In software development, teamwork is essential. These teams must have standard processes, respect each other’s skills, and have the tools they need to perform their work. All of these factors and many more are relatively easy to navigate for teams who physically work together. For those that are geographically distributed, however, the situation becomes trickier. Standard processes might be more difficult to establish, relationships and rapport are tougher to build, and finding the right tools for collaboration and communication can be a bigger challenge.
Some factors are easier to establish than others. For example, many teams are now used to having video-enabled meetings. But something like building a healthy team culture is more difficult long distance. Yet, project success depends on the ability of software development teams to work effectively, so it’s up to remote team leaders to ensure all the critical pieces are in place. In the following sections, we describe many of the critical components and how they factor into remote software development team success.
Hiring
The first step in achieving success with a remote software development team is hiring the right people to be on it. Remote team members must be more able to work independently than those who perform their duties together in the same physical space. Therefore, look for candidates who have experience with remote work. They should also be self-motivated and able to see the big picture to determine how to prioritize tasks without constant direction. At the same time, team members should be able to collaborate and communicate well.
A successful remote team is also one that is adept at overcoming project challenges. Therefore, look for candidates with a strong combination of technical and soft skills. Team members should be proactive problem-solvers who can methodically work through issues to find and implement viable solutions.
Another key to effective problem-solving is having a diverse team that can bring a wide range of experience to the table. So, broaden your search to geographies, communities, and schools you may not have considered previously. Remember, with remote teams, you can hire anyone worldwide. According to a recent Forbes article, “By embracing remote work, companies can access a global talent pool, greatly increasing their chances of finding the perfect fit for their teams.”
Remote software development team members should also be compatible with the company’s objectives. Look for applicants who are in alignment with and enthusiastic about its mission and goals. Potential team members should also be flexible enough to change when shifts take place in how the company executes its mission. For example, team members should be willing to learn new technologies and processes if needed.
Communication
Communication is essential for many reasons, including defining goals, setting expectations, discussing progress, and working through any issues or challenges. Let’s take a look at each need for communication and how to address it.
Defining goals. Clearly define project goals to the remote team and provide an opportunity for questions. Post project information in a written form somewhere where every team member can access it regularly. Revisit the goals and objectives routinely as the project goes on. This step is especially important for projects that are very long or complex or that have many stakeholders.
Setting expectations. With a dispersed arrangement, each team member should be very aware of exactly what role they play in each project. After defining goals, as mentioned above, create individual objectives for each team member. As with high-level goals, this information should be posted where every team member can see what is expected of them and their teammates.
Discussing progress. Use a robust project management method to track progress, assign tasks, and monitor timelines. Because they use an iterative and incremental approach and emphasize prioritization, Agile frameworks like Scrum or Kanban are useful for helping to keep teams organized and focused.
Working through issues or challenges. To ensure small problems don’t get bigger, it is important to address them as soon as possible. Team leaders should encourage team members to bring problems up as soon as they notice them. The team should also have robust processes for working through such obstacles together.
Communication can additionally be used to prevent problems. Teams can use regular meetings to look ahead and see what problems could arise under certain circumstances. For example, if one team member will be on vacation, the team should address who will complete their work so it doesn’t go undone while they’re away.
Team leaders should remember that, outside of a shared physical space, some of the brief conversations that team members have in passing are important but may not feel important enough to translate into an email or even a chat message in the virtual space. Leaders should encourage remote team members to over-communicate.
Relationships
Once your remote software development team is in place, it is important to establish strong professional relationships to boost the team’s effectiveness and each team member’s satisfaction with their role. A big part of this process is creating trust. Leaders must trust team members to perform their work effectively. They can demonstrate it by refraining from micromanagement and asking for their input on tough decisions. They can also make themselves readily available to address any concerns.
In turn, team members must trust leaders to make smart decisions based on the objectives of each project, to assign work fairly and evenly, and to give each person tasks that stretch their abilities and enable them to grow professionally. And team members must trust each other to do their part to bring all the pieces of each project together. The following video addresses the challenges of building trust in a virtual environment.
On remote teams, another factor that is critical for relationship success is being aware and respectful of differences between team members. Remember, diverse teams are often more successful because they bring a greater range of perspectives to completing tasks and solving problems. But those same relationships can become divisive when team members don’t respect those differences.
To build trust and give team members an opportunity to get to know each other better, create situations outside the context of work to bring them together. Examples might include virtual happy hours, one-on-one chat sessions, or questionnaires that gather information about each team member. As with everything, though, a balance must be maintained, so be careful not to cross the line into intrusiveness with these activities.
Team Culture
As relationships solidify between team members, an identifiable team culture will emerge. A positive culture is critical for software development team success, so leaders should look beyond get-to-know-you opportunities to proactively foster a virtual working environment in which team members feel valued, respected, and supported.
One critical component of this effort is accountability, which is the responsibility and commitment each team member has to fulfilling their assigned tasks, meeting objectives, and doing their best work. Essential to establishing accountability is creating clear roles and responsibilities. Each team member should have a firm understanding of where they fit within each project. Leaders can provide descriptions of duties, responsibilities, and expectations at the beginning of each project to clarify each person’s role.
Accountability includes ensuring each team member effectively manages their tasks and time to ensure they meet the deadlines. Robust project management tools can help with this aspect of remote work. The regular meetings associated with Agile methodologies also play a critical role in establishing a culture of accountability. Team members must be honest about their progress and challenges to ensure the rest of the team accurately understands each person’s status and can step in when needed to collaborate.
Another way to foster a positive team culture is through celebrations of individual and team accomplishments. While a happy hour or party may not be feasible with a remote team, leaders can find other ways to recognize achievements, such as sending gifts to team members, publishing information within company-wide communication channels, or posting about them on social media.
Methodology
Just as important as the human aspects of a remote software development team are the processes used to ensure smooth project management. Agile methodologies are well suited to the work of remote teams because they enable flexibility and adaptability, which are critical for projects that are likely to experience at least some change from the original scope or goals.
These methodologies use an iterative and incremental approach to development, breaking down each project into manageable components. This strategy enables remote team members to focus on specific deliverables. Team members work in sprints to deliver specific results and receive and integrate feedback, resulting in little time lost correcting mistakes.
Agile methodologies also prioritize delivering value to stakeholders, including company executives or clients, early and often. This approach works well for projects that require regular approval. By getting frequent feedback, teams can ensure they are meeting expectations as the project progresses.
Agile practices include the following.
Daily stand-up meetings. Also known as daily scrum meetings, these gatherings are brief opportunities for team members to provide updates on their progress, what they plan to accomplish next, and any challenges they are experiencing. These meetings help to keep teams on track and identify issues and possible solutions early.
Sprint planning. Another important meeting, sprint planning, is held at the beginning of each sprint, typically involving the development team, scrum master, and product owner. In them, the team reviews items to be completed during the upcoming sprint, including tasks and deadlines.
Retrospectives. These meetings are held at the end of each sprint and typically involve the development team, scrum master, and product owner. The purpose is for the group to reflect on the completed sprint and identify what went well, what could be improved, and actions to take during future sprints.
Product backlog refinement. In this ongoing collaborative effort, the product owner and development team work together to review, clarify, estimate, and prioritize backlog items. This process helps to ensure that backlog items are ready for upcoming sprints.
Continuous integration and continuous delivery. The practice of continuous integration and continuous delivery (CI/CD) involves automating the building, testing, and deployment processes into smaller units. CI means team members are ensuring that changes are regularly integrated into a shared code repository and tested for errors. CD means that validated code is deployed to a production or staging environment.
Burndown charts. Teams use burndown charts as visual representations of the remaining work versus remaining time during a sprint or entire project. These tools track task completion and progress for the team and enable teams to identify and address potential obstacles to meeting objectives and deadlines.
Pair programming. The pair in the case of pair programming, consists of two developers working together collaboratively to solve problems and write code. This practice is where strong communication and collaboration skills come in. Creativity and innovation are also important when engineers work together in this way.
Infrastructure
All the components we have already discussed are made possible with the right infrastructure, including networking, applications, software, and security. Consider the following tools.
Reliable internet connections. Stable high-speed internet connections are essential for each team member on teams that must collaborate and communicate remotely. Without them, team members may struggle with glitchy video conferencing, time lags on collaboration tasks, and interrupted access to cloud-based development tools and repositories.
Virtual private networks. Remote teams can use virtual private networks (VPNs) to establish secure connections to access company networks and resources. VPNs protect sensitive data and ensure privacy. They are especially important if team members choose to work somewhere other than their home.
Remote access. Remote access solutions like Secure Shell (SSH) enable encrypted and authenticated communication and provide access to servers and resources as if they were physically present.
Communication and collaboration applications. Remote teams must rely on communication and collaboration tools to stay connected and work together in real-time. They include video conferencing platforms such as Zoom and Microsoft Teams, instant messaging and chat applications like Slack and Mattermost, and project management software including Jira and Trello.
Version control systems. Version control systems like Git and SVN allow team members to collaborate on code, track changes, resolve conflicts, and maintain a centralized repository for codebase management. Thus, they are essential for remote software development teams to manage source code effectively.
Cloud-based development environments. With cloud-based development environments, remote teams can code, build, and test their applications from anywhere. Platforms like GitHub Codespaces, AWS Cloud9, and GitLab provide complete environments including infrastructure, tools, and resources.
Code review and collaboration tools. Code review tools, including GitHub Pull Requests and GitLab Merge Requests, enable team members to review, comment, and suggest changes to code. This approach ensures that the development process benefits from peer review and maintains code quality standards.
Documentation and knowledge-sharing platforms. Documentation tools such as Confluence and Notion and knowledge-sharing platforms like SharePoint and Wiki enable remote teams to store and share important project information, coding guidelines, technical documentation, and best practices.
Professional and Personal Development
While all the other elements mentioned here may be in place, they are not enough to keep a remote software development team effective over time. For that result, team leaders must provide opportunities for professional and personal development. They might include lunch-and-learn sessions, mentoring programs, the chance to participate in industry conferences, or access to courses and certification workshops.
To ensure each team member is getting the development they want and need, leaders can meet with each person individually to create an improvement plan that aligns with their skill level and aspirations. This process should be reviewed regularly to ensure each team member is on the right path.
Personal development is important for team success and perhaps even more so for remote workers. Companies and team leaders should prioritize mental health and well-being. This focus can take many forms, such as encouraging team members to take regular breaks, providing access to mental health resources, and checking in with each person regularly. Leaders should recognize that each team member is different and may have varying needs.
Leaders should serve as examples by taking care of their own mental health. They can do so by adhering to appropriate boundaries, such as not expecting team members to respond to emails after hours, taking vacation time, and performing other self-care actions.
A Perfect Combination
Software development is very well suited to remote work. Much of the work of engineers is done independently, so these professionals are largely self-directed. Team members spend most of their time at their workstations, so they are likely to be swift and responsive in their communication. Engineers are also adept at using various online tools, so they are quick learners when adopting new applications.
Additionally, software developers are very good at problem-solving, are highly adaptable, and are practiced at maintaining work-life balance. Therefore, getting the best results from remote software developers is probably easier than doing so within other professions. Team leaders can use these advantages to jump-start highly successful remote software development teams.
