Over the past few weeks, we’ve learned about the importance of collaboration in a team. Whether that team is using Scrum or some other software development methodology, communicating with one another is one of the key pieces to achieving whatever goals they have.
While going through the syllabus, I saw “Collaboration tools” as one of the course topics. I thought about what would exist under this category and the first one that came to mind were video calls. Zoom specifically was the one that came to mind and I wondered how it is or would be used in a software development environment.
In an article from Shari Cleare, they share that “video conferencing software provides powerful communication and collaboration tools that scrum masters can use to engage participants, especially those who cannot attend these meetings in person.” One of my first thoughts regarding this topic was that not every person on the team physically has to be at the meetings; or better yet, no one no one has to physically meet at all. This allows for greater flexibility in choosing members or in general as members can be anywhere or from anywhere, as long as they are able to be present for these online meetings.
The Scrum Master or whoever is hosting the meetings doesn’t even have to be present. Zoom allows for automatic meetings at a set time for the team so, If they are unable to make the meeting, in person or online, the other members can still perform their Sprint Planning, Daily Scrum, or other meeting.
If a team choses to meet online only due to location constraints or other reasons, you may think that it would be nice being able to work from home. I’m sure many people would rather work from the comfort of their own home, but that comfort could turn into the thing that holds them and the team back.
Zoom can be a great tool for members that are unable to make the physical meeting, but as the main form of communication, I feel that it can easily go downhill over time. Personally, I get distracted with other things when I’m at home so doing work takes much longer than it needs to. It is also why I try to do my work while on campus. I feel that many people can relate to this and if they want to get work done and contribute to meetings and such, they should separate where they work and where they can relax.
I hope that I can have the option to do both in the future and am able to find a good balance. Going into the workplace to get work done before going home and having the freedom to work online should I be unable to make it would be great. I believe that this has become more commonplace as well. During Covid, people had to work from home, and now that it has died down, many companies are allowing either option.
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