Working with a team on the other side of the world can be a lonely, frustrating experience. But with the right attitude, practices, and tools, it still can be an effective way to build software with others. Hear from Atlassian developer, Adam Hynes on how he moved to the other side of the world and stayed productive (and sane) without changing teams. Learn how he uses tools such as Floobits for real-time remote pairing, Confluence for white-boarding hard problems with distant teammates, and HipChat for asynchronous stand-ups to keep the team on the same page across timezones. You'll come away with several remote working tips that'll set you up for success. Adam Hynes, Senior Developer, Atlassian

1. ADAM HYNES | DEVELOPER | @GIVEADAMAKICK
Don’t be left out
Tips for Working in a Remote Team

2. “In 30 years
time, people
are going to
look back
and wonder
why offices
ever existed.”
Richard Branson

3. WAY OF THE FUTURE
The winds of
change are
blowing towards
remote.

5. 8-10 hours
Sydney
Saigon
Nether-
lands

6. Agenda
Why remote?
How to remote
Remote teamwork
Building software

7. Why remote?
What’s wrong with the office?

8. It’s hard to get work done in
an office.
DISTRACTIONS

10. SPEAKER PERSON | SPEAKER TITLE | COMPANY | @SOCIALMEDIAHANDLE
Talk Title
Subtitle

11. SPEAKER PERSON | SPEAKER TITLE | COMPANY | @SOCIALMEDIAHANDLE
Talk Title
Subtitle

12. Gloria Mark, University of California, Irvine
It takes an average of about
25 minutes to return to the
original task after an
interruption.

13. Commuting is bad for your
health. Really bad.
COMMUTE

14. Obesity
Insomnia
Stress
Neck pain
Back pain
Blood pressure
Divorce!

15. All of the best talent does not
live near your office.
RECRUITMENT

18. The good parts
Liberation
Not stuck in a home -> office
cycle. Work wherever you’re
productive.
Focus
Less interruptions.
Get shit done.
No commute
Live longer and happier.

19. Work wherever

20. Focus
Less interruptions.
Get shit done.
The good parts
No commute
Live longer and happier.
Liberation
Not stuck in a home -> office
cycle. Work wherever you’re
productive.

21. Loneliness
You’re quite isolated when
you work remotely all day.
Communication
challenges
You need to learn how to
wait for answers.
The sucky parts

22. How to remote

25. Have a separate
work space

27. Exercise

28. Don’t ignore
loneliness

33. Consider a co-working space

34. Home work
Deliberately separate home
and work.
Remote: why and how - recap
Mental health
Exercise. Acknowledge
loneliness. Get outside.
Good and bad
Some things suck, but more
things are better than at an
office.

35. Remote teamwork
Building across borders

36. Communication

37. Transmit information
when you’re ready.
Receive information
when it suits.
Transmit and receive
information at the same
time.
SYNCHRONOUS ASYNCHRONOUS

38. History
A complete, searchable
record of the communication
is available.
Async is awesome
Digest and think
Immediate responses are
often not your best.
Focus time
Interruptions when you want
allow large stretches of focus
time.

39. Notifications from
Atlassian apps

40. We believe behind every great human
achievement, there is a team. Our mission
is to unleash the potential in every team.
OUR MISSION

41. Tools of the remote trade
Code reviewsIssue discussionGeneral chat Broad discussions
“Do we still put curly
braces on a new
line?”
“Do we need
integration tests for
this feature?”
“Here’s the proposed
architecture for the
new task service”
“This class needs
some unit tests”

43. Chat
Rooms
Mentions

44. Chat
Rooms
Mentions
Team room
Office location
Remote workers
Booze

45. Chat
Rooms
Mentions
Notify everyone in the room
Notify specific people

47. Mention
Conversation
Guido now knows this will
affect the work he’s doing

48. Mention
Conversation
Conversation in context

50. Ask for help
Get feedback
Asking Brad and Guido for assistance

51. Ask for help
Get feedback
Brad provides a solution

54. Mention
“Wait before reviewing bridge updates”

55. WRITE WELL
“I will yeah” = “Yes”
“I will yeah” = “No”

56. Transmit information
when you’re ready.
Receive information
when it suits.
Transmit and receive
information at the same
time.
SYNCHRONOUS ASYNCHRONOUS

57. One to one

59. Meetings

61. Have a backup form
of communication
Get your light right One person talks at a
time
Interrupt as you
would in person
VC Tips

62. Face the camera
VC Tips cont.
Don’t multitaskDon’t mute your mic

63. ONE LAST THING
Over-communicate.
Over-communicate.
Over-communicate.

64. If you say something 7 times,
half your team will say they
heard it 1 time.
JUSTUS PENDLETON, FORMER ATLASSIAN

65. Know your
team

66. Frequent 1-1 catchups
With every member, not just your
manager/reports.
Know your
team
Catchup
Share
Meet

67. Group catchups
HipChat room.
Know your
team
Catchup
Share
Meet

68. Group catchups
Beer bash.
Know your
team
Catchup
Share
Meet

69. Share your own lifeKnow your
team
Catchup
Share
Meet

70. Know your
team
Catchup
Share
Meet
Go meet them in person
Especially important when new people
join.

71. Know your
team
Catchup
Share
Meet
Be present in other ways

72. Video and VC
Face the camera and engage.
Be a part of the conversation.
Remote teamwork - recap
Build empathy
Catch up often. Meet in
person semi-regularly.
Async comms
Awesome tools make this
possible. Over-communicate
everything.

73. Building software
When you’re remote

74. A sprint
Sprint planning Stand-ups Coding
PairingCode reviewRetro

75. • Big cool statistic
• 2,56
9
• Add-Ons in Marketplace
Sprint planning

76. VC meeting
Not possible asynchronously.
PLANNING
Tickets up to date
This is vital with a remote team.
One person drives
They share their screen.

77. Sydney Netherlands

78. • Big cool statistic
• 2,56
9
• Add-Ons in Marketplace
Standups

79. Type /standup

82. • Big cool statistic
• 2,56
9
• Add-Ons in Marketplace
Coding

83. Long stretches of focus time
makes coding so much more
enjoyable.
REMOTE CODING

85. Pomodoro Technique
25 255 255 255 15
Work Break
50 50 50 5010 10 10 60
(Lunch)

86. 30
hours of focus time

87. • Big cool statistic
• 2,56
9
• Add-Ons in Marketplace
Pair programming

90. • Big cool statistic
• 2,56
9
• Add-Ons in Marketplace
Code review

92. • Big cool statistic
• 2,56
9
• Add-Ons in Marketplace

93. • Big cool statistic
• 2,56
9
• Add-Ons in Marketplace
Retros

94. Agile Retrospectives

97. Tools are everything
As with communication, the
right tools are more vital
when remote.
Building software - recap
Asynchronous helps
Some things, like stand-ups,
coding, and code review, can
work better remotely.
You can do it all
All the steps of the software
dev process are possible
remotely.

98. • Big cool statistic
• 2,56
9
• Add-Ons in Marketplace

99. #1
Adjusting to remote work
requires deliberate effort

100. #2
It’s possible to build a strong
team with remote members

101. #3
All the steps of the software
development process are
possible remotely

102. “Remote work is here, and
it’s here to stay. The only
question is whether you’ll be
part of the early adopters,
the early majority, the late
majority, or the laggards”
Further reading

103. Ride the winds of change.
Embrace remote.

104. • Big cool statistic
• 2,56
9
• Add-Ons in Marketplace
Questions?

105. Slate: Your Commute is Killing You
http://www.slate.com/articles/
business/moneybox/2011/05/
your_commute_is_killing_you.html
11 Ways to Be Totally Awesome at
Remote Work
https://www.teamgantt.com/blog/
11-ways-to-be-totally-awesome-at-
remote-work/
workfrom
https://workfrom.co
Wework
https://www.wework.com/
Coworking London
http://www.coworkinglondon.com/
Remote: Office Not Required
https://37signals.com/remote
Agile Retrospectives
https://marketplace.atlassian.com/
plugins/retrospectives4confluence
Images
https://flic.kr/p/J8JZbM
Laura Hoffman,
www.bbx.de
https://flic.kr/p/DGdgk
Incase, goincase.com
https://flic.kr/p/rt5ZhX
Steven Depolo
https://flic.kr/p/BFUAfe
Andrew Gustar
https://flic.kr/p/Q9QGG
Michael Pereckas
https://flic.kr/p/pwox8q
Er Din
https://flic.kr/p/dXr2C3
Mathew Wilson
https://flic.kr/p/GBbdMg
Bob Fox
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/
File:Sony_Dream_Machine_at_6_37am.jpg
Arvind Grover
https://flic.kr/p/F3ZSvc
walknboston
https://flic.kr/p/68LpMq
Marcin Wichary
https://flic.kr/p/69E8zu
Paul De Los Reyes
https://flic.kr/p/3ER7Yr
Bruce Turner
https://flic.kr/p/c9EWrN
Brian Kelly
https://flic.kr/p/9wmyLV
Alper Çuğun
https://flic.kr/p/fnCVbL
royalty free
https://flic.kr/p/nyEeo
JulianBleecker
https://flic.kr/p/bTQwfx
Scott McLeod
https://flic.kr/p/b2vLzP
George Ruiz
https://flic.kr/p/ddMeV7
Visit St. Pete/Clearwater
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/
File:Pair_Programming_3.jpg
Vajrapani666
https://flic.kr/p/5RrLDZ
Ivan Mlinaric
https://flic.kr/p/8EEiX8
Taro the Shiba Inu
https://flic.kr/p/ruLspQ
cjrebouche
https://flic.kr/p/5K8AXQ
Bart Everson
https://flic.kr/p/5BaCgd
hercios
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/
Atlas_of_the_World/Geological#/media/
File:Whole_world_-
_land_and_oceans_12000.jpg
Nasa
This presentation is not affiliated with, associated
with, or endorsed by the Pomodoro Technique® or
Francesco Cirillo.
Attributions

106. ADAM HYNES | DEVELOPER | @GIVEADAMAKICK
Thank you!