I agree with a lot of this, disagree with "multichannel" bit. The idea of "learning styles" is dead in the field of psychology and the advice isn't actionable in the context of a presentation or meeting anyway (how does your average powerpoint aid these supposed "kinesthetic" learners?").<p>I'd never heard of back-briefing but see that as something my company could benefit from, however. So thanks for that!
I'm glad there are articles like this and people out there trying to figure out what it really takes to build a great dev team. Still, after all this time trying to find the equation for getting into that magical state I call "the groove" is insanely difficult. It could be compared to a band that put out a really great first album but needs that same energy for another one. I've spent a lot of time around professional musicians and their struggles mirror development ironically. Once I saw 1/2 of a band audition two studio musicians and hit a groove then mint two contracts for a tour in about the span of 30 minutes. That was magical and that was rare- dev teams sort of operate the same way and sometimes when no one is looking that groove happens.
One comment regarding the "embedding". This is similar to the Toyota concept of the <i>gemba</i>, or being where the value is produced. For automobiles, that's the factory floor. For software shops, that's with the developers, testers and BAs.<p>You want to be able to understand the work flow of your staff in order to catch opportunities for continuous improvement, and the best way to do this is to observe the work being done, but in a respectful way, that is, respecting the staff space and making them comfortable that you are not there to observe <i></i>them<i></i>, but the work.<p>I really don't understand why a manager would want to have an office in the 21st century.
No one has mentioned groups chats from the article. It's kind of scary to think there's a manager out there that is mindfully siloing conversations instead of letting smart people figure it out.
Great article. Threading in a chat tool is an absolute necessity for me. Regarding embedding, I like to wave and smile without talking to makers while they are working. I say hello and maybe chat with managers. Waving and smiling is friendly without interrupting a maker. It still gives them an opportunity to start conversation.