Developing cloud software across 9 time zones
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Developing cloud software across 9 time zones requires managing a remote team. The company started with a small remote office in Poland but has since expanded, requiring new processes for coordinating a distributed team. Key challenges include delayed communication, increased complexity in troubleshooting issues, and lack of in-person interactions. To address these, the company utilizes tools like Slack and video conferencing, establishes regular meeting rhythms, documents processes, and designates "ambassadors" to facilitate cross-office tasks.
Developing cloud software across 9 time zones
- 1. Developing cloud software across 9 time zones Jacek Migda <jacek@migdal.pl> 2017-11-23
- 2. $ whoami University of Warsaw Alumni Software Engineering Manager at Sumo Logic Sumo: Grep on steroids as a service, late stage startup with $235 mln in funding 100TiB+ of new data per day Opened engineering office: 14 FTE in 2 years
- 3. What is not going to change in 10 years? Forbes Nov 12, 2007
- 4. Time zones and the global economy
- 5. Remote work v1: Rambo mode 2012 Pre-revenue startup One-off for one year Stepping stone
- 6. Remote work v2: California -> Poland 2015 Revenue $80 mln in funding Need to scale up Built to last
- 7. Some time to think and read Pick an important problem Agree on an objective metric Write down a framework
- 8. I'm Working While They're Sleeping Scattertime, handoffs, time-shifting, zoners, async... Follow-the-sun model
- 9. Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World Start the day by coding, not by answering emails Minimize distractions outside of overlap hours
- 10. You are responsible 24/7 for running your software Things will break in the worst way Time zones can help: engineers are on 12h rotations
- 11. Start with good tools Google Mail/Calendar/Docs Slack (group chat) Hangouts, GoToMeeting Github 1Password, OneLogin Double Telepresence Robot
- 12. Build remote team Contract: 1+ late / week Remote interviews Results-driven Great writers. Reliable Travel to HQ alone Need bridge teammates
- 13. Establish a rhythm Weekly theme: Mon: Team/Leaders Tue: Quality of service Wed: Project Meetings Thu: Ad-hoc Do 1:1 calls during commutes
- 14. Setup conventions Level of coupling: microservices are the best One day code reviews in different geo Agree on design documents and metrics
- 15. Efficiency by design A lot of uninterrupted time: 20% coordination Meetings at most: interactions, not lectures Better documentation Results first
- 16. Problems Constrained communication Delayed feedback loop You will get out of sync Mess-ups are more complex Very easy to get stuck
- 17. Troubleshooting Have escalation paths Appoint an ambassador Prioritize cross-office tasks Delays: default to action Communicate before you are ready and when it hurts
- 18. TODO: Serendipity Tried: Coffee with telepresence robot, hackathons with cross-geo teams, all sorts of Slack channels, Trello boards...
- 19. jacek@migdal.pl