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I'd really like to hear thoughts on how this applies to remote teams. I find that async standups via slack are pretty damn helpful for keeping everyone appraise

by tapvt 8y ago

I'd really like to hear thoughts on how this applies to remote teams. I find that async standups via slack are pretty damn helpful for keeping everyone appraised of what is going on across 5 timezones. Process and communication are kind of key, aren't they?

KallDrexx 8y ago
Async standups do well only if the engineers have the discipline to actually go through them. My past experiences have shown a couple devs paid attention to the standups to look for issues and everyone else just typed their own up without looking at what other people wrote.
- bcassedy 8y ago
  This is what everyone does in person too. The people that go last tune out because they're preoccupied about what they'll say and the people that go first stop listening because the value of the information tends to be very low.
haltingthoughts 8y ago
There is a good argument to be made that supporting remote work yeilds gains in processes. See e.g. remoteonly.org
jaggederest 8y ago
I don't think slack standups are a useful way to communicate this. I'd rather have it in the form of trello or pivotal tracker, for example, because those have audit logs and commentary. By all means, have people update those things at the beginning or ending of the day on a routine basis, but doing it in chat is just too ephemeral for me. I think it's often useful to ping people if you know you're going to need their help, for example, but that's not precisely a standup. It's just scheduling and communication.
sibmike 8y ago
Async standups are great even for on-site teams. First, people only spend half a minute to post it; manager needs half a minute to read it to know whats going on. After it is posted, everyone have something to refer to before the weekly meeting, which does not have to be long if it is well prepared. The set up keeps the communications efficient and consistent. As for the original post, the outstanding team does not need the manager, so far. It will need one, after the writer deteriorate the culture and communication channels that have been established before him with own "trust" and f-words.

by tapvt 8y ago

KallDrexx 8y ago

Async standups do well only if the engineers have the discipline to actually go through them. My past experiences have shown a couple devs paid attention to the standups to look for issues and everyone else just typed their own up without looking at what other people wrote.

bcassedy 8y ago
This is what everyone does in person too. The people that go last tune out because they're preoccupied about what they'll say and the people that go first stop listening because the value of the information tends to be very low.

haltingthoughts 8y ago

There is a good argument to be made that supporting remote work yeilds gains in processes. See e.g. remoteonly.org

jaggederest 8y ago

I don't think slack standups are a useful way to communicate this. I'd rather have it in the form of trello or pivotal tracker, for example, because those have audit logs and commentary. By all means, have people update those things at the beginning or ending of the day on a routine basis, but doing it in chat is just too ephemeral for me. I think it's often useful to ping people if you know you're going to need their help, for example, but that's not precisely a standup. It's just scheduling and communication.

sibmike 8y ago

Async standups are great even for on-site teams. First, people only spend half a minute to post it; manager needs half a minute to read it to know whats going on. After it is posted, everyone have something to refer to before the weekly meeting, which does not have to be long if it is well prepared. The set up keeps the communications efficient and consistent. As for the original post, the outstanding team does not need the manager, so far. It will need one, after the writer deteriorate the culture and communication channels that have been established before him with own "trust" and f-words.