Podcast #41: Jonathan Wallace of Highgroove Studios

Jul 18, 12 • In Featured, Interviews, Podcast

Jonathan Wallace, of Highgroove Studios, talks about the team’s management philosophy, ROWE, and why it works, and how the concepts of overcommunication and summarization are extremely important practices when working within a distributed team.

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Show Notes:

Highgroove Studios
blog.jonathanrwallace.com
Twitter: @jonathanwallace
@highgroove

00:52 – Jonathan Wallace Introduction

Developer and Technologist at Highgroove Studios
Independent IOS and Rails Consultant
Open-Source Developer
Runner of code retreats

01:14 – Distributed Team

Highgroove: 20 or so members
Management Philosophy: ROWE–Results Only Work Environment
Results are what matter no matter where you are

01:58 – Becoming Distributed

Consultant work out of coffee shops/home
Permalancers
Freedom/empowerment
Working vacations
Can work from office or home based on how they feel

07:43 – Being “there” versus getting things done: Results Only (ROWE)

Measuring results, not hours worked
Client happiness rules
Being proactive and responsible in managing expectations
Figure out what works for you

11:50 – Work Flow while Working from Home

Communicate via Campfire
Pivotal Tracker

14:42 – Challenges of Remote Work

Discipline of sitting down and getting work done
Getting away from the computer and work
Getting to know new employees

18:00 – “Overcommunicating”

Seeking advice from others
Sharing experience
Not making assumptions that everyone knows everything
Broadcasting thoughts

20:30 – Summarizing

Reducing the “bus” factor
Someone else can pick a project back up in someone else’s absence

23:44 – Advice for Remote Teams

Overcommunicate
Establish good social bonds

dispersed distributed teams Interviews podcast podcasts remote remote work

About the Author: Avdi Grimm

Husband, father, software cultivator, and amateur community builder, Avdi has been leading and participating in dispersed software development teams since 2007. He works from home in Southern Pennsylvania, and loves the fact that working remotely enables him to spend more time with his wife and four children.