distributed teams that tips and tricks to build energy, enthusiasm and collaboration. pop
TRANSCRIPT
Distributed teams that
Tips and Tricks to build energy, enthusiasm and collaboration.
POP
Offsite
JapanOffshore India China Argentina
Is the pendulum swinging away from offshoring?
No!In its latest study, Forrester predicts that by the end of next year, U.S. firms will offshore more than 800,000 service jobs, 40 percent more than the firm estimated previously. Forrester's overall estimate remains the same: The firm predicts that about 3.3 million jobs will go overseas by 2015.
A recent study commissioned by collaboration software company Wrike reveals that: 83 percent of respondents reported working from home for at least part of their workday in 2012; 66 percent believed that their office could be completely virtual within the next five years.
American workers who spend most of their time working from home rose from 3.6% of the workforce in 2005 to 4.3% in 2010.
The bureau also noted that home-based work in computer, engineering and science is rising particularly fast, growing almost 70% between 2000 and 2010.(Source: US Census Bureau)
Telecommuting
•Rural Sourcing
•Crowdsourcing - free agency, in-the-wild testing (Turk, uTest)
Trends
Case:New Mobile app must be released in 12 weeks.
Team consists of:
1 PM, on shore but full time work from home. 5 QA Analysts based out of corporate headquarters, but most work two days per week from home 5 Offshore Developers 5 Offshore QA Analysts
To enable better collaboration, QA analysts work more closely with development during functional testing, leaving the onshore Analysts to do regression.
Challenges?
Advantages?
Risks?t
Your situation
OffsiteContractOffshoreRemote office
Consider the role you play on your local team.What do you offer?
What are your limitations?
Your
Challenges
Process (Agile or Waterfall? CMM?)Technical – what equipment/licenses do you need? Day to day events. Build process and frequencyMaintenance periods
•Build process and frequencyMaintenance periods
PlanningConsider your team's processes and environment. Identify roadblocks early.What are the limitations?
What are the essentials?
Examples:
How do we do it?
Plan
Train
Measure
Correct
Repeat
PlanningWhat will this new team or individual be doing?
How independently can they work, or is there overlap with onsite teams?
ManageForming the team
Who is responsible for hiring?
Know what you’re looking for and communicate that
Don’t look for what you already have
Get involved in the interview process
ManageTrainingConsider how to replicate onsite training availability.Knowledge base (such as a Wiki) – create it and direct the team to it.
Consider how to replicate onsite training availability.Knowledge base (such as a Wiki) – create it and direct the team to it.
ManageTraining
Too many organizations “Plug and Play.” “How to do it” vs. “How to get it done.”How do we give offsite teams the “metadata” about how we work that they need?
Too many organizations “Plug and Play.” “How to do it” vs. “How to get it done.”How do we give offsite teams the “metadata” about how we work that they need?
Volunteers, please.
Project spec
Training means:Product and Process Knowledge
People Knowledge
Cultural knowledge (yes, geographic, but…)
Tuckman’s model
Forming
PerformingStorming
Norming
ManageEffective Meetings
Logistics & Technology – What are you using and is it effective?
Who is responsible for conducting?
How are the meetings organized?
Verify understanding.
Effective questions
When will you be done?
How many defects have you found?
What time will you be in the office tomorrow to report on status again?
vs.
What is your assessment of the project?
What risks do we need to be aware of?What other
information or assistance do you need?
ManageEffective InteractionIdioms
Age
Background
Geography
Channels
It's so easy to be misunderstood! Does your communication pass the test?
To Be or Not To Be:Korean - “Lives dies!”
Dutch – “To be be or!”
Japanese – “Because of a certain or because it is not! ”
Chinese – “The survival destroys!”
Greek – “In order to it is or in order to it is not!”
Hungarian – “Be, or not be!”
Turkish – “had straight exist or even if not had straight exist!”
ManageMeasureHow is success defined?
•Cost savings?
•Productivity?
•24/7 development cycleHow is it measuredIs it tracked?
• How is it measuredIs it tracked?
• How is it measuredIs it tracked?
How is it measured?
Is it tracked?
How is your performance evaluated?
ManageFeedback
Who is responsible for feedback?
How are expectations communicated?
One-on-ones with offsite team members.
How is performance rewarded/corrected?
What is the career path?What motivates each individual?
Report success
...and failureStatus – what should people be aware of, not just what is being asked for. Time to completion doesn't tell the whole story.
Efficiencies and Inefficiencies
Trends, trends, trends...
Mobile initiativesQA progress
Ship date 03.01.2013
Defects Found in Requirements (onshore)Defects Found in Functional Testing (offshore)Defects Found in Regression Testing (onshore)Defects reported in ProductionTotal Defects Found
Defects found by area
Defects Found in Requirements (onshore)Defects Found in Functional Testing (offshore)Defects Found in Regression Testing (onshore)Defects reported in Production
What doesn’t workWind up and go
Assuming the offsite folks can do what your onsite folks can do
Trusting people outside of your organization to know what you are looking for
Expecting instant ramp-up
Not providing feedback
What doesn’t work
Assuming the onsite folks won’t be affected
Asking the wrong question
Assuming motivation
Ignore success
Ignore failure
What works
Clearly defined responsibilities
Clearly defined ideal candidates
Clearly defined measures of success
Establish agreed-upon procedures and tweak if necessary
Understand that training is ongoing (just like your onsite folks)
Anticipate and deal with technical limitations
What worksChange the source
Evaluate task size - Start with small goals and work up
Consideration of environment
Establishing points of contact
Establishing consistent procedures
Inclusion
Learn from failure, celebrate success
Any of this sound familiar?
Questions?