Wide Teams

Wide Links #18

Feb 25, 11 • In Links

Been a while since I did one of these… here’s a fresh helping of remote-work related links from all around the web. What to Do When An Employee Asks to Telecommute: Online Collaboration « A telecommuting trial run isn’t a bad idea, as long as it’s not biased against success from the start. tags: wideteams Telecommuting is becoming more common in organizations of every size. It makes it possible to work with the best people for your projects, no matter where they are based. It can be an opportunity to keep your team happy and it’s a privilege you may be able to provide without a lot of work or expense on your part. Even if telecommuting doesn’t wind up working for all of your team and on all of the projects you work on,

Happy Holidays from Wide Teams

Dec 23, 10 • In Site News

Things are a little slow around here as I’m busy preparing for the holidays. I just wanted to take a minute to wish all the readers season’s greetings and a very happy holidays! I’ve got some great articles and podcasts lined up for the new year, but until then I’ve collected some links to guest articles you might have missed. With all the holiday hustle and bustle I haven’t had time to prepare any new articles or podcasts. In lieue of that, here are some links to guest posts I’ve done for other sites over the past months. The Seven Hats of a Successful Remote Worker: an article for WebWorkerDaily, talking about the extra responsibilities a remote worker needs to be mindful of in order to stay effective. Busting Down the Office Door about how

Wide Links #17

Dec 10, 10 • In Links

Some of my favorite reading on dispersed teams from the last week. In this edition: investing in your home office; staying in touch with your team; agile software practices for distributed teams; giving a presentation over the internet, and much more. Where to Invest for the Biggest Productivity Gains You can save a lot of money by working remotely, but that doesn’t mean you should skimp on the tools that really matter. A few strategically chosen expenditures can dramatically increase your productivity and connectivity. tags: wideteams Remote workers can’t escape talking on the phone, or its modern day equivalents. I personally have a fairly expensive handset hooked up to my landline, which I use when it’s important to have great call quality and a connection I can depend upon. You might not consider a landline

Wide Links #16: Meeting, Coaching, Bridging, Chatting

Dec 3, 10 • In Links

A heaping helping of links for remote workers today! In this edition, why work often doesn’t happen at work; an open thread on managing remote workers; advice for improving communication between the main office and remote workers – and much, much more. Making a long-distance relationship work: When feds go remote – Tom Fox tags: wideteams Don’t forget the small talk.When separated by distance, it’s even more important to make small talk about the little things in life to build rapport. Don’t forget to establish a sort of virtual water cooler for your folks by talking with them about their lives, the big game or whatever you can find to make a personal connection. Consider having your team virtually share their favorite recipes or books each week to help them stay connected while telecommuting. Jason

Wide Links #15: Management, Busyness, Satisfaction

Nov 19, 10 • In Links

The week’s best articles on remote teams from all around the web. In this edition, pointers for managing a distributed team, tips for communicating how busy you are to people who can’t see you, a report that says teleworkers are happier than people who work in offices, and more! How to Manage Telecommuters: Tips from Project Managers – Annotated Four managers chime in with tips on leading remote teams. tags: wideteams “For complicated tasks, employees are asked to paraphrase tasks given. The manager reviews and sees if they are both in sync and if any extra input is required. This is more important for employees who are new to the job. Seasoned employees can read between the lines and have the experience required to understand any given task.” Ideas for a Distributed Team &#

Wide Links #14

Nov 12, 10 • In Links

Another fresh serving of articles and presentations about remote work and distributed teams, from all around the web. In this edition: building trust, collaborating on visual design while distributed, keeping a team together during dry spells, and much more! Creative Remote Collaboration » IQ Blog – Annotated tags: wideteams Remote collaboration is important for any line of work where people are divided by time and space, but the need is expanded in a creative industry where there is an increased requirement of collaboration, communication, and execution of ideas. When you work for a creative agency with colleagues and clients around the country (and developers around the world), how can you improve and streamline the creative collaboration process? Building Trust Within Virtual Teams – Small Steps Add Up – Annotated One of the ideas

Wide Links #13: Delivery, Definitions, Data

Oct 29, 10 • In Links

Distributed insights for distributed teams. The week’s best posts about dispersed teams and remote work, from around the web. In this edition: seminars from successful distributed team leaders, an article that makes a thought-provoking distinction between being on a dispersed team and being a remote worker, some tips on convincing a manager to let you go remote, and much more. Holla, An Open-source Group Chat App – Annotated tags: wideteams Holla is a simple group chat application that Developer Alex MacCraw describes as being a little like an open-source version of Campfire, 37Signals’ collaboration tool. Holla doesn’t have all of the advanced features that Campfire has, like built-in conference calling. However, it does support file sharing, and it’s free and runs on your own server, so you get to retain a degree of control that

Wide Links #12: Agility, Attitude, Independence

Oct 22, 10 • In Links

A sampling of the week’s best articles about distributed teams and remote work, from around the web. This week, notes on distributed agile software development; an article that says changing mindset is a bigger barrier to remote work than adopting new tools; a post about how working remotely helps workers become more independent and self-directed; and much, much more. Distributed Agile: Cultural Differences/Expectation disconnect – Annotated Some notes on distributed software teams from a ThoughtWorks developer working in India. tags: wideteams As I mentioned in my first post about distributed agile a couple of months ago I’ve found that it’s much easier to build the wrong thing when working in a different time zone to the product owner but I wouldn’t say the ability to write maintainable code is much different. 6 rules for

Wide Links #10: Left coast edition

Oct 8, 10 • In Links

I’m in LA this week, meeting up with one of my dispersed software teams in person for the first time. As a result I don’t have a lot of time to write, but here’s a fresh hot selection of links from the world of distributed teams. Enjoy! Remote Pairing with Vim and TMux – Annotated A wonderfully detailed set of notes on one possible remote pair-programming solution. tags: wideteams development vim tmux Collaborative Editing: the fundament of pairing, both people need to be able to type into the same editor. Access to the Local Server: it’s pretty hard to develop an app you can’t see. Ease of Communication: we need to be able to hear each other, preferably seeing each other as well (there’s a lot of nonverbal communication when pairing). Light Weight: the internet

Wide Links #9: Smart, Productive, Agile

Oct 1, 10 • In Links

It’s been a while since I did one of these. In this edition, productivity tips, videos, notes on distributed Agile processes, and more. A short video interview with Salim Ismail He talks about the importance of meeting your team in person at the start of a project. But what I found most interesting is when he says that he sees dispersed teams as a way to get the best possible talent no matter where they are located. tags: wideteams Work Smart 2: Stay Connected While Telecommuting | Fast Company – Annotated A lot of great advice in this short video. tags: wideteams Working remotely is so liberating–you get to do what you do best, in a location of your choice, without your co-workers or boss always looking over your shoulder. But telecommuting also requires a