Seven tips for distributed agile teams

Agile methods were originally intended for small co-located teams. Can they work for geographically distributed teams? In fact, due to the challenges of working with distributed teams, I believe the fast feedback and validation afforded by agile methods provide a distinct advantage for distributed teams because problems are found sooner. I have experienced great success with teams split between the US, India and China. In this post I share some tips on making distributed agile teams succeed.

For a more in-depth treatment of this topic, see my presentation on Distributed & Offshore Agile Teams.

1. Prepare your collaboration infrastructure

You may need phone, web, & video conferencing, wiki/intranet, source control, VPN, remote desktop tools, SFTP for large file transfer, testing and integration environments, and project management software. Obtain high quality full-duplex speaker phones, headsets, and webcams.

2. Have an agile coach or agile champion at each location

In addition to providing agile training to every team member, you want ongoing guidance at each location from an experienced agile practitioner who can establish an effective team culture.

3. Be extra disciplined in your technical practices

The technical practices from XP (pair programming, TDD, refactoring, continuous integration, coding standard, simple design) are fundamental for any high-performing agile team, but when people are scattered across the globe, they become even more important. These practices ensure that quality is built in from the start, they enable knowledge sharing, and ensure rapid feedback.

4. Do cross-location travel throughout the project

Get the entire team together in one location at the beginning of the project and again at each release. Establish a rotating travel schedule so each team member visits another location for 1-2 iterations. This face time will reap big returns in establishing trust, sharing knowledge, and maintaining an effective team culture.

5. Maximize opportunities for real-time communication and collaboration

Even with a time zone difference, find at least a few hours every day when all team members are available by IM & phone for real-time communication. Share time zone burdens fairly between locations. Hold daily stand-ups and iteration planning meetings with the entire team using video and web conferencing. Many studies have shown that the majority of information shared in a conversation is non-verbal, so use video chat & conferencing often. Google, Yahoo and Skype offer free 2-way video, and Paltalk has free video for up to 10 parties. Webex and many other commerical services offer multi-party video conferencing.

6. Facilitate cross-cultural communication: speak slowly, avoid jargon and idioms

If your team members don't all share the same primary language and culture, be sure that everyone speaks slowly and avoid using jargon, idioms or expressions - they usually don't translate well. Announce your name each time you speak on a conference call: "This is Sally..." Start each meeting with a virtual seating chart as described by Jean Tabaka in her book Collaboration Explained. Appoint a facilitator to ensure each meeting is effective.

7. Find effective, lightweight tools for distributed collaboration

Intranets, wikis and source control systems allow easy information sharing. Virtual white boards such as scriblink, skrbl, and dabbleboard enable remote collaboration. Many web conferencing systems such as ReadyTalk have drawing tools allowing free-form annotation of a shared screen. Instant messaging supports both one-on-one and group chat. VNC, remote desktop and similar tools even allow cross-continent pair programming. For iteration planning and task tracking, share photos or video of your physical task board, or make the leap to an electronic tool. There are numerous open source agile tools plus commercial tools, most with trial or free editions, but choose a lightweight tool unless you truly need the more advanced features.