ideas for distributing skills across a continental divide
DESCRIPTION
Ideas for Distributing Skills Across a Continental DivideKey Points:- Learning needs to be collaborative and bi-directional- Use the code base as a primary channel for communication. Encourage this in your practices.- Select different learning practices for different phases in the project.-Appraisal of four practices: Abridged Pairing, Collaborative Refactoring, Code Review Blitz, Follow-the-Sun Pairing.TRANSCRIPT
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Enabling Development Practices in a Remote Location
Experiences from the ODC Project
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We are so used to co-located communication that we often don’t
recognise that distributed communication is a distinct skill
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Traditional learning methods break down in distributed teams
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Successful practices foster the idea of a single distributed team
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The Agile Backlog One Story List
A story to do
A story to do
A story to do
A story to do
A story to do
A story to do
India London
Two Teams
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Key Tenet (1) Learning practices should be
collaborative and bi-directional
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One way ‘instruction’ can have a negative affect on morale
Learning practices should be collaborative and bi-directional
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In corporate contexts collaborating to solve a problem works better than
teaching, as it is empowering
Learning practices should be collaborative and bi-directional
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Group forums are more appropriate for feedback as the potential for offence is diluted by the group
Learning practices should be collaborative and bi-directional
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Key Tenet (2) The code base should be the main tool
for communicating practices.
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Code is language and culturally neutral
The code base should be the main tool for communicating practices.
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The codebase facilitates contextual learning
The code base should be the main tool for communicating practices.
Teaching patterns and practices is significantly more successful if it is done in the context of real work in a real code base.
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Key Tenet (3) The practices should change as the
team evolves
You need different ‘tools’ at different times
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High intensity, one-on-one practices work well at the start
More collaborative, group based practices work well as the team matures
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Abridged Pairing
One hour per day
Pros: • Very successful mentoring practice • Targeted and feedback driven • Instruction is provided in the context
of a real work problem ⇒ One of the best ways to teach skills
like OO and test driven development
Cons: • Unidirectional • Can be frustrating for both parties • Both parties can’t edit code
concurrently (software limitation) meaning it’s not really a communication conduit.
⇒ Best for a short period of enablement
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Collaborative Refactoring
• Offline practice • Similar to a traditional code
review but is done during the development of a story.
• Reviewer actually refactors sections and then talks them through with the original developer. The original developer does the same.
Code Base
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Collaborative Refactoring Pros: • Real world problems • More interactive for the
reviewer • The code is the primary
communication channel
Cons: • Time consuming • Unintentional offense
Code Base
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Code Review Blitz
Discuss
Split and review
Discuss
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Code Review Blitz Pros: • Group provides momentum • Groups are a better forum
for feedback • Collect boarder themes for
further discussion or follow up
Cons: • Lack of Freshness: The
code being reviewed can be out of date
• More code review than collaborative improvement
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Handover
Follow-the-Sun Pairing (work in progress)
One Story
India Day
London Day
Check In
Check In
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Developer rotations: the best way to teach practices
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Practice Champions
Inculcate a remote team member with a certain skill for them to distribute
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Building Rapport
Video Conferences without specific agendas
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Bidirectional, collaborative instead of purely instructional
Try to use the code base to communicate
instead of just the phone
Different practices are needed at
different times, no one will do
Summary