Programmer Jeff Atwood says that the key for assembling a remote team of developers is to pick people who love to code and have amazing skills. He recommends three basic ground rules for teams that are geographically separated:
- “The minimum remote team size is two. Always have a buddy, even if your buddy is on another continent halfway across the world.”
- “Only grizzled veterans who absolutely love to code need apply for remote development positions. Mentoring of newbies or casual programmers simply doesn’t work at all remotely.”
- “To be effective, remote teams need full autonomy and a leader (PM, if you will) who has a strong vision and the power to fully execute on that vision.”
He also recommends using real-time chat, a persistent mailing list, voice and video chat, Monday team status reports, and meeting minutes.
