Füsun Wehrmann discussed her experience working with distributed teams over 10 years at various companies. She emphasized the importance of understanding local cultures, having local leadership, and clear communication. While starting small and iterating is important, a minimum of 10 people is needed for success at each remote location. The key to success is providing autonomy, clear goals and processes, effective technology, and patience during the initial phases of setting up a distributed organization.

1. Füsun Wehrmann
Working with diverse & distributed software teams
Lessons learned from a 10 years’ journey

2. About Me
2
VP Technology @XING
Techie,Manager,Mother
Twitter: @fuesunw
XING: xing.com/profile/
Fuesun_Wehrmann

3. Experience With
Distributed Orgs
3
2000-2002 : Banks
2007-2009 : Ciao
2009-2012 : Microsoft
2012-2015 : Axel Springer
2015-today: XING

4. init();
look(INWARD);
look(OUTWARD);
goals = define(“success”);
bestPractices.setup(processes,teams);
org=distributedOrg.create(processes,teams,goals);
org.run();
AGENDA

5. init()

6. It is complex

7. Distributed Multiple Locations

8. Multiple Locations Different …
Culture Expectations
Local
Strengths Language

9. More …
Risks
Management
Communcation
Overhead

10. /* why are you doing this? */

11. Cost reduction Find talents (faster)
Post Merger Reorganisation

12. Cost reduction Find talents (faster)
Post Merger Reorganisation
SCALE & PROFIT

13. look(INWARD)

14. Diversity
vs

15. Structure
Hierarchical Matrix Flat
https://de.pinterest.com/pin/63050463510181242/

16. Example: Closed Culture
“We need to setup a small team asap to build a high prio MVP.With <spec…./>”
“Cool, I would take John, Tom, Anna,Fred from HQ”
“But you would still need a XYZ dev and ABC guy”
“Right, any suggestions?”
“I guess we could get Sara and David from <remote_loc>”
“Hm I wouldn't do that.”
“Why not?”
“I prefer people from the local teams to guarantee success.”
“Plus we would need to speak English if they are in the team”
PS : fictitious conversation

17. Example: Open Culture
“So we bought FGH in Switzerland and they have a small engineering team ”
“Yeah they are a young team but they develop fast!”
“We will need a bigger team to launch the new version of their product by <date>”
“Cool, I will nominate Kata, Mo and Juan from Spain”
“Let’s try to learn what makes them faster and not enforce our ways”
“We will try!.”
“Excellent, I will go and make arrangements for 2-3 weeks colocation ”
“OK I will go check if they need anything to setup our dev environment”
PS : fictitious conversation

18. You need to
Assess the culture and the acceptance
Identify and fix language issues (English)
Have confidence and experience for driving change
To be a radiator of patience and optimism all the time

19. look(OUTWARD)

20. Do Your Homework

21. Local Leadership
http://blogs.slj.com/neverendingsearch/files/2014/10/geeseflying-500x380.png

22. Individualists or Collectivists?
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-4cCeC3QO_hI/VCIPLssBlOI/AAAAAAAAAN4/T7HVAwsziBU/s1600/post2-sketch1(1).jpg

23. Respect For Ranks & Power ?
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/power-distance-choice-empathy-gunjan-sharman

24. Hofstede’s Cultural Dimensions

25. Checklist Must Haves
Language
Timezone Implications Legal Issues
Visa Needs
Ease of Travel
Location Peculiarities

26. Poland

27. Poland
Hierarchies and leaders are highly respected
Developers would rather be “heroes and stars”
Poland is transitioning from a low-cost location to a high profile location
Pragmatic, they deal with operational challenges well
Warsaw, Wroclaw and Krakau are good tech talent sources
Schengen and EU country, good transportation to major cities
Time to hire is getting longer each year but still better than DE and UK

28. Spain

29. Spain
Teamwork is totally natural. Belonging to a group is a strong motivator
Harmony and consensus are preferred over competitiveness
Compared to Asia individualists, compared to DE & UK collectivists!
Hierarchies in the org is seen as reflecting inherent inequalities
Barcelona and Madrid are major magnets for talents from all countries
Schengen and EU country, excellent transportation to major cities
It is not a low cost location. The cost per head delta is about 10-20%

30. India

31. India
Acceptance by one’s peers is important. Success and power too.
Rules and standards are followed but they could be “bypassed”
They have collectivistic and individualist traits in their org cultures
Pragmatic and flexible. They don't always fancy exact plans to follow
Hierarchies are extremely important. Obedience to leaders is a must!
3.5 or 4.5 hours time zone diff. Long , expensive flights
It is a low cost location. However failure risk is significantly higher.

32. goals =
define(“success”);

33. Remember The “WHY”
Scale Up Optimise Costs

34. Develop new products? Maintain existing products?
Have teams in their location? Support their teams remotely?
Work agile?
Work in Waterfall, contract
or T&M based?
Base on existing org(s)?
Be set up as new org from
scratch?
Use established tools and stacks? Use new tools and stacks?
Will your distributed org…

35. Hint :Max 2 New Parameters!
Product
Teams&
Structure
Process
Tech
Stack
Locations Risk
Existing Existing Existing New Existing OK
New New Existing Existing Existing OK
New New Existing Existing New !!!
Existing New New Existing New !!!

36. Lessons Learned
Usually no best results in the first “fiscal” year
Start small and iterate with the org, goals and tracking
Min 10+ people in a remote location for success
Cost per hour and speed = bad KPIs for the first 6 months
Focus on improving “trends” of all the product & financial KPIs initially
Set goals for cost per hire and time to hire right from the start

37. bestPractices.setup(processes,teams);
org=distOrg.create(processes,teams,goals);

38. /* Now you know your organisation,
who should do what & how?*/

39. There Is No
http://topfitnessstrategies.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/magic-pill.jpg

40. Lessons Learned
Motivation trio is universal: autonomy, mastery, purpose
The definition and execution of agile might differ hugely
Invest in communication technology and communicators/moderators
Only change what is necessary but then without hesitation
Effective management and local leaders are key to success!

41. org.run();

42. THANK YOU!
Twitter: @fuesunw
XING: xing.com/profile/Fuesun_Wehrmann
Always hiring for Hamburg and Barcelona: https://corporate.xing.com/english/karriere/