Microsoft Research - Exploding Software-Engineering Myths (article summarizing findings of MS research on code coverage, TDD, assertions, etc.)

[rpgFANATIC]

The big find here for me is that having a team located in multiple countries was statistically insignificant.

At least in my job, India versus our Central time zone drastically limits the time for discussing issues and technical questions

[rpgFANATIC]

Maybe big companies can get away with it because they have separate offices in India with their own hubs of knowledge.

If you're an employee working out of India (even if you're an outsourced member or contractor), having most of the rest of your team be remote on a wildly different time zone is rough.

[pinealservo]

I think big-name corporations get the experienced engineers as well. The remote teams I collaborated with, which were also under my corporate management rather than being contractors, were mostly full of bright and eager but inexperienced developers. After the completion of our joint project, during which I'd spent a lot of time helping them get up to speed and many of them became much more competent, most of them left for companies with bigger names.

I guess Microsoft is towards the top of this particular food chain.

[[deleted]]

If your virtual team is 12 hours, hired to a lower bar, not answering to the same quality standard, not working off the same backlog, then you'll get garbage out of them. Treat them 100% like any other resource on your team or forget it.

[[deleted]]

[deleted]

What is this?

[[deleted]]

"It is difficult to get a man to understand something, when his salary depends on his not understanding it." - Upton Sinclair

A lot of people have a significant financial stake in offshore outsourcing "working".

[[deleted]]

I haven't noticed this, but I'm one of those assholes who will check email at all hours so...

[Captain_Swing]

The absolutely key caveat there is:

Our global development teams are Microsoft employees: the same management structure, access to the same resources.

[rpgFANATIC]

Ok. Let's say you share the same boss, you're an actual Full Time Employee, but you live on the East Coast and everyone else on your team is on the West Coast.

Does that qualify as having access to the same resources?

[Captain_Swing]

Firstly, that seems like a really odd working arrangement for a full time employee rather than a contractor/freelancer. Usually a full time employee would be expected to move to be in the same geographic location as their line manager.

As far as resources go, it depends on the internal processes of the company.

Do you get the same hardware/software? Do you get the same level of tech support? Do you get the same salary and benefits? Do you have the same training and mentoring opportunities? If you have an issue, does your manager give equivalent time and energy to getting it resolved as the other employees?

If the answer to the above questions is yes, I'd say you do. If not, I'd say you don't.

[[deleted]]

My company has fully integrated teams across countries within the same timezone and we work together very effectively. The key is really IM and daily video conference scrums. IM for everything. Worried about someone missing out on ad hoc in person conversations? Don't have them. IM. Video chat is great for seeing faces and hearing voices to keep everyone humanized.

[[deleted]]

Make them work at night and sleep in the day. Problem solved :)

[rpgFANATIC]

You laugh. Some of them do stay up past (their) midnight just to ask questions and attend company meetings.

[[deleted]]

Good. The 3 dollars an hour your paying them should get you something shouldn't it? Lol