3 ms·

I've had a similar experience. We do use some software tools to help us with the process, but I would feel very comfortable managing a moderately sized team doi

I've had a similar experience. We do use some software tools to help us with the process, but I would feel very comfortable managing a moderately sized team doing Agile development using nothing but a whiteboard. It's still my teams go-to tool when we need to create ad-hoc lists of "this is the critical list of defects to fix prior to the release" type of lists, as well as hammering out architecture decisions. That said, I now have one member of my team who is remote full time. That has made it a little less useful. We use Skype and a Logitech webcam, which helps him to be able to see the whiteboard, but he can't really participate in the drawing and writing. I'd love a two-way digital whiteboard, but alas those are fairly pricy. If anyone has worked with teams like this (majority of the team on site, one or two remote), I'd love to hear suggestions on how you've overcome these problems (if in fact, you have).

DanielBMarkham 18y ago
I'm kind of lucky in that I can watch dozens of teams simultaneously. So I've seen various combinations. Here are some ideas: - Open line. Teams leave a VOIP or regular phone line open on a PolyCom in the middle of the room on both ends. If the equipment is good enough, this gives you some ambient noise from both sites. - Open cam. If you've got the bandwidth, use it. An open cam, especially one that can be controlled over the web (not that anybody uses it, but heck, its cool) lets both sides keep an eye on what's going on. You can make use of an old spare notebook to do this if you like. - We're all in standups together. If you do a morning coffee or standup or group breakfast or whatever, the remote folks are part of that too. Lots of time the most critical information gets discussed in the most relaxed informal venues. - VR. I've got two teams that are using Virtual Reality for team colaborative space. While they're using Second Life, I guess you could use anything like that. I have lots of comments on this idea, but I'm saving them for a blog entry :) - Adapt. Don't be afraid to try something and then throw it away. I don't think there's one answer that fits all situations, so the critical factor here is the creativity and adaptivity of the teams involved. Try some ideas you think are good and see how it works. Heck, try some ideas you think suck and see how it works. Lots of times our initial estimate of how much something is going to help or not is way different than reality. Hope that helps some. Drop me a line if you'd like to hear more pontificating :)

DanielBMarkham 18y ago

I'm kind of lucky in that I can watch dozens of teams simultaneously. So I've seen various combinations. Here are some ideas: - Open line. Teams leave a VOIP or regular phone line open on a PolyCom in the middle of the room on both ends. If the equipment is good enough, this gives you some ambient noise from both sites. - Open cam. If you've got the bandwidth, use it. An open cam, especially one that can be controlled over the web (not that anybody uses it, but heck, its cool) lets both sides keep an eye on what's going on. You can make use of an old spare notebook to do this if you like. - We're all in standups together. If you do a morning coffee or standup or group breakfast or whatever, the remote folks are part of that too. Lots of time the most critical information gets discussed in the most relaxed informal venues. - VR. I've got two teams that are using Virtual Reality for team colaborative space. While they're using Second Life, I guess you could use anything like that. I have lots of comments on this idea, but I'm saving them for a blog entry :) - Adapt. Don't be afraid to try something and then throw it away. I don't think there's one answer that fits all situations, so the critical factor here is the creativity and adaptivity of the teams involved. Try some ideas you think are good and see how it works. Heck, try some ideas you think suck and see how it works. Lots of times our initial estimate of how much something is going to help or not is way different than reality. Hope that helps some. Drop me a line if you'd like to hear more pontificating :)