Better teams through remote working (BetterSoftware 2014)

Presented at BetterSoftware 2014.

Running a successful remote company is not only possible, but it can actually lead to better team and a better product. Remote working encourages habits of communication and collaboration that can make a team objectively better, but only if it's done well. Remote working is a different way of working, with different constraints and processes.

In this talk I discuss some the most common challenges I tackled in the last 4 years of running a remote team and offer some practical hints about operating a distributed company. I explore the tools, development techniques and team management techniques for getting the best out of your remote team.

Transcript

1. Be#er teams
   through remote working
   Simone Carle, // @weppos
   Be3er So4ware 2014
   #BSW14
   

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2. Remote Working
   Pi5alls
   Tools
   In Real Life
   

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3. WARNING
   All characters appearing in this work
   are NOT ficBBous.
   Any resemblance to real persons,
   living or dead, is absolutely REAL.
   

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4. @weppos
   

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6. What is remote
   working?
   

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7. Remote working is a
   different way of working,
   with different constraint and
   processes
   

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8. Remote working brings you
   the freedom to spend as
   much Hme as you can in the
   places you love
   

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9. Remote working permits a
   flexibility and freedom that
   increases your quality of life
   

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10. Remote working increases
    team producHvity by
    encouraging focusing and
    reducing Hme waste
    

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11. Remote working can
    drasHcally cut down
    company costs and
    expenses
    

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12. Remote working encourages
    habits of communicaHon and
    collaboraHon that can make
    a team objecHvely be3er
    

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13. But only if it's done well
    

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14. Remote working is not
    suitable for everyone
    

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15. Remote working is not a
    panacea for all that ails the
    modern workplace
    

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16. Does it work?
    

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17. Does it work?
    

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18. Dispersed teams can act.ally out3erfor5 g7oups that
    are collocated.
    — MITSloan
    Does it work?
    

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19. Approximately 69 percent of the employees sur>eyed
    cited higher productivit@ when working remote, and
    75 percent of those sur>eyed said the timeliness of
    their work improved.
    — Cisco via Help Scout
    Does it work?
    

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20. By telecommuting, 83 percent of employees said their
    abilit@ to communicate and collaborate with co-
    workers was the same as, if not beKer than, it was
    when working on-site.
    — Cisco via Help Scout
    Does it work?
    

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21. Does it work?
    

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22. Does it work?
    

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23. Does it work?
    

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24. Does it work for everybody?
    

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25. NO
    

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26. Yahoos can no longer work from home
    — CNN
    

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27. Pi5alls
    

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28. CommunicaBon
    

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29. Enforce proper
    (over)communicaHon
    techniques
    COMMUNICATION
    

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30. Don’t use email internally
    COMMUNICATION
    

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31. Limit face-to-face
    discussions
    COMMUNICATION
    

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32. Remote by default
    http://stet.editorially.com/articles/making-remote-teams-work/
    

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33. Everyone on the team must
    adapt to remote working
    REMOTE BY DEFAULT
    

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34. Make sure every team
    member is at least
    someHmes remote
    REMOTE BY DEFAULT
    

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35. Office Hours
    

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36. Strict office hours don’t play
    nicely with remote working
    OFFICE HOURS
    

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37. Determine basic
    availabiliHes based on
    Hmezones
    OFFICE HOURS
    

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38. Share team availabiliHes
    OFFICE HOURS
    

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40. Timezones
    

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41. Schedule your day wisely
    TIMEZONES
    

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42. Plan for async
    communicaHons
    TIMEZONES
    

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43. Personality
    

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44. Remote work
    is not for everyone
    PERSONALITY
    

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45. Get people that
    don’t need a manager
    PERSONALITY
    

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46. Remote working requires a
    proper mindset
    PERSONALITY
    

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48. Meetups
    

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49. Face to face meetups are
    vital
    MEETUPS
    

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51. Encourage company retreats
    MEETUPS
    

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53. Encourage regular hangouts
    MEETUPS
    

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55. Tools
    

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56. CommunicaBon
    CollaboraBon
    AutomaBon
    IntegraBon
    

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57. CommunicaBon
    

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58. History is crucial
    CHAT
    

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59. CHAT Hipchat
    

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60. Hangout, if necessary
    VIDEO
    

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61. VIDEO Google Hangout
    

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62. No emails
    EMAIL
    

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63. AutomaBon
    

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64. BOT github / hubot
    

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65. BOT Steve McBots
    

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66. BOT Steve McBots
    

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67. BOT Steve McBots
    

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68. DEPLOY go-remote-control
    

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69. DEPLOY Steve McBots + go-remote-control
    

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70. TESTING Travis CI
    

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71. QUALITY Code Climate
    

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72. PROVISIONING Chef
    

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73. CollaboraBon
    

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74. CODE GitHub
    

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75. CODE GitHub CodeReview
    

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76. DISCUSSIONS GitHub Pull-Request
    

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77. DISCUSSIONS GitHub Pull-Request
    

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78. ISSUES GitHub Issues
    

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79. DOCUMENTATION GitHub Wiki
    

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80. An outdated or inaccurate
    comment is worse than no
    comment at all
    

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81. IntegraBon
    

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82. NOTIFICATION HipChat
    

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83. NOTIFICATION HipChat
    

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84. NOTIFICATION HipChat
    

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85. AGGREGATION Papertrail
    

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86. AGGREGATION Papertrail
    

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87. IRL
    

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88. It’s not all black or white
    

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89. You can choose your shade
    

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90. And discover that
    

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91. You can (safely) deploy on Friday
    

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92. You can have more Hme for you
    

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93. You can have fun at work
    

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94. Thanks.
    h3p://joind.in/talk/view/12265
    

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95. No ananas were harmed in
    the making of this
    presentaBon
    

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96. QuesBons?
    @weppos simonecarle^.com
    

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