Archive for June, 2010
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The Tao of Remote Work
A meditation on the qualities of remote development by guest author Evan Light. I can only attempt to explain the beauty of remote work. You need to determine the value of it for yourself. If what I describe does not strike you as a way to live a better life, then perhaps it is not for you
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Four Essential Collaboration Tools
In talking to members of distributed software teams, four tools stand out as being nearly ubiquitous. Other tools may supplement them, but these four have become the de facto core of the remote collaboration tool set
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Telecommuting Considered Harmful
According to a recent UC Davis study, telecommuting can be harmful to your career. I agree. Terms have a narratives associated with them. The narratives that come with “telecommuter” sound something like these: “As a special thanks for your loyalty, we are allowing senior-level perssonnel to telecommute two days a week”. “In order to cut costs, a new telecommuting initiative is in effect”. “During the inclement weather, a liberal leave policy is in effect, and employees may opt to telecommute”. “Telecommuting” is almost always viewed as a perk, a cost-cutting measure, or a concession to circumstance. As the word itself suggests, a telecommuter is expected to remain a spiritual commuter. She gets up in the morning, has breakfast, and then transports herself virtually to the office for the next eight hours. There she must to
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Wide Teams Podcast Episode 1: Interview with Marty Haught
In today’s inaugural episode of the Wide Teams podcast, I interview Marty Haught of Haught Codeworks. I also talk a little bit about the purpose and goals of the site
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RailsConf Wrap-Up
It’s been a whirlwind week. It was only Sunday night when I decided to accelerate my plans and launch WideTeams.com at RailsConf 2010. The subsequent days have been exhausting and amazing. I roamed the halls of RailsConf in the Wide Teams “Phoney Hat”, talking to people about remote work and distributed teams. I’m overwhelmed by the responses I received. So many people were eager to talk to me about their experiences with remote work. I recorded over a dozen interviews with developers and managers who are either working with dispersed teams now or who have done so in the past. I talked to members of two-person teams and fifty-person teams. I spoke to teams who are all located in the same general area, and teams that are spread across the globe. I was even able to record a round-table discussion
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Hello RailsConf!
I just got home from having a fantastic time socializing at the Pratt Street Ale House across the street from RailsConf 2010. It’s been tremendously exciting to talk to so many people who are working on distributed teams, or are considering moving to distributed work. The conversations I’ve had have served to confirm my suspicions: there us a tremendous pool of experience in doing remote work out there, scattered across many organizations. And there is a great deal of curiosity about dispersed teamwork. What’s needed is a place for the knowledgeable and the curious to come together. That’s what Wide Teams is all about. I’ll be at RailsConf all week, armed with a microphone and a silly hat. I’ll be recording interviews with Ruby and Rails developers about their experiences with distributed teams. All of these interviews will be
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Welcome to Wide Teams
More and more companies are considering making the jump to distributed teams. There are attractive advantages to going remote, including cost savings, a wider talent pool to draw from, and an improved work/life balance. But there are pitfalls as well. For many organizations considering a move to widely dispersed teams, there are a lot of unanswered questions. Hello and welcome to Wide Teams, the blog about geographically dispersed collaboration! More and more companies are considering making the jump to distributed teams. There are attractive advantages to going remote, including cost savings, a wider talent pool to draw from, and an improved work/life balance. But there are pitfalls as well. For many organizations considering a move to widely dispersed teams, there are a lot of unanswered questions
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The Wide Teams Podcast
A weekly podcast featuring interviews with people who are making dispersed teams work day by day.
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