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Managing Multi-Site Development Teams

Managing Multi-Site Development Teams. William McGehee VP of Business Development GameSim Technologies. WildBilMcG. About me. GameSim Technologies VP of Business Development EA Sports – Canada Director – Portfolio Management Office Hansoft Senior Production Expert EA Sports

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Managing Multi-Site Development Teams

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  1. Managing Multi-Site Development Teams William McGehee VP of Business Development GameSim Technologies

  2. WildBilMcG

  3. About me • GameSim Technologies • VP of Business Development • EA Sports – Canada • Director – Portfolio Management Office • Hansoft • Senior Production Expert • EA Sports • Senior Development Director

  4. Factors • Culture • Type of work • Scope of work • Work experience • Communication • How you/they work

  5. Intercultural Differences • Intercultural Study • Cultural differences • Power Distance • Individualism • Uncertainty Avoidance • http://www.kwintessential.co.uk/

  6. Power Distance • This dimension relates to the degree of equality/inequality between people in a particular society. • A country with a high Power Distance score both accepts and perpetuates inequalities between people. An example of such a society would be one that follows a caste system and in which upward mobility is very limited. • A low Power Distance indicates that a society does not emphasis differences in people’s status, power or wealth. Equality is seen as the collective aim of society and upward mobility is common.

  7. Power Distance Map

  8. Individualism • This dimension focuses on the degree to which a society reinforces individual or collective achievement and interpersonal relationships. • If a country has a high Individualism score, this indicates that individuality and individual rights are dominant. • A low Individualism score points to a society that is more collectivist in nature. In such countries the ties between individuals are very strong and the family is given much more weight.

  9. Individualism Map

  10. Uncertainty Avoidance • This dimension concerns the level of acceptance for uncertainty and ambiguity within a society. • A country with a high Uncertainty Avoidance score will have a low tolerance towards uncertainty and ambiguity. • A low Uncertainty Avoidance score points to a society that is less concerned about ambiguity and uncertainty and has more tolerance towards variety and experimentation

  11. Uncertainty Avoidance Map

  12. Distributed Development Vs. Outsourcing • Distributed Development • Extension of the team • Working directly/continuously with the main team • Outsourcing • Fully implemented work • Specific Skillsets or • Generally lower cost center

  13. Keep in House • Core Systems • EngineTechnology • Platform (Online) • DBs • Features • Core Gameplay/Game Modes

  14. Out of House • 2nd - 3rd tier technology • User Interface • Billing • Features • General Gameplay • Game Modes • Web/mobile functionality

  15. Work History • What typical products have they developed • Small/large scale • Complexity • References • Ability to travel ** Try before you buy…

  16. It is all about Communication….. • What is the communication plan • Who owns the overall vision • Who is responsible at each site for making decisions • Avoid centralized decision making • Continuously share the vision

  17. It is all about Communication….. • Provide multiple communication paths • Daily Standups • Video Chat • Continuous communication • Text Chat • Phone **Ensure these systems work and are always available**

  18. Get your teams face to face • Key points for person to person contact • Pre-product • What is the concept/goal for the project • Talk about how things will work • Expectations on quality • Production • Review final designs • How are we splitting the work • Alpha • Process for managing defects • Process for shutting the product down

  19. Dealing with time zones • What are the common working hours • Can you shift development times closer? • Who stays late/who gets up early? • Multiple time zone impact • Consider impact to efficiency when selecting partners and development type

  20. Know your team members • How do individuals work in each geo location? • Self Starters • Ability to handoff work with little oversight • Can work from basic information • Directed Developers • Require specific direction and oversight • Prefer well documented instructions

  21. Project Methodologies • What methodologies will each location use • Agile, Waterfall, Lean/Kanban • What is the level of experience with the selected methodologies • Do the remote teams choices work with the main teams • How are the key metrics tracked • Does everyone understand their role

  22. Project Management Suite • Unified project management tool • Accessible from each remote location • Allows remote location to manage “their” work • Support the development methodologies teams use • Agile, Waterfall, Lean/Kanban • Encourage communication process • Allow project leadership to get a high level view of project data • Ability to dig into the details

  23. Summary • Culture • Type of work • Scope of work • Work experience • Communication • How you/they work

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