Re: Offsite Management - 2 cents.

[Elna Tymes <etymes -at- LTS -dot- COM>]

Nancy-
> Management is a skill that takes training and learning just like
> anything else. Managing primarily offsite takes another style.
> If you haven't seen it work, there may be business-culture reasons
> why it didn't work or simply skill reasons. But it can and does work.

I'll second that.  I've managed on-site teams and off-site teams, and
the difference has largely to do with non-work issues like company
culture ('if I can't see you, you're not working' is the worst), project
definition, how people in the company use online resources, and the
value of incidental conversations in the hall.

I can't say I have a preference for either environment, because I really
prefer just getting the job done, whatever the job is.  However, I
usually prefer to work at our own office because we usually have more
tools than any client, we have machines and networks that are powerful
enough to handle what we want to do, and we have a fully-developed
information infrastructure that makes sending and receiving information
a breeze. But part of the job is working within the limits the client
agrees to, so if they're going to be sufficiently uncomfortable with our
not being on-site, we'll work on-site where we have to.

Another biggie in terms of whether projects can be managed offsite has
to do with how well defined the projects are.  Lord protect us all from
the 'write something, I'll tell you whether I like it' approach to
project definition. That approach leads to endless iterations and a lot
of frustration, but at least if you're on-site, the person who's your
source can see you're trying.  It's also one of the more expensive ways
to use a technical writer.

Another determinant is how people in the company use online resources.
If the company has a well-developed intranet, and people are used to
storing things there or in a suitably accessible directory structure,
you can get all sorts of management done remotely, largely because the
players already know you're available by email, phone, or fax.

And finally, there's always the little ad hoc conversations in the
hall.  If those matter, there's nothing you can do to bolster your
working off-site a majority of the time.  Such a company depends on what
amounts to gossip, and that's that.

Elna Tymes
Los Trancos Systems