3 ms·
> Time zone is not a moat, I promise you. It may not be a moat, but it does serve as constant friction that adds latency. Sometimes you can plan your way so la
by edmundsauto 3y ago
> Time zone is not a moat, I promise you.
It may not be a moat, but it does serve as constant friction that adds latency. Sometimes you can plan your way so latency doesn't slow things down too much - but anything that requires operational coordination is going to be very difficult.
- flappyeagle 3y agoIt may be difficult. It may be better in some cases. Around the clock pager support might be much easier. You can ship some features quicker by working on them around the clock. You only need 2-4 hours of overlap to cover the majority of meetings.
- edmundsauto 3y agoGood callouts, those are definitely situations where distributed time zones work better! Not sure about running 3 shifts to ship a new feature, but I have no experience in that area. What I am currently experiencing (working with half my team in the same tz, half is 10-12 hours off) is that it adds complexity. For example, when we coordinate handoffs between time zones, we have to be really explicit about dates and times. Delays tend to be more costly - instead of 1d delay, things become 2 if someone is out sick and doesn't deliver their critical path dependency. It's a tradeoff, does require additional coordination and thinking things through. It's somewhat similar to remote work, tbh - it adds complexity but you also get benefits. Depending on each situation, the value added/cost parameters change.