Ruby and Virtual Teams

LoneStarRuby Conf 2008

Jim Mulholland

1 talk

Ruby and Virtual Teams

by Jim Mulholland

In the talk titled "Ruby and Virtual Teams," presented by Jim Mulholland during the LoneStarRuby Conf 2008, the speaker discusses the tools and strategies utilized by distributed teams, particularly within the Ruby community. Molholland, representing the company Squeegee based in Houston, shares insights about effectively managing communication and project coordination among team members located across various regions, which also includes a member in China.

The key points covered in the video are as follows:

Importance of Communication: Virtual teams rely heavily on robust communication tools to maintain workflow and collaboration.
Conference Call Tools: The team utilizes freeconferencecaller.com for daily scrums and client meetings, noting the tool's cost-effectiveness despite potential long-distance charges.
Alternative Communication Methods: While freeconferencecaller.com is primary, tools like Skype are also mentioned for members who might incur long-distance fees.
Email Communication: The team employs Gmail for professional communication, which simplifies email management and fosters effective collaboration.
Real-time Communication with Campfire: The use of Campfire for instant messaging allows the team to have quick discussions for client and project needs.
Project Management Tools: Redmine is highlighted as a preferred project management tool, appreciated for its features and active development community. Basecamp is also commonly used for file sharing and client interactions.
Version Control with GitHub: The introduction of GitHub has streamlined source control and idea sharing among team members.
Time Tracking Solutions: A custom-built solution alongside QuickBooks online and other time tracking applications helps manage reporting and invoicing efficiently.
Scheduling Across Time Zones: Managing a colleague's work according to the team's time zone, despite international travel challenges, is emphasized as crucial for maintaining productivity.

In conclusion, Jim Mulholland’s presentation provides valuable insights into the importance of using the right tools for communication and project management in distributed teams, especially for those positioned in the Ruby development sphere. He emphasizes the need for constant coordination and shows that with the right mix of technology, virtual teams can overcome the complexities of remote work.

00:00:06.319 Video equipment rental costs are paid for by Peep Code Screencasts.

00:00:20.240 All right, so this is another lightning talk. I have 10 minutes to go over Ruby and virtual teams. A cool thing about our community is that a lot of us are freelancers, and many of us are not in an enterprise setting, so we have to rely on various tools to communicate across distances.

00:00:27.439 So, without further ado, my name is Jim Mulholland. I'm with a small company called Squeegee based in Houston. Our team is distributed all across Texas, with one person in China who is coming back next month. Our clients are located in Louisiana, Arizona, Austin, and Dallas. So, we're obviously a distributed team.

00:00:39.600 Who’s doing this? Obviously, we have telecommuting project managers, designers, and so forth. The number one thing we need to do is talk to people. Can you hear me now? The first tool we use a lot is freeconferencecaller.com. It's completely free; I have no idea how they do this or what their business model is, but they provide a phone number that you can keep. You call in, receive an access code, and we use it for our daily morning scrum. Every day at 8:30, we all call in to discuss our progress.

00:02:00.640 We also use the same conference call number for all our clients. We've had the same number for a year and a half or so, so it has been very nice to use and it doesn’t cost us any money. I again have no idea what their business model is; it seems a bit dubious, but it’s not important.

00:02:20.720 One problem with freeconferencecall.com is that it's a long-distance number. Unless you have unlimited long-distance coverage or a lot of minutes on your cell phone, you might consider using something like Skype. I know that a guy in China uses Skype, and it makes it easy to join the conference call every morning and any other meetings we have. Just make sure you have sufficient funds in your Skype account, as one of our guys got dropped off the call because he ran out of money.

00:03:03.360 Now, communication is key. There's a famous quote from the movie Cool Hand Luke, 'What we got here is a failure to communicate.' For our main communication method, we use email like most people. We personally use Gmail for our domain; it’s very easy to set up. We have our own squeegee.com domain email address, which is again free. This setup allows us to manage our emails effectively.

00:03:22.400 We also use Campfire, which is provided by 37signals, for real-time communication. We have a Campfire setup for each client, and we tend to have multiple Campfires open on our desktops at any one time. This allows for quick discussions and answers to client questions or any development talks.

00:03:40.160 We still use various instant messaging services like Google Talk and MSN Messenger for off-hand conversations. IRC is popular for open-source discussions, but it can be confusing for those not familiar with it.

00:05:01.600 For project management, we use Redmine, which Greg Pollock mentioned earlier. We've been using it for about a year and a half and really enjoy it. It has a very active community, and the main developer, Jean Felie Blang, continuously releases new features. Redmine allows us to manage issue tracking, project management, and integrates well with Git and Subversion, making it a powerful tool for our team.

00:05:20.320 Additionally, we also use Basecamp extensively. It's often a client’s choice and is popular for messaging and file management. Track was mentioned earlier as well; it is a Python open-source project management tool that we have tried but not extensively.

00:05:36.000 Lighthouse is a newer tool that has emerged, providing integration with Git. Many Rails projects are now hosted on Lighthouse as well as other tools like Unfuddle, which we've used previously before moving to Redmine. Both Lighthouse and Unfuddle offer hosted apps, but you pay more as you use more features.

00:06:13.600 When it comes to sharing work, GitHub has been a great addition. After switching to it in February, we found that it really simplifies source control and sharing ideas and code within our team. Other tools competing with GitHub include Subversion and Google Docs.

00:07:10.880 Tracking time is also essential. We used to try various tools but eventually developed our own. The solution we created helps us track reporting time, costs, and invoicing. Additionally, we've used QuickBooks online for our invoices, even though the platform is limited to Windows systems. We also try various time tracking applications like Price Books, Harvest, and others like Slim Timer.

00:08:11.760 Lastly, if you have a team member traveling abroad—like an Asian colleague returning to China for several months—ensure that they continue working according to your time zone. Although it may come with its challenges, it can work out well if managed properly. That wraps up my presentation, and here are all the resources I've mentioned. Thank you!

LoneStarRuby Conf 2008