Collaboration “in the Wild”: Some Observations

15 November, 2009
Collaboration, Hands-On
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An Enterprise 2.0 dream scenario: implementing a complex project across multiple sites, in two different time zones, with a large team (well over 100). The team was reasonably savvy with collaboration tools; core team members were quite comfortable with Instant Messaging, and we have been relying on SharePoint for many months. A centralized, coordinated document repository; a single source, very public bugs/issues list - the foundation was in place for some time, so our "go-live weekend" experience was pleasantly predictable.…

How Fun – Timesheets

In the early part of the year, we tracked our time as a group using timesheets. We don't use these to justify our payroll or anything, just an exercise to validate that we were properly apportioning our time across multiple demands. Also, we wanted to help explain why it takes more than one week of calendar time to complete one week of effort time. As I was scanning old emails, I came across the summary / findings note that I…

Bug bad, bug good, bug Bug

Rothman suggests we use the term Defect, not Bug - as if Defect is a more honest / real word, and Bug is somehow more evasive, non-descript. Au contraire - my guess is that Ms. Rothman does not have a programming background! When you say to a Programmer that their software has a bug, they typically take great offense; I remember how fast a consultant turned from smooth professional to defensive techno-geek the instant I suggested their work product had…

If you want to be more than a programmer, stop programming

A lot of talking with the team yesterday, and I have a sore throat because of it - but we covered some pretty key concepts, stuff that is hard to reconcile in many tech staffers' minds, but must be dealt with. One conversation covered this person's desire to be thought of / leveraged as "more than a programmer". "That's great!" was my response -"... then close the issues that are getting assigned to you - without programming!". Recently, I am…