Wide Teams

Podcast #30: Dan Menard of Macadamian

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A discussion with Dan Menard of Macadamian, covering the importance of taking the time to build personal relationships; the advantages of having a team that’s split across time zones, the practice of distributed code review, and much more!

Announcements:

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  • I’m looking for a sponsor so I can do the podcast on a more regular schedule! Contact me if you’re interested.
  • Get your free copy of the Dispersed Team Kick-Start Guide by signing up to the Wide Teams mailing list.

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    Show notes:

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    • Dan blogs at dan-menard.com and is @dan_menard on Twitter.
    • Macadamian
    • How to work with someone 12 hours away
    • Yammer
    • Smartboard
    • The Wine project

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      03:15 – Danâ€s background

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      • Macadamian Technologies based out of Ottowa, Canada, with offices in Romania and Armenia
      • Product creation company that helps other companies bring products to life
      • Software development
      • User research
      • User experience and visual design
      • Quality assurance

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        04:02 – History with oversea startup

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        • Helped to work more effectively with clients in different timezones

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          06:00 – Schedule Flexibility

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          • Adjusted schedule
          • Work from home or office

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            07:28 – Importance of relationships

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            • Personal connection
            • Avoid “Us” versus “Them” mentality
            • Skype is useful
            • Personal presence at all offices

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              09:50 – Advantages of working with teams across time zones

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              • Working in teams across time zones expands a regular work day
              • Instead of fitting 8 hours into a work day, you can get around 16
              • Get projects done in half the time
              • Overlap shifts slightly to sync up with SCRUM meetings, etc.

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                12:00 – Tools

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                • Skype
                • Confluence (Wiki)
                • Email
                • Internal mailing lists and news groups
                • Yammer

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                  14:40 – Smartboard

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                  • Whiteboard with a projector hooked up to it
                  • Touchscreen
                  • Interactive

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                    17:06 – Code Review

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                    • Patch-a-day
                    • Do things in small batches
                    • Develops good patterns and catches bugs earlier
                    • Responsibility

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                      19:00 – Adjustment to working with distributed teams
                      20:52 – Future of working with distributed teams
                      21:24 – Advice to distributed groups

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                      • Do whatever works for your individual team

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