BigRup

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The session abstract is here 1

The materials used in the session are here File:BigRup1.pdf and here File:BigRup2.ppt

The top 5 tips that emerged from the session were:

1 Set up an intrastructure for sharing and communicating all kinds of information, especially: create a single CM repository for code, documents, etc; create a mechanism for dissemination of information about significant project events; encourage "travellers" between project sites.

2 Use an "inflationary" model:

  • identify the leaders at each site
  • bring them together to form a temporarily co-located team
  • use this team to perform the first few iterations (6 weeks?)
  • team members return to their sites to lead local groups

3 Follow a "product line architecture" approach. Read the book Software Product Lines 2

4 Geography precedes skills: ensure that each package/unit of the project is owned by a single team residing in one location. Don't share a package across teams. Keep the packages loosely coupled. Don't form a team comprising members from several sites, even if the people with the experience you need are distributed.

5 Have multiple team structures: Geographic and Functional, forming virtual teams comprising the people with the right skills, no matter where they reside.

Note that tips 4 and 5 are in tension: they recommend opposite approaches. This is indicative of two schools of thought present in the think tank, one of which thinks geographic separation should be accepted and the project organised around that separation, the other which thinks it's possible for the various sites collectively to work as a single large team.

Other tips that didn't make the top five included:

  • Don't rely on an architecture team to solve peer communication problems
  • Use a military-style decision-making structure - make decisions in a timely manner and communicate them quickly and clearly
  • The term 'Military' was unfortunate. The point was that consensus is important but has its limits as teams scales up.
  • Provide a team ambassador role at all levels (sense of community)