The recent global events changed the way companies conduct business. Having an in-house development team is no more a single available option. Virtual teams are on the rise. They offer new opportunities in terms of expanding business operations to new markets. Scholarly reports indicate that 64% of organizations think virtual teamwork will soon be a primary model. Besides, 75% of respondents believe being a part of a virtual development team allows them to be more productive. Knowing that the phenomenon will continue and grow, one can have a reasonable question – how to build and manage virtual development teams? Further, we offer practical insights into building and managing virtual software development teams to make them an integral and beneficial part of your business.
Global or Local?
Before building a virtual team, you need to determine whether it would be global or local. As the name suggests, international virtual development teams are located in different geographic locations and time zones all across the globe. Often, having a good remote development team on a global scale entails including matter experts who understand the ins and outs of the culture or geographic area you plan to locate your virtual team. As a result, with expert input, you can create the conditions where a global virtual team works collectively toward a shared objective
Managing virtual software development teams on the local scale is all about dealing with professionals from the same company. They can be in different parts of the country yet be a part of one organization. Working with local virtual teams is all about having sufficient resources and good communication tools. You need to remember that in local virtual teams, it is all about seamless communication and understanding the goal everyone is trying to achieve. Finally, even well-developed nearshoring teams can be regarded as local ones.
Building a Virtual Development Team
After choosing a global or local virtual team development model, it is time to build the team. Software engineering team best practices start with several steps you need to follow successively. How well you follow these phases depends on the further quality of managing virtual software development teams.
Step 1: Virtual Team Hiring Protocol
To tap into software engineering team best practices, you need to start with a decent hiring protocol. It is important to understand the mindset of remote employees you intend to hire. They need to be closely linked with each member of the virtual team. Having a strong remote team hiring protocol enables people responsible for hiring to follow a certain checklist to ensure the virtual team will be the one meeting your business needs.
Step 2: Slowing Down
Many companies often try to move too fast when building virtual development teams. While it can be important in some cases, in the majority of scenarios, it is counterproductive. Slow down. Set specific expectations and carefully investigate whom you would like on the virtual team and why. Slowing down also helps avoid team friction. As a good manager, try to understand a virtual team’s ins and outs to see how they will deliver your project
Step 3: Performance Review
Building strategies for virtual teams necessarily require continuous performance evaluation. A virtual development team’s members were likely hired via different platforms. In such a context, you need to assess the input of virtual teams to understand their strengths and weaknesses. It is always worth having a team leader who will consider the evaluation results to guide teams toward a particular direction.
Step 4: Meetings
This step is one of the most important ones. Building a decent virtual software development team depends on how well each team member copes with one another. Besides, as mentioned earlier, communication is the bedrock of any virtual team’s success. Use Slack, Google Docs, and Google Meet to establish a collaborative environment and ensure team members interact regularly. These tools play an integral role in building a virtual development team.
Managing Virtual Software Development Teams
Now, with a virtual team up and running, it is time to discuss how you can manage one. Managing virtual software development teams is not rocket science. Nonetheless, you still need to play by the rules. Following are key guidelines to consider:
- Be aware. To manage a virtual development team, you need to be aware of different approaches toward collaboration. Different teams work in different ways. Find the one meeting needs of your virtual team.
- Consider a proper leader. People take risks and experiment when they feel safe. Such safety starts with a leader who serves as an example. Make sure you have such a person leading the way.
- Ensure freedom and responsibility. Use policies that balance freedom and responsibility. Investigate the team to know when to let them be creative and when they need to follow certain rules.
- Enable support for managers. A shift to a virtual environment can take a toll on managers as well. Use coaching and learning to prepare them for a change.
- Put employees at the center of your business. To manage a virtual development team, you need to value your employees. The COVID-19 pandemic showed that the psychological well-being of your workers is vital for reaching business goals.
- Don’t search for a silver bullet. There is no one-fits-all approach. Experience with management techniques, and don’t be shy to ask for advice. All teams are unique, and you should adapt to that.
- Conduct hybrid meetings. Use different tools for communication and collaboration. Be up-to-date with instruments like Mira, and look for new ones.
- Avoid too much Zoom. Don’t overwhelm yourself and virtual teams with too many or lengthy Zoom meetings. Use the “this video call could have been an email” approach.
All in all, to manage virtual development teams, you need to understand what people need and look for different solutions. It is a flexible environment that requires a multifaceted approach. Make certain your virtual team has a strong leader who leads by example. Pay particular attention to employees’ psychological well-being and don’t overbear them with numerous Zoom calls. Finally, know when to offer teams more freedom of action and when to urge them to follow the pre-established guidelines. While managing virtual software development teams is not rocket science, it is an art form.
