Remote Work | Remote Jobs | Telecommuting - Remote Work | Remote Jobs | Telecommuting
  • Home
  • Working Remotely
  • Hiring
  • Interview
  • Advice
  • Guides
  • Office
  • About
Home
Working Remotely
Hiring
Interview
Advice
Guides
Office
About
  • Home
  • Working Remotely
  • Hiring
  • Interview
  • Advice
  • Guides
  • Office
  • About
TwitterFacebook

Remote Nation

Advice, Guides, Product Managers, Tools

The Ultimate Guide to Project Management Software for Remote Teams.

project_management_software

What is the best project management tool for businesses & remote teams? We get this question a lot, and it’s something that’s critical to all of our projects at FullStack. We’ve used a variety of tools over the years starting with our own home-grown application that we called “Workflo”. Eventually, we moved onto some open source tools like Trac and Redmine. We’re now running things on SaaS offerings because the quality of available tools has picked up significantly in recent years.

Each project we work on is completely different, but proper project management has certain fundamentals that need to be addressed, no matter what tool used.

For these reasons, we’ve decided to create a series of different categories (plus winners) allowing you to pick the best tool for your needs.
We’ve divided our review into the following categories: Large Projects, Small Projects, Free, Personal & Overall Winner.

***We know there’s many, many great project management services out there, but we just haven’t had the time to properly use them all.  If there’s something you think we HAVE to try, please write in the comments!

****

Pivotal Tracker

 

Pros

  1. Points – Pivotal makes assigning points to stories very easy & gives project managers many different options to choose from for point systems. (Fibonacci, standard, etc)
  2. Linking b/w Cards- Pivotal assigns id #’s to each card, making linking very easy b/w various cards.
  3. Integrations – Pivotal integrates with almost every other service you might use in development (github, hipchat, slack,etc)
  4. Multiple WorkSpaces – If your team is large and has multiple projects, the Multiple workspace features allows you to jump b/w the different ones.
  5. Velocity + Volatility – Pivotal has many tracking features of points, allowing sophisticated teams to measure / optimize their workflow, identify bottlenecks, and work smarter.
  6. UX / UI + Flow- We love Pivotal’s automatic movement of cards for sprints from “Backlogs” into “Current”, the limited options, and simplistic feel of it.
  7. Reports: Pivotal gives users the ability to create burn down charts & other awesome projections easily and succinctly.

Negatives:

  1. Cost- Pivotal charges per user, so for large teams- or for teams that need to have non-developers ‘monitor’ the progress, the price can get quite high quite quickly
  2. Break in Period- There’s a break in period to get used to the flow & general look / feel of the board.  A full board can look quite intimidating at first glance
  3. Creating Cards – Creating cards can take a long time since there’s so many fields.  Not a problem for important projects, but unneeded for simple or test projects
  4. Small Cards – The actual size of the cards is small, which is not a problem for viewing the board, but is very annoying when creating the cards for the first time.  We really wish creating the cards happened in a larger box.

Overall:

We’re really big fans of Pivotal Tracker for project management, but the developers we work with also prefer it over other tools we’ve tried it in the past.  Pivotal has it’s share of weaknesses, and it isn’t the fastest tool to use, but large projects w/ a big scope generally won’t have cards that need to be re-written, or moved around quickly.  If your company or project is looking for something consistent and methodical so you can just focus on development, Pivotal should work great for you!

 

Jira

 

Pros:

  1. Feature Rich – Jira & Jira Agile has a tool for almost any project you could possibly think of.
  2. Well Known – Many people have used Jira at some point, so there’s not much of a break-in period.  At the very least, most people have used one of their other, non project management products.
  3. Atlassian – Jira is apart of Atlassian, which is essentially a Salesforce for developers.  They have a different service for everything a team (large or small) of developers would ever need.
  4. Flexible – So many features allows users to stick w/ Jira / Atlassian, and use different types of boards w/ different methodologies (Agile,Kanban,etc) without changing services.
  5. Stable – We haven’t really noticed much downtime in any of the projects where we’ve used Jira.

Negatives:

  1. Too Busy – The actual board itself is very busy w/ lots of features, which takes away focus quite easily.  While there are ways we can minimize this, we
  2. Too many features– There are SO many features that it’s easy to get lost as you’re trying to create the perfect environment for your team and projects
  3. Cost – Like Pivotal Tracker, it can get quite pricey quite fast.

Overall:

Overall, Jira is a solid option for many teams, but it’s hard to transition into after using other software.  Unfortunately, Jira is on the ‘More is better” side of the fence, and they have an overwhelming amount of features.  This produces the expected result of confusion, training manuals, and less focus on the core features from their internal team.  Hence, if you’re looking to switch and don’t see your company switching again for a long time, or already use another Atlassian product, then Jira will be a great fit.  Otherwise, we believe there are better options.

 

Basecamp

 

Positives:

  1. Simple Interface – Basecamp has a very inviting look & feel to it,
  2. Well Known – Basecamp has been around since the early 2000’s, which is quite a bit longer than the other services on this list.
  3. Good for non-technical. – Basecamp can be great for those who are non-technical and need a project management tool for non ‘app’ related things
  4. All-in-one features– Basecamp has chat, calendars, messages, etc.  It’s swiss-army knife, but doesn’t go crazy (like Jira)
  5. Built by customers – 37Signals has always built their product w/ their community’s feedback, so basecamp could be the perfect solution for what your team needs.

Negatives:

  1. Too Simple – For sophisticated & large development teams, Basecamp is simply not robust enough.  If your team has a dedicated project manager, scrum master, product manager, etc- there’s going to be a lot of things that the team will need to measure against, but Basecamp won’t be able to provide.
  2. Tracking – Similar to above, Basecamp is light on the # of tracking and measuring tools.
  3. Non-Professional– This is about ‘nit-picky’ as possible, but Basecamp’s warm and inviting interface might give some clients the wrong impression of it’s power.

Overall:

Basecamp is a great option for both small and large teams, and could be a perfect fit for agencies that don’t need to get too technical w/ their projects – designed focused firms for instance.  Either way, we definitely suggest Basecamp as an option for teams & projects leads to check out.

 

Trello

 

Positives:

  1. So Simple! – Trello is so ridiculously simple to use it’s funny.  We’ve gotten so good at it that we can create an entire set of user stories + sprints for a large project in under an hour.
  2. Well Known – Trello is becoming well known w/ non technical people, which can be great for input from clients.
  3. Drag-Based Interface -Trello has a very simple point and drag interface, which also carries over to their free iOS and Android apps.
  4. Communication It’s very easy to write messages & get team member’s attention through their @ feature + assigning cards to different people.
  5. Shortcuts – Trello has some nifty shortcodes which allows power users to create cards extremely fast.
  6. Cost – It’s free!  The premium & business tiers have a few more features, but it’s mostly organizational things.

Negatives:

  1. Too Simple– Trello has many features that work for a variety of projects, but it starts to become too simple for teams larger than 5.
  2. Tracking– Similarly to basecamp, Trello leaves a lot to be desired for teams that need to measure & optimize their output.  Trello wasn’t made for those types of projects, so it does prevent itself from reaching the entire PM market, but tha

Overall:

We love trello!  We’ve used it for managing projects, sales pipelines, content for our RemoteNation, around the house things, personal study projects, and even planning a bachelor party :).  They biggest downfall of trello (that it doesn’t have the sophisticated tools as Jira or Pivotal) is a blessing in disguise because they stay true to what the product is: a super simple and fast project management service!

 

Asana

 

Positives:

  1. Well Funded – Asana has raised over $38 Million (we’re not sure how…) so it’ll be around and they’ll be able to keep innovating
  2. Content Holder– Asana’s ‘project’ categorization style is great at holding large amounts of content for different projects
  3. Works– We’ve never really noticed bugs, or really anything wrong w/ the actual functionality of asana.
  4. Calendar– They have a great calendar which is good for collaboration.
  5. TeamWork– Asana is built for teams, so teamwork is a huge part of its workflow.

Negatives:

  1. Not Intuitive – Asana has never felt truly intuitive, and it took us awhile to get used to it.
  2. Pricing- Asana has a free tier that will be enough for most users, but the premium features can get quite expensive even w/ a small # of users.
  3. How it Works – Asana has invested quite a bit of time & money into their how it works videos, pictures and tutorials; proving that the app is not simple to use.

Overall:

Asana can be a perfect option, but it’d take a very specific project or team.  We assume that it’d be hard for most teams to switch to Asana if they’re already using something else; but, after looking at their portfolio we noticed most were startups so it was probably their first project management service.  Either way, solid tool that is something your team should try in some context.

 

Other Great Options (that we haven’t had the time to use)

Our #3 might be a head scratcher to some, but it all is based around our main criteria for greatness in this category, convenience & speed. We’ve decided to not select one application, but a few that are built into some very popular other services.

 

  1. Clarizen – Clarizen’s execution platform gives your whole team a centralized environment to manage projects, tasks, resources, budgets, as well as associated emails, chat and documents.  However, we find it to be a bit clunky and non-intuitive.  It could probably use an entire UX facelift, but that would disrupt all of it’s current users
  2. Podio – Podio  lets you get work done with your co-workers and clients on a social work platform that you make your own.  They claim to have over ½ million users, but we’re not sure if that’s accurate… The platform has a ton of features, and seems like a hybrid of Jira + Assana.
  3. Wrike– is all-in-one project management software that helps remote and co-located teams get more things done together.  We like Wrike’s central focused layout (everything is in the center..) because it forces the user to focus on the task at hand.  This makes multi-tasking harder, but that’s exactly what they’re trying to prevent.

 

Best Project Management for Small Teams

 

1st Place: Trello

Trello is a perfect fit for small teams that do not need sophisticated tracking tools and metrics that pivotal or jira provide, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t powerful and perfect for small teams.  Trello shines in communication, UX, and their super simple interface which allows teams to jump into Trello immediately.  Also, we think features such as chat, calendars, and video conferencing are almost always better when you use a standalone app.

2nd Place: Basecamp

We considered many different options for our #2, but ultimately decided on Basecamp because it’s features are streamlined for small teams, and it can be used as an ‘all-in-one’ tool with its: chat, calendar, and many more features.  Finally, basecamp works really well for storing documents, so for a small team w/ a limited amount, it makes choosing Basecamp that much easier.

 

Best Project Management for Large Teams

 

1st Place: Pivotal Tracker

We use Pivotal for many of our large projects because it does exactly what we need, agile project management for large projects.  Pivotal is great when forming our sprints, release planning, and daily standups, but the ease of developer communication amongst cards & their integrations makes tracking progress easy for everyone involved.

2nd Place: Jira

We might get some pushback with choosing Pivotal Tracker over Jira for our #1, but we find Jira to have too many features ‘out of the box’.  Jira comes packed w/ many features that 99% of teams won’t end up using, but there’s a solid use case for everything included with Pivotal.  The price differences are nominal, & they have the same integrations, but we just ultimately find Jira to be too cluttered.

 

Best “Cost Sensitive” Options

We understand that startups, small businesses, and individuals typically like to save their resources (aka $$) for other essentials, when ‘free’ services are available. However, the services on the following list shouldn’t be looked at as inferior as to the other options. Rather, we think that the features list + the free aspects still make these excellent options for users in the need for video conferencing solutions.

 

Tie for 1st Place: Trello

Since trello is free and has all necessary functionality for teams, it’s an easy #1 for us.  While Trello does have a premium level, the only thing that’s really beneficial is the team organization, but that’s a ‘nice to have’ feature.  Further, there’s a “Scrum for Trello” for chrome (you can find by searching in the extensions) which allows teams to point their stories if they care to do so.

2nd Place: Basecamp

Basecamp came in as our 2nd choice because of their many features + their unique pricing setup, which could be a perfect fit for very large teams w/ a small # of projects.  Unlike almost every other service, Basecamp charges by the # of projects, NOT the # of users in a profile. Theoretically, a team of 50 could use Asana for $20 a month, VS $300 a month for Pivotal Tracker.

3rd Place: Asana

Asana has basic tier (up to 30 users) which is the only tier we’ve ever needed to use.  As we listed above, minus the quirks of Asana, they provide almost every tool a small or large project would need.  Certain things like giving points to stories for Agile teams is missing, but we’re sure you can mask this problem by creating your own system of labels in Asana.

 

*Bonus* Best PM Software for Personal Projects

Checklists and ‘to-do’ lists are quite common for a typical person, even if they’ve never touched a software project in their life.  These types of needs are quite different than one of a project manager for a lare software project with a large team, but that’s not to say the following are perfect to manage your life 🙂

1st Place: Trello

Trello wins again for its simplicity, ability to add photos, rapid creation of cards through shortcuts, and the intuitive UX/UI of the app.  As you can tell, we’re big proponents of trello, but for good reason, it has a ton of necessary features, but they don’t pile on the unnecessary like most of the other options on this guide.

2nd Place: Todoist

Todoist is a well known and powerful checklist creator built for a non-technical crowd.  Todoist has 100’s of use cases, but what it’s really great at is having a simple & clean user interface to get work done quickly in an organized manner.  Also, for power-users, Todoist has an easy folder system for categorizing larger projects or initiatives you might be working.  Finally, Todoist also has a nifty iOS and Android app, and more features on the way!

3rd Place: Checkli

Checkli is an even simpler form of Todoist, and places great emphasis on the task at hand.  Checkli has limited features, but is a great tool for creating simple daily to-do lists (grocery lists, chores, etc) but could also be used for larger personal initiatives.

 

Overall Winner: Trello!

We use Trello every single day for small, medium, large and personal projects.  It’s free, take < 2 minutes to create a workable board for a project w/ user stories + cards, and is simple enough for even the least tech-savvy client you’ve ever had 🙂  While some teams have to be able to measure and get reports on their progress each week, we feel as though this is still doable (not cleanly) through the “Agile for Trello” extension in the Chrome store + a few minutes of busy work on the PM.  Overall, there’s really not any core features missing from Trello (that can’t be found packaged in another tool we already use) so it was an easy choice for our team.

 

Please let us know your thoughts!  The Project Management Software industry is super competitive, so we know there’s a few we’ve left out!

May 13, 2015by remotenation
FacebookTwitterPinterestGoogle +Stumbleupon
Advice, Office, Working Remotely

Can’t Focus while working from Home? Music might help…

Music_Working_Remotely

Ever wonder what can help you ignore those pesky distractions and help you hunker down with your work at home? Well, research shows that putting on your trusty headphones might do the trick. While many of us need complete silence in order to work productively, putting on the right type of music may help you reach the finish line.

However, finding the “right type” of music can be tricky. There are different types of work out there, which call for different kinds of music. We explored a number of studies on the connections between work productivity and music. Throughout these studies, two distinct styles of work continued to pop up: tedious work and creative work. We summarized some important findings to help you reach that harmonious sweet spot between work and music.

Music for Tedious Tasks

Some work may not always call for significant brain power and it’s during these times when the music you love can come in handy.

In 2005, Teresa Lesiuk of University of Windsor released a study that focused on the effects of music on work productivity. Data was collected from 56 software designers who reported how music affected their work in their respective work environments during a five week period.

“Results indicated that state positive affect and quality-of-work were lowest with no music, while time-on-task was longest when music was removed. Narrative responses revealed the value of music listening for positive mood change and enhanced perception on design while working” said Lesiuk.

Her findings support that listening to music you like improves your mood and morale, which can increase your productivity. The music serves as a healthy distraction for when you are slogging through paperwork. So if you see your inbox is chalked full with new emails, by all means, crank it to 11.

Suggestions

Before you play your music of choice, make sure it is something that you already know. Listening to a new song, whether it is good or bad may distract you from completing your work. In other words, familiarity is the key here. If you are dying to listen to that new song by your favorite artist, use that desire as a reward and motivate yourself by listening to their earlier songs while working.

Music for Creativity

On the other end of the spectrum there’s creative work. Creative work requires a specific kind of music.  Clearly, you don’t want music that will be distracting to your creative process, but sound can still be a creative stimulus for your brain.  An effective medium between total silence and loud rhythmic music is soft, ambient music.

A study published in 2012 shows how ambient noise can help people with creativity. Through five experiments they observed the exact number of decibels when ambient noise and music can be beneficial to workers and their creativity.

The authors summarized, “Results from five experiments demonstrate that a moderate (70 dB) versus low (50 dB) level of ambient noise enhances performance on creative tasks and increases the buying likelihood of innovative products.”

The sounds arouse the brain, which leads to creativity. It acts as a constant stimulant for your brain, which then makes other noises, like your dishwasher, not as distracting. But, if the music or noise is too loud it can distract you, inhibiting the creative process.

The authors said “A high level of noise (85 dB), on the other hand, hurts creavity.”

Suggestions

So if you are trying to get some magic on paper, artists like Aphex Twin or Brian Eno can be of great service to help you focus. They both have albums with select “Ambient Works” on them, so they are safe bets. Or try listening to nature’s music or some white noise since these will provide the same effect. 

What to Avoid

Ever been really focused on a speaker then all of a sudden your attention drifts to the people behind talking about their weekend plans?   Imagine this scenario, but with John Lennon singing in your ear. We’ve looked at to how music can be helpful when working, but there are still times when music may not be so helpful, overall.

Generally, you should avoid music with lyrics if you are working on something that is demanding. Lyrics have the tendency to grab our attention and prevent us from fully focusing on the task at hand. A recent study done in 2012 looked at the effects of music with lyrics and without lyrics on 102 participants’ concentration. They found that music with lyrics negatively affected the participants’ concentration.

Additionally, music can also be a hindrance when trying to learn something new. There’s a reason why teachers don’t blast metal when trying to teach business calc. It has the same effect of multi-tasking. You cannot give 100 percent of your attention to one thing if you are also focused on something else.

Summary

If you find yourself not being able to focus for whatever reason, try listening to music and see what is best for you. But, keep in mind that some music can be more harmful than good.

Suggestions to keep in mind:

If you find yourself losing steam, try playing music that you think will help you get through your work. If you end up air playing air guitar, then you might want to find something else.

When trying to come up with ideas for your next project give ambient music or ambient sounds a try. Songza is a great site that provides a wide array of music and sounds based on the activities you’re doing, including streams like white noise and “In a Quiet Park.”

Try to avoid music with lyrics, since they prove to be distracting. Especially if something calls for your undivided attention.

And if you find that music is just too distracting, then stick with silence since that is what works for you. In the end, it’s all about what helps you get your work done well and efficiently. 

April 23, 2015by remotenation
FacebookTwitterPinterestGoogle +Stumbleupon
Advice, Blog, Working Remotely

Remote Working: On the Rise & Creating Happier Employees

remote_working_happy_employees

A recent study by AccountTemps of 2,100 CFO’s across the US said 35% of their companies have increased remote work opportunities in the last three years, but only 3% have decreased the number of opportunities.

Employees like the flexibility of working remotely, but employers are also seeing a variety of benefits. The study revealed that the 35 % of the executives surveyed see higher employee morale and greater retention rates as the primary advantages of offering remote-work options, and 28 percent said the best aspect is an increase in productivity by eliminating commute time.

Other benefits employers cite include the ability to save money on office space and gaining access to a broader talent pool when hiring.

Bill Driscoll, a district president of Accountemps, recently said in a statement “Although telecommuting isn’t suitable for every role, it can be a powerful incentive for employees who want greater flexibility. It offers other advantages to businesses, such as greater productivity, cost savings on office space, the ability to tap into talent in different geographical areas and time zones, and more around-the-clock client service.”

Accountemps offered several tips for employers thinking about setting up a remote workforce:

Security:  Since Employees will be working from home, Employers need to make sure that all confidential and important documents and information is secure from the home office.  Each company will have their own requirements for this, but employers must create some security baseline.

Promote it!:  Working remotely is a HUGE plus for many employees, even if it’s just a day or two a week.  Companies need to promote their remote opportunities  (full remote or part-time) to increase the scope of their talent pool

Communication: Setting up proper communication channels is a must for remote workers.  There are plenty of video conferencing, business focused chat tools, + normal email & phone calls that allow this, but it’s something that needs to be normalized ASAP for new employees.

Guidelines: Employers must set guidelines on how employees must work from home.  This is highly dependent on the job, but could require the employee to track their time, to have a few calls w/ their manager, or whatever makes the most sense for their environment.

Expectations:  Employers need to clearly explain expectations for remote workers, so employees don’t view it as ‘day off’ from their normal schedule.  Ideally, since there’s much less of a commute time and less distraction, employees should exceed their normal work capacity on these days.  However, all this needs to be communicated to the employee.

Overall, we at Remote Nation see this as just another set of hard data that proves remote working is on the rise and provides tangible benefits to both employees and employers.

Please let us know what you think of this article in the comments!

 

April 7, 2015by remotenation
FacebookTwitterPinterestGoogle +Stumbleupon
Advice, Blog

Office Free? How to go 100% Remote

Office_Free_Team

Were you ever curious on how you can take your office 100% remote? Neil Patel has written a great article on that topic and has presented 6 quick tips on how to create this perfect environment.The trend of working remotely is growing, and we don’t expect it to stop for a long time. There’s many ways to create a successful remote work environment for both yourself and your team, but Neil Patel, Founder of QuickSprout, CrazyEgg, & Kissmetrics, recently wrote a great article in Entrepreneur on the subject. Be sure to check out Who Needs an Office? How to go 100 Percent Remote and read about his 6 great tips on the subject!

March 25, 2015by remotenation
FacebookTwitterPinterestGoogle +Stumbleupon
Advice, Designers, Working Remotely

Remote Design: Feedback and Collaboration

Designer_Desk_iphone_stencils

Up until about a year ago, I was hunkered down in a cubicle eating food through a little trap door. Okay, so that last part is not entirely accurate, but I am currently working remotely as a Product Designer at Fullstack.

If we really dig in there are some differences when it comes to designing remotely, but nothing that we can’t overcome. Two items come to mind as I think back over my experiences in both environments: feedback and collaboration.There are many options available for collaborating on designs and collecting feedback. The methods range from rudimentary screenshots to full blown apps, but I find that most of these approaches will work regardless of your physical location.

Feedback: Admiring From Afar

Environmental factors will likely influence your decision. For example, we follow a lean / agile workflow so we tend to favor methods that provide an ‘early and often’ feedback loop. Certain projects and clients may be okay with quick-and-dirty methods, while others may necessitate the need for more formal and organized approaches.

In an office setting, it is common to have somebody take a peek over your shoulder (whether you invite them or not). The randomness of that occurrence cannot be re-created and the physical cues are hard to capture over video, but there is so much more we can do in collecting feedback.

Other than the unscheduled drive-by, most everything else can be replicated remotely. You can share photos of sketches, send screenshots via chat and email, share your screen and even allow tunneling to your local host. Heck, with Google Hangouts you could practically get the drive-by effect described above (if you really want that).

The Quick and Dirty Methods

When working on sketches we typically snap a picture of our sketchbook using either a smart phone or a built in laptop camera (if you’re on a Mac, Photo Booth is super handy for this). Lately, I have also been using the entry level Wacom Bamboo tablet for quick sketches in Illustrator.

If you are beyond sketching and are dealing with a wireframe, prototype, or Illustrator/Photoshop file then a simple screenshot will likely do the trick (Command-Shift-4 on mac will become your favorite shortcut).

The trick is getting that screenshot in front of your teammates quickly without too much fiddling. With an app like TinyGrab you can simultaneously turn your screenshot into a url for sharing. With the TinyGrab app running (along with Dropbox), each time you take a screenshot it will upload it to your Dropbox account, create a tiny url and copy it to your clipboard–paste that in your IM chat (we use Skype), and you’re done. As an added bonus, TinyGrab also allows for some basic feedback notes on the screenshot once it is opened.

The Slow and Clean Methods

The quick-and-dirty method works great when dealing with a couple of peers or smaller project teams that follow a Lean UX workflow, but if you are seeking more formal feedback from a larger set of people (often involving clients) then you may need a more structured feedback loop.

There are many apps out there geared toward collecting feedback remotely. Some of our personal favorites in this category would be InVisionApp, Notable and InfluenceApp. The last two were built by Zurb who, as I was typing this, launched a third app in this category, ReelApp. There are many more, all of which do essentially the same thing.

In the end, things are not much different when using apps to collect feedback from home or the office. There is something to be said about in-person feedback, and I will be the first to admit that I miss it on occasion. However, there are so many tools available (many at no cost) that allow us to collect valuable feedback and get the job done without sacrificing quality. And hey, if you really want to see their physical reaction then use your built-in video cameras!

Collaboration: Gaze Into My Eyes

The other obstacle to overcome while designing remotely is collaboration. Let’s be honest, getting together in a room and whiteboarding as a team can be fun. On the flip side it can also be incredibly inefficient when the conversation wanders off topic or certain people commandeer the ship. Either way, if collaboration is what you are after, then collaboration you shall get.

Nowadays, we all live on some variation of chat client. Most of them also offer video call capability and its fairly safe to assume people have a built-in video camera within reach (laptop, phone, etc.). Fire up an app and check each other out (that sounded creepy, keep your cool).

Skype and Google Hangouts are great options and free for a decent number of participants. (side note: you might also want to check out the WebRTC project)

Maybe you don’t need to lay eyes on each other, but just want to share your screen? Sure, no problem. Again Skype or the free join.me version will do the trick in almost every situation. If you want the whiteboard experience, then fire up Illustrator or Adobe and sketch it out. Wireframing? Same approach, open your favorite tool and share away–something like Balsamiq does the trick.

At Fullstack, our team gets together once or twice a year. Clearly this is a great opportunity for getting to know earch other, but it also lends itself to some fruitful collaboration. Have an internal or side project you’ve been wanting to crank out? Put together a little hackathon and get it shipped in the course of your meetup!

The good news is that there are plenty of apps out that can help us overcome the remote collaboration issue. The experience is close enough to the real thing in most circumstances enabling you to get the job done. If you are feeling lonely, or just want to see a face then get out and hit a local Meetup or make video call, the future is here McFly!

Make It Work

Topics like this will certainly come up when teams or companies are considering a remote working arrangement (and you’ll probably endure hour long meetings with everybody offering their opinion on why it will or won’t work). My advice is to just give it a shot! Almost all of these tools are free, so just take a day and work from home. Carry on with business as usual and in the end, I am confident that you find a solution that works for everybody. Oh, and as an added bonus, you’ll likely find yourself happier and more productive living outside of that sad cubicle!

February 5, 2015by Ryan Kearins
FacebookTwitterPinterestGoogle +Stumbleupon
Advice, Product Managers, Working Remotely

Top 10 Guiding Principles For Remote Product Management

Remote_Product_Management

Being a remote product manager is one of the most challenging jobs I’ve ever had in my career. I think one of the things that has been most difficult is defining and understanding what exactly I do and what my role is on the team. If you ask ten people in our industry what a product manager is, you will most likely get ten different responses. Even in the two years that I’ve worked for Fullstack, my daily routine and responsibilities have changed dramatically as the company has evolved and grown.

Setting The Stage

I think we all can agree that, on a high level, a product manager’s role is to “manage the lifecycle of a product” and to “analyze the market conditions to define features and requirements of a product.” But what does that actually mean and how does it play out on a daily basis? This is the first post in a series to explore the ins and outs of the guiding principles I try to follow on a daily basis as a remote product manager pushing to create and deliver successful, extraordinary products to market.

As I’ve pondered product management, I keep coming back to the memory of working as a saute line cook in a fine dining restaurant during my college years. If you’ve never witnessed the awe-inspiring harmony of a well-run kitchen firing on all cylinders, I highly recommend it. In most professional kitchens, you have a line of cooks each with a different station such as saute, grill, middle, salads, and desserts. Running the kitchen is the executive chef or chef de cuisine. This person, also referred to as the expediter, is responsible for controlling the “board,” which houses all the tickets and orders placed by customers in the restaurant. During busy nights, we would have upwards of 30 to 40 tickets on the board at the same time. That’s roughly the equivalent to 120 dishes that need cooking all at the same time.

The expediter has to tell each specific station what to cook, how much, when to cook it, and when to bring it to the window. The idea is that each station puts their dishes in the window at the same time for any given table so the food could be delivered together at the correct time. If the food was cooked too early before the table had finished their previous course, it would go bad. If food was fired too late, restaurant patrons quickly became disgruntled at the sound of their rumbling belly. In addition to timing the delivery of every ticket perfectly, the expediter inspects each and every finished dish to make sure that it adheres to the quality standards of the restaurant.

They have to be able to jump onto the line to help out when needed, run out and talk to a customer who wants face time with the chef, and manage the food inventory to make sure there are sufficient supplies for the night’s dinner service. The expediter also interfaces with the servers running in and out of the kitchen asking questions, educates them on the dishes being served that night, and communicates with the front of the house management to handle out of the ordinary requests, allergies, and special situations the kitchen can and cannot handle.

For an expediter to do his job well, he has to manage chaos and turn it into a harmonious dance where everyone understands their roles and has the information they need to perform their job so that the end result is impecable service and extraordinary food delivered to each and every customer that walks through the door. Watching an experienced expediter run a kitchen is very similar to watching a true product manager exercise his craft. A good product is the aggregate of the team’s ability to create and deliver something that truly solves your needs with a touch of wow.

The List

As a product manager, you need people to succeed at their individual roles and you need to understand your customer, what they need, and when they need it. Being a remote product manager adds a whole additional layer of complexity to the process because so many of the things needed for your team to succeed require spot on communication. I’ve put together a list of 10 guiding principles that I follow as a remote product manager:

  1. Be the air traffic controller
  2. Know your team
  3. Understand your customers
  4. Make decisions on the fly
  5. Remove blockers
  6. Take responsibility and do whatever it takes
  7. Bridge the gap
  8. Embrace the unknown
  9. Address risks head on
  10. Keep it simple

This is in no way exhaustive, but these ten things represent what I’ve found to be the most important qualities, characteristics, and actions that a product manager has and does. Over the next several posts in this series, I want to break down each of the items in more detail and explore the processes and solutions I’ve found to accomplishing them just as effectively (if not more so) than traditional, office based product managers.

January 22, 2015by remotenation
FacebookTwitterPinterestGoogle +Stumbleupon
Advice, Working Remotely

Stand Up! Standing (while working) Health Benefits for Remote Workers

Standing_Working_Benefits

Remote working. With all of its benefits, there is one big disadvantage: sitting ALL day long except for the occasional restroom break. At least with an office job, one has to walk to the ol’ water cooler or to their car to commute to the office and back. No, I’m not gonna call you lazy. A sloth. Jabba the Hutt. Wait, yes I am. Stand up! Sitting is killing you.

Sitting while working, The Statistics Are Grim

Sitting. Sitting. Sitting. It’s no wonder we have the healthcare crisis that we do in this nation. If we paid better attention to ourselves and our daily routines, what kind of revolution might happen? Our dependent-on-keeping-our-butts-planted culture is not helping the situation.

  • The typical American averages 9.3 hr/day of sedentary activity
  • Being sedentary 6+ hr/day increases risk of death 40%
  • Being sedentary increases risk of various cardiovascular/musculoskeletal diseases and some cancers

“Sitting is Killing You” by Medical Billing and Coding Staff

Our Culture Doesn’t Help

  • Drive to and from work? Sitting.
  • Have an office Job? Sitting.
  • Drive a few miles to the grocery store? Sitting. (Thank goodness we have to walk through the store to get our items… for now)
  • Watch TV? Sitting.

Be the Change You Wish to See

Getting your daily intake of strenuous activity is a good thing. But those sessions typically last thirty minutes to an hour for most. Even with daily exercise, staying put for the majority of the day still wrecks a body good. We need to engage our bodies and minds as much as possible through the entire day. Following are three of the most popular alternatives to the regular, old sitting desk.

Standing Room Only

Standing desks are a strong step in the right direction. You’re engaging more of your body in hours-long daily activity. If this is your only option, however, standing all day isn’t exactly good for you either. Standing desks come with:

Advantages
  • Increased physical and mental activity
  • Potential increase in concentration and focus
Disadvantages
  • Risk of Carotid atherosclerosis due to higher load on the circulatory system
  • Varicose veins
  • Sore legs and feet
  • Lower back pain
  • Increased fatigue

Krause N., Lynch J.W., Kaplan G.A., Cohen R.D., Salonen R., Salonen J.T. (2000) Standing at work and progression of carotid atherosclerosis. Scand J Work Environ Health, 26(3):227-236
Tüchsen F., Krause N., Hannerz H., Burr H., Kristensen T.S. (2000) Standing at work and varicose veins. Scand J Work Environ Health, 26(5):414-420.

Walking Your Way to Health

Another trendy option is the elusive treadmill desk, prized for its ability to allow the user to casually stride their work day away. While this goes one step further than a standing-only desk in that you can walk while you work, there are some disadvantages. However, the advantages of a treadmill desk may outweigh these disadvantages. It’s a good option to consider. Walking all day comes with:

Advantages
  • Big increase in physical activity. Walk miles per day while you work.
Disadvantages
  • Cost – Most treadmill desk solutions are relatively costly compared to standing-only and some adjustable desk setups.
  • Potential difficulty in concentrating or typing – Unless you walk as smooth as a marching band member, you might find it difficult to type.

The Adjustable Desk: Best of Both Worlds

That leaves us with the holy grail of desk environments: the fully adjustable desk. Adjustable desks allow you to balance out your desk activity time by raising and lowering the desk surface either through a hand crank or push-button electric motors.

Manual Crank

Manual cranks will save you some coin over their electric brethren. And you might get a smidgen more of physical activity while cranking the desk up or down.

Electric

Ah, the lazy man’s adjustable desk. I kid, I kid. These are great for automated raising and lowering of your desk, especially if you adjust yours multiple times through the day. Some even come with memory presets. Hit a button and your desk adjusts to your desired position.

Take Action Now!

January 19, 2015by Dan Volkens
FacebookTwitterPinterestGoogle +Stumbleupon
Advice, Designers, Developers, Guides, Hiring

Top 5 Sites for Finding a Remote Developer or Designer Job

Top_5_Sites_Working_Remotely

There are a lot of job sites out there for web designers and developers, but only a few of them even bother to identify remote / telecommute jobs. Within that small set, far fewer of them actually allow you to filter for truly 100% remote jobs without some crafty keyword searching.

Top 5 Sites for Finding a Remote Developer or Designer Job

Having been down this road and experiencing the frustrations first-hand, here are five sites that I would consider to be the best of the bunch.

The Contestants

In no particular order.

Stack Overflow Careers 2.0

  • Site url: careers.stackoverflow.com
  • Filter type: Location (Telecommute)
  • Number of remote posts (approx.): 127
  • Observations: It is rare to find a quality site that has an explicit location filter for telecommute positions. Also impressive is the fact that the job posting form (for employers) has the following statement below the ‘Telecommute’ checkbox–‘Check this only if you are considering candidates who will work entirely remotely’, I’ll raise a glass to that!
  • Grade: A

37signals Job Board

  • Site url: jobs.37signals.com
  • Filter type: keyword search
  • Number of remote posts (approx.): 15-20? (it was hard to tell, you have to guess the terms: telecommute, remote, anywhere, etc.
  • Observations: The posts are of good quality, but for a company that is such a large proponent of remote working they do a pretty lackluster job identifying those posts. Also, their job posting form simply has an open text input for location with no checkbox or other way of identifying the post as remote.
  • Grade: B

Dribbble – Jobs

  • Site url: dribbble.com/jobs
  • Filter type: none
  • Number of remote posts (approx.): 10?
  • Observations: Similar to 37signals job board, there are some quality remote gigs here, but you have to dig without any assistance. In fact, this site offers no filtering at all and this job board is simply a launchpad to external sites (i.e. passive income generator). Best bet is to Ctrl-F for ‘Anywhere’, which is a hint on the location text field within their job posting form.
  • Grade: C

Authentic Jobs

  • Site url: authenticjobs.com
  • Filter type: checkbox
  • Number of remote posts (approx.): 60
  • Observations: This site has earned a reputation for the quality of its posts and it is the only site in this group whose sole purpose is listing jobs. I also noticed you can bookmark a useful URL after filtering authenticjobs.com/#onlyremote=1. As with stackoverflow, there is a checkbox to tag the post as a telecommuting position–‘Work can be done from anywhere (i.e. telecommuting)’. The other bonus here is filtering that allows you to separate out full-time jobs, though the telecommute checkbox to ’Show only telecommute jobs’ is buried under a map icon.
  • Grade: A

Career Pages on Employer Sites

  • Site url: You’re gonna have to dig.
  • Filter type: n/a
  • Number of remote posts (approx.): n/a
  • Observations: The fact of the matter is that the current state of job boards, with regards to finding remote jobs, sort of stinks. There are very high quality remote positions out there, but you are going to have to seek them out. That being said, make a list of the companies that offer remote working arrangements and keep an eye on their career / jobs pages. The demand for remote jobs is rising and as with traditional jobs, the best employers don’t always rely upon job boards.
  • Grade: n/a

The Winner

If I had to pick one, the best site is authenticjobs.com, followed closely by Stack Overflow Careers 2.0. Both of these sites allow for explicit filtering of telecommuting jobs and provide a means for employers to clearly tag a job as such. The slight edge goes to Authentic Jobs mainly for its advanced filtering.

The common thread in each of these contestants making my short list is the quality of the job posts. These sites represent not only some of the biggest players in the web industry but also employers with a solid reputation with regards to work environment. As with any job search, you will be doing some digging in turning up the gems. The good news is that the jobs are out there if you are willing to put in the work.

Things You Should Pay Attention to While Searching

Location: USA – The meaning of this ‘location’ is wildly inconsistent. From what I can gather, it typically means they want somebody from the USA; however, it does not mean that you can live anywhere in the USA. In short, they want to relocate you..

Searching for keywords is never all that reliable, but in particular the term ‘remote’ will bring back a potpourri of things since the term has many meanings within the web / technical industry. The keywords ‘telecommute’ and ‘anywhere’ provide superior accuracy.

Employers (even those who are not truly offering a telecommuting opportunity, for shame) know that people like you are searching for those keywords. As with any other ‘optimized’ content, they are going to stuff these words in their job postings (e.g. ‘telecommute not an option at this time’).

Another annoyance you will come across is employers who offer ‘alternative work arrangements’, but label them as telecommuting or remote working. In fact, what they are really offering is the option for you to work from home on occasion–once a week, due to inclement weather, etc.

Lastly, if you are fortunate enough to get a response, then don’t be afraid to clarify the remote working arrangement up front. Neither you nor the employer want to prepare for, schedule and trudge through an entire interview only to find out you have different interpretations of the term ‘telecommute’!

Happy hunting and if you have any other good advice or links, please share in the comments below.

January 14, 2015by Ryan Kearins
FacebookTwitterPinterestGoogle +Stumbleupon
Advice, Working Remotely

Working in the Remote Community : Meetups and Conferences

Ruby_Conference_Remote

While working on products and client work is certainly fun, a lot of the value that I’ve gained from being a software developer is community. Engineers love to share their knowledge, opinions and skills with the world. They not only do this out of generosity but they do this to learn, for infamy and to shape the future technical path of the community they give back to.

For the past two years I’ve been involved in several local user groups. I’ve started them, I’ve organized them, I’ve spoken at them. Up until recently I lived in Burlington, Vermont (Vermont’s largest city). Burlington, being the home of several colleges and startups, has quite a few active users groups: Burlington Ruby, Burlington Web Applications Group, PHP Users Group, Functional Programming Users Group, etc. Unfortunately not everyone lives near a city or town with such an active developer community. Never fear though! Modern technology can help you find and partake in a community whether it be near or far.

While face to face human interaction is quite nice, with technologies like Skype and Google Hangout, it’s not always necessary. In fact I’ve had the interesting experience of attending the Boston Ruby Group from the comfort of Vermont. I managed to be involved in an entirely different developer community without having to travel.

The Boston Ruby Group recently started inviting remote attendees and even speakers using Google Hangout and it actually works quite well. Myself and few other Vermont locals were able to not only treat ourselves to a completely new speaker line up but were able to interact with the attendees in Boston as well.

I don’t think that these types of interactions can completely replace the feeling of face to face meetups but they’re certainly great if that’s all you have access to. I encourage more user groups across the country to take advantage of these technologies. Not only can it expand your list of possible speakers but it can give back to those in community need.

I’m also currently organizing the Burlington Ruby Conference along with four others and yet we’ve met in person only once. We’ve been employing Google Hangout to do weekly ‘SCRUM’ meetings, so far with much success. Google Hangout is a fantastic tool for remote communication and can be applied to so many different things. I hope to have a future retrospective about planning a Ruby conference without any or very little in person face time.

You may live in remote Alaska, Nebraska or Vermont but that doesn’t mean that you can’t find other developers to interact with. So go forth and find a community home no matter where it is.

January 13, 2015by Tristan ONeil
FacebookTwitterPinterestGoogle +Stumbleupon
Advice, Office, Working Remotely

Working Remotely: Best Locations Away From the Home Office

Working_Remotely_Coffee_Shop_

My home office is quiet and I prefer to keep it that way. I’m tucked away in my own room with nothing more than a computer, a desk, a chair and an endless supply of music.

There is an assumption that working from home will be more distracting, but my experience has been quite the opposite. In fact, I am so glued to my desk that it makes me concerned for my long term health! Nobody should sit as much in a day as I do, so I am trying some new locations that will alleviate the physical and mental stress of prolonged sitting.

Best Places Besides Your Home Office for Working Remotely


Co-working Space

Perhaps you need to get out and see people, preferably people with similar interests. You are in luck! Coworking spaces are the place for you–ps, we cannot vouch for the dude in the hammock on that Wikipedia entry.

Typically you can pay by the day, or monthly if you REALLY want to get away from the house. One of our local spots even offers a free day once a month, which is a great opportunity to kick the tires.

In short: great spot, make friends, bring some change.

Coffee Shop

OK, so you either love coffee or just need to be amongst the people. Your friends and family, who do not work remotely, will undoubtedly get the ‘you working at Starbucks’ image in there head, but in reality working at coffee shops is not ideal.

Local shops are great in a pinch, or if you just want to get out for a bit and have some froyo. Unfortunately, the bad music, open-mouth eating and K-Mart grade internet service often ruin the experience.

In short: at least the food is good.

Office Space

You big timer you! While you’re at it, throw on a suit. Settle down, I’m just kidding… If you find yourself having the extra dough (or a lot of distractions at home), then this is a good way to take back control of your environment.

A couple of my peers at Fullstack use this alternative. It can be quite pricey, so you may need to find a roommate who is in the same boat.

In short: big desk, room with a view, open your wallets.

Public Spaces

This is a crapshoot where the environment can vary wildly. We happen to have a nice local library which is not too bad, though there may be somebody sleeping next to you on a couch… with their shoes off.

Most places have some form of wireless nowadays. On a college campus? Sneak in to a study place. Museum? Sure why not.

In short: be creative, explore your area.

Go Outside

Don’t overlook the obvious options nearby. Maybe you are fine never seeing people, no problem. At least take advantage of the fact that you are not chained to a cubicle. Go sit in your recliner, grab a spot at the dining room table, or better yet: set up camp on the porch and get some fresh air.

In short: you don’t have to go far, or put shoes on.

Stand Up

OK, so you are not a fan of change… or people. At least stand up every once in a while. Standing at a kitchen countertop will at least get your blood circulating in your legs. If you enjoy that and want more, then build a cheap desktop shelf or buy a standing desk.

In short: sitting down is killing you, literally.

Desert Island

Dude, you’re on vacation. Put the laptop down and pick up a fruity drink.

Summary

The point here is that you should take advantage of your freedom. Unlike working in an office (specifically in a cubicle) you can pick up your stuff and move. There are all sorts of reasons that changing your workspace is great, physical and mental health being two of most important.

So start small if you have to, stand up. Need to clear your head? Pack up your laptop and drive somewhere… practically anywhere.

What’s your preference? Any other great spots that have we overlooked?

January 5, 2015by Ryan Kearins
FacebookTwitterPinterestGoogle +Stumbleupon
Page 1 of 212»

Featured Posts

Give Remote Working a Try

Give Remote Working a Try

A Day in the Life of a Remote Developer

A Day in the Life of a Remote Developer

A Day in the Life of a Remote Designer

A Day in the Life of a Remote Designer

Working Remotely: Best Locations Away From the Home Office

Working Remotely: Best Locations Away Fr

Working in the Remote Community : Meetups and Conferences

Working in the Remote Community : Meetup

Categories

  • Advice
  • Blog
  • Designers
  • Developers
  • Guides
  • Hiring
  • Interview
  • Office
  • Product Managers
  • Tools
  • Working Remotely

The Ultimate Guide to Project Management Software for Remote Teams.

The Ultimate Guide to Project Management

Top 5 Sites for Finding a Remote ASP.NET / C# / Microsoft Stack Job

Top 5 Sites for Finding a Remote ASP.NET

Taking a five person start-up to a 100 remote employee workforce: An interview with Paul Hartge, COO of RevolutionEHR

Taking a five person start-up to a 100 r

Top 6 Sites for Finding a Remote Python Job

Top 6 Sites for Finding a Remote Python

Can’t Focus while working from Home?  Music might help…

Can’t Focus while working from Hom

© 2015 copyright Remote Nation // All rights reserved