Assembling an efficient remote development team is a must nowadays. Before the covid-19 pandemic, the 2021 State of Remote Engineering Report said that 19% of engineers were working remotely 100% of the time, but after the pandemic, this number increased to 86%.
Engineers prefer to work under these new remote conditions, and some of them are also willing to alternate their work between home and the office. Since they feel a better performance working from home, time is saved, and there is bigger autonomy.
However, many development companies are still trying to figure out how to correctly build these kinds of remote work teams. At DeepSea Developments, we have had great experiences with this work methodology. And we want to share with you some tips that are useful for assembling an efficient remote development team.
1. Every team member knows what to do
Every team member commits more working from home, since they have less distractions and concentrate better. When attending a meeting, they can simply connect online, and they will be carefully listening to what their assignment is. Therefore, the engineers understand better what they need to do and what is expected from them.
2. Empowerment
Working from home reduces the urge to look for help when something is not working during a test or project development. At DeepSea Developments, we like to encourage our team members to be proactive and look for solutions by themselves.
3. Agile Methodology
This methodology allows us to do quick testing, and to ensure features are being delivered at each step of the hardware development process.
4. Communication
Engineering requires perfect communication, and even more when the results depend on remote work. It is important that every member involved in a project is aware that they need to be online for specific meetings. If one of the members of a project is not online when a meeting is being held, the work dynamic will be affected, since this person needs to be up to date to the changes or obstacles during the development of the project.
Use tools that can help your team to keep track of their results and to maintain communication between them.
4.1 Notion:
We love to use this app. We see it as a center of knowledge, where all engineers can go there to answer questions. There you can upload any type of files, collaborate with others, and even with the client.
4.2 Discord:
It started as an app for gamers, but it has evolved. It has different channels where you can set different topics for your team members. So, every engineer or employee can access the channels they have access to interact with others, to provide information, or to interact. There are also voice channels, video channels, and you can send private messages to the person you want.
4.3 GitLab
This app is used mostly for software development, but you can also integrate hardware development there. We like this app because it provides a record of everything you have done.
Final recommendations related to efficient remote development teams:
Keep an office
This will be useful if you need to save advanced equipment that your team will need to use. It doesn’t mean they have to go there every day, because we are talking about remote work, the idea is they can go there eventually for the final phase of the project.
If you have pick and place machines and 3D printers, you need an office to store these kinds of machinery.
Have courier accounts
You need this in order to constantly deliver products or hardware to your developers and clients at a low shipment fee.
You don’t always need the most expensive tools
We have learned that it is very common to spend a lot of money on tools you will hardly ever use. So, instead of buying the latest digital multimeter or set of screwdrivers. Check cheaper options that may give you an insight on what tools you may use more in the future, and then buy the best brands you need.
There are also other options you can consider when getting soldering machines, power supply devices, microscopes or oscilloscopes.
We hope these tips help you to assemble a great remote work team. It is not an easy task, it also requires patience and a lot of collaboration from every employee. If you take into account the tips mentioned here, you may achieve outstanding results for your development company.
If you want to go deeper on some of these tips, check out the video below:
