day-to-day discussion happens in Slack ▸ Hubot helps us tie the pieces together 26 Day-to-day discussions
27. the best way to build and ship software 27 Hubot drops notes in Issues and PRs
28. the best way to build and ship software 28 Hubot drops notes in Slack
29. the best way to build and ship software ▸ Don’t be afraid to jump on a Slack call or Zoom ▸ Bring the outcomes back to the relevant Issue or Pull Request 29 Ad-hoc conversations
30. the best way to build and ship software 30 If you worked in the same physical workplace, there are certain things you get for "free". You might bump into coworker you don't know in the kitchen. You might walk past a colleagues desk and see pictures of their kids. You might see crochet needles sticking out of a messenger bag. When you're not in the same place at the same time, you have to take an affirmative step to create the opportunity for those otherwise serendipitous interactions.
31. the best way to build and ship software ▸ Co-working sessions ▸ Agenda-less 1:1’s with peers ▸ Hack-houses and mini-summits ▸ Virtual play sessions ▸ Celebrate accomplishments 31 Having Fun
32. the best way to build and ship software 32 Having fun with Hubot
33. the best way to build and ship software 33 Work-life balance
34. the best way to build and ship software Making it safe to unplug 34 ▸ Inherently difficult for distributed team members ▸ Protect out-of-office time ▸ Trust and autonomy ▸ Working remote is a gift
35. the best way to build and ship software ▸ July 25: Communicating with issues ▸ August 22: Communicating with remote teams ▸ September 26: Managing your teams ▸ October 24: Managing your projects ▸ November 28: Writing documentation for your projects Sign up at services.github.com 35 How GitHub Uses GitHub
36. the best way to build and ship software Questions? 36