a look at successful distributed collaboration yvette francino 1
TRANSCRIPT
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Trust over Co-locationA look at successful distributed collaboration
Yvette Francino
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Advantages of Distributed Teams
With photo illustrations
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Fewer distractions when you work from home
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Easier to multi-task
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Flexible dress code
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Always look sexy and successful
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Flexible work hours
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Hire the right people for the job
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Work from anywhere!
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Split group into two groups:◦ Those who have phones available (remote)◦ Those who will be working Face-to-Face
Scenario:◦ You are a developer and tester that have been
asked to pair together. Determine a communication strategy.
Each person pick either an A or B card with further instructions.
Group Exercise
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Tack: So how do you feel about the advantages of co-location?
DHH: Tack, incredibly overrated. Being in the same room occasionally is great, but I would much rather work with A players remotely than B players in the same office, if that’s the choice.
http://37signals.com/svn/posts/3064-stop-whining-and-start-hiring-remote-workers
But problems are real and must be considered… Get ready to take notes.
Group Exercise - Debrief
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Preconceived biases Team configurations Ways to build trust Disadvantages of distributed teams and
how to deal with them Technologies and tools Advantages of distributed teams Communication plans Experiments and ideas Next steps for your teams
We will be discussing
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What are preconceived biases we have about working remotely vs. face-to-face?
What have your personal experiences been with working on distributed teams?
Preconceived Biases
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"From the moment two team members meet, each will make inferences related to what they see today by what they experienced in the past.
These inferences can produce positive effects, wherein someone with a high trusting disposition may connect and bond earlier with remote colleagues. This is contrary to someone with a low disposition for trust who may not bond with coworkers because trivial matters are creating cognitive blockages for them."
Embracing Distributed Teams
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What is your team configuration? How many people at different sites? What time zones? What differences in languages and cultures?
Team configurations
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All at a common location (co-located)
Subgroups of people at different sites
Some groups at common site, others “isolates”
All people work from anywhere (100% distributed)
Distributed teams configurations
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In-group/out-group effects in distributed teams: an experimental simulation
“We found that the collocated people formed an in-group, excluding the isolates. But, surprisingly, the isolates also formed an in-group, mainly because the collocated people ignored them and they responded to each other.”
“In-groups”
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What is the best way to build trust between team members?
Building Trust
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I’ve been in industry for close to twenty years. I’ve been through team-building exercises at companies large and small, and the biggest lesson I’ve taken from them is:
Nothing builds a team like getting the work done.
I’ve been through “trust building” exercises that involve blindfolds and obstacle courses — but the real source of trust is handing someone a task and having it show up when you need it (or earlier!), with quality work behind it.
~ Rob Crawford commenter on Mike Cohn blog post:http://blog.mountaingoatsoftware.com/distributed-teams-build-
trust-through-early-progress
Get the Work Done
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"Transparency breeds trust" ~ Steve Wilson, Oracle Have one-on-one conversations with team-mates Pair people that are not face-to-face Share your whole self... photos, hobbies, humor,
emotions Take an interest in one another Be reliable; Follow-through on commitments Engage in conversation and discussion Set up communication plan Do virtual team-building using games / remote
technologies
Ways to build trust without needing to see one another
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What are the real issues involved in working with someone in a remote fashion?
What are disadvantages your distributed team faces?
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Cannot see body language Technology issues When you aren’t seen, it’s easier to practice
poor work habits. Time zone issues Language and culture differences Task switching and churn to get something
done Social bonds may be more difficult
Disadvantages of Distributed Teams
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Cannot see body language◦ Skype, Videocams, Phone, Communicate!
Technology issues◦ Spend the time to build a high-performing infrastructure
When you aren’t seen, it’s easier to practice poor work habits.◦ Don’t multi-task, Engage, Over-communicate if needed
Time zone issues◦ Share the pain, Be flexible, Follow-the-Sun
Language and culture differences◦ Take an interest / Pair / Mentor
Task switching and churn to get something done◦ Work together to brainstorm solutions for efficiency
Social bonds may be more difficult◦ Photos, social media, share of yourself, be reliable
Disadvantages of Distributed Teams
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What tools and technologies can we use to facilitate strong collaboration of distributed teams?
Tools and technologies
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Cloud Computing◦ Allows the sharing of information and access from
anywhere that has Internet access.
Social Media◦ Allows us to “befriend” one another and mix
social and business
Mobile Devices◦ Allows us to bring our computing power anywhere
Technology Trends that Enable Distributed Teaming
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Skype, Google Docs DropBox, Box.net Yammer, Chatter IRC, FlowDock JIRA, Confluence Crucible GitHub, Mercurial Selenium TightVNC Pivotal tracker, Trellio
OnTime, Urban Turtle BaseCamp Redmine, ScrumDesk Mantis, Rally, Trak Jenkins, Cruise Control Team Central TopCoder, oDesk MyGengo, Smartling Zendesk NetworkedHelpdesk.org
Tools for distributed teamsCourtesy of Zach Urlocker of Zendesk
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What advantages do you get from distributed teaming?
Advantages of Distributed Teams
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Diversity Opens up world of opportunity to find best skills Communicate, collaborate, and create outputs without time /
location constraints Puts everyone on an equal playing field Consistency in use of tools and processes One source of record for documentation Allows for work-from-anywhere - No one is "out of the loop.“ Takes advantage of new modes of communication: cloud,
social media, video, recordings, mobile Removes barriers / silos of physical walls or location Teams built on trust - not on need to "see" one another More task-oriented (can be more productive depending on
personality)
Advantages of Distributed Teams
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What guidelines can you set in a communication plan to help ensure strong communication and collaboration from a distance and strengthen trust?
Communication Plan
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• Clear rules or expectations when using certain types of technology
• Clear definition of what effective work completion means
• Agreement to team charters laying out general team norms and expectations
• Project planning including time lines and specified team member outcomes
• Documentation and reporting systems, including the electronic archive
• Availability expectations
Communication Plan
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What ideas do you have for improving distance collaboration on your team?
Experiment
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Optional Work-From-Home Fridays Pair “isolate” team members with “site”
team members to make sure they have equal visibility into meetings and other discussions.
Do virtual team building exercises designed to get to know your remote team members personally.
Create a distributed team who’s goal is to continually improve distributed teaming within the organization.
Experiment with ideas
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Evaluate Team◦ What technologies and tools are you using?◦ What is the team configuration?◦ What are the issues your team is encountering
Have 1:1 conversations with each team member◦ What is their communication style?◦ Ask for feedback in what could be done to create
a stronger team Implement ideas and re-evaluate
periodically
Next Steps
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Software developer for 17 years at IBM and Diner’s Club International
Managed distributed teams for 10 years (Development, QA) at Sun Microsystems
Site Manager for SearchSoftwareQuality.com with a focus on Agile ALM (Application
Lifecycle Management) Agile Distributed Collaboration Coach
◦ [email protected] / 303-494-8080
About Yvette…