5 Mandatory Toolkits to Have in Your Remote Team

Introduction

In the modern era, software development companies are often hiring remote developers to meet their software development requirements. But, what makes remote work a success? A set of efficient tools is the secret to achieving a successful project deliverability.

In this article, we will talk about tools that can make remote project management successful. Moreover, we will also discuss its importance, significance & benefits.

Let's learn about 8 Mandatory tools to have in your toolkit while managing remote teams effectively.

Let's first understand the term Remote Teams.

What is a Remote Team

When a group of IT professionals works together on a software development project it is known as a remote team. These professionals telecommute & collaborate from different locations, countries, or even continents. Usually, the teams would work in different time zones using various tools & techniques.

Now, let's understand some scenarios for building a remote team

Scenarios to watch out for when hiring remote developers

• When you want to scale your development team temporarily to meet the project requirements.

• Hire remote developers when you want to focus on core business tasks.

• When you want to tackle the skills gaps you can hire remote developers with specialized skill sets.

Now, let's understand some common remote team structures to focus on when working remotely.

What are various types of Remote Work Structures

Remote development teams can be formed in various structures based on the project requirements. These structures can be classified into two categories:

1. Common Remote Development Structures

2. Software Development Team Structure by Role

Let's understand both structures in detail:

1. Common Remote Development Structures

This structure refers to different organizational setups of remote development teams. Moreover, this structure determines how team members can collaborate & contribute to the project. Furthermore, this structure is classified into three remote development structures:

1.1. Generalist Structure

In this approach team members possess various skills & can handle a bunch of tasks within the development process. Additionally, they have a broad skill set & can adapt to different roles whenever required.

1.2. Specialist Structure

A specialized team with expertise in their domain & can deliver high-quality results. But, this structure moreover suits larger projects & organizations that require in-depth knowledge about a domain.

1.3. Hybrid Structure

As the name suggests, a hybrid structure combines the benefits of both a generalist & a specialist approach. This structure comprises core groups of generalists with a high skill set.

Moreover, the team includes a specialist with technical expertise in front-end & back-end development.

The next structure in the remote work method is "Software Development Team Structure by Role"

2. Software Development Team Structure By Role

When the software development teams are broken down by roles, it is known as Software Development Team Structure by Role.

An efficient software development outsourcing team would ensure they have appropriate team members to cover every aspect of their work.

Some common roles include:

2.1. Developers

Developers are the most prominent professionals in the software development life cycle. Some of the responsibilities of developers are to perform coding, requirement analysis, deployment & system design tasks.

Additionally, they use their technical skills to convert project requirements into a functioning software application.

Some of the responsibilities of Developers are as follows:

• Writing code as per the project needs

• Collaborating with team members to solve the technical challenges.

• Running code reviews & debugging

• Staying up to date with the latest programming languages & frameworks.

2.2. Testers/QA Engineers

A candidate working as a tester plays a very crucial role in software development. They perform the task of checking the quality standards of the software application. Moreover, they are responsible for validating that the software meets the functional & non-functional requirements stated in the scope of work.

Some of the responsibilities of testers are as follows

• They develop test cases, plans & test scripts

• Run various tests like functional, regression & performance.

• Finding & reporting software defects by implementing resolutions.

• Collaborate with developers to ensure software quality throughout the development procedure.

2.3. Project Manager

It is the responsibility of the project manager to oversee the planning, execution & successful delivery of the project. Additionally, they are responsible for coordinating & facilitating development practices to achieve project objectives efficiently.

Some of the responsibilities of the project managers are as follows:

• Plan out the project timelines, milestones & deliverables.

• Assign tasks & manage resources effectively.

• Monitor the progress of the project & ensure it meets the quality standards.

• Build communication & collaboration among team members.

Now, let’s understand the challenges faced by Remote Teams

What are the challenges of Remote Development Teams?

While managing a remote team the organization needs to tackle lots of challenges posed by remote development teams.

We have mentioned three challenges of remote development teams in the below sections.

Balancing work & Personal life

Approximately 27% of remote team members find it hard to balance their work & personal life. An absence of separation between the two causes troubles.

A lack of clear boundaries can cause the teams to wither over work or might struggle to switch off from work-related tasks. Continuous accessibility over phone calls can make way for an unhealthy work culture.

Managing Time Zones

Approximately 98% of companies are hiring remote developers from multiple time zones. Companies are using IT Staff augmentation to hire a wider talent pool. While working in different time zones remote team members are facing a bunch of challenges.

Coordination between team members becomes difficult as team members are located in different time zones & follow a different schedule. Moreover, a time zone difference will result in a delayed response time & organizing meetings might become a challenge. 

Additionally, it would also affect the speed of problem-solving & decision-making.

Maintaining Company Culture

A company culture contains states the values, beliefs & practices to clearly state the identity & work environment of the organization. While remote team members are facing a physical separation, maintaining a cohesive company culture can be challenging.

As per one report, 16% of remote members stated they are struggling with loneliness due to remote work. This has resulted in a decreased connection between the company & the employee & also makes them feel demotivated about their work.

Now, let’s understand why using these toolkits is important.

Significance of Using Remote Collaboration Tools

Streamlining communication

In a remote work environment having clear & efficient communication is necessary. Remote collaboration tools facilitate real-time messaging, video conferencing as well as screen sharing. Moreover, platforms like Slack & Microsoft Teams allow team members to discuss & share updates about the project.

Enhanced Project Management

Managing remote development projects can be an uphealing task without the right tools. Project Management tools like Asana, Trello & Jira can be useful. These tools provide some really interesting features like task tracking, setting deadlines & monitoring progress. Thus, ensuring everybody is on the same page.

Now, let’s understand what are the benefits of using Remote Collaboration Tools.

Advantages of Remote Collaboration Tools

By using Remote Collaboration tools you can enjoy numerous benefits. Some of them are mentioned below:

Increased Productivity

With effective communication & smooth project management, companies can achieve a successful project deliverable.

Enhanced Collaboration

Collaborative work efforts & real-time discussions can lead you to achieve successful project management.

Cost Savings

Reduced expenses over buying office spaces & travel allow remote employees to save a chunk of their money.

Now, let’s understand how using the right tools can help organizations in tackling the challenges.

5 tools to help you manage remote teams effectively

Slack

Slack is a communication & collaboration tool that allows real-time messaging & file sharing. Moreover, it can easily integrate with various other tools. Slack also enables group messaging, hence making it easier for remote teams to achieve seamless collaboration.

Features of Slack

• Communicating with team members through one-on-one or group chats in real-time scenarios.

• Organizing conversations into channels & threads for a better context.

• Sharing files & documents with team members has become easier.

• Slack can easily integrate with other tools & services to streamline & automate processes.

Microsoft Teams

Microsoft Teams is a full-stack collaboration platform having varied features. Microsoft Teams allows an option to chat, video conference & share files. Moreover, it is a centralized team communication & collaboration hub that enables remote teams to work seamlessly.

Features of Microsoft Teams

• Allows to chat or groups or individually with the teams through audio & video call methods.

• A user can share, edit & co-author documents with team members,

• Enables an option to conduct virtual meetings & webinars.

• One more of Microsoft Teams is that it allows you to set project deadlines & track the progress using task management tools,

Every Time Zone

Every Time Zone is an exclusive online tool that helps remote teams manage time zone differences effectively. It visually depicts multiple time zones to enable team members to schedule meetings & coordinate activities.

Features of Every Time Zone

• Allows you to quickly compare various time zones to find the best fit for you.

• Does an automatic adjustment to daylight saving time.

• Allows personalization by selecting a preferred time zone.

Todoist

Todoist is a famous task management tool that enables remote teams to organize & prioritize their work effectively. It enables you to set due dates & track the progress to ensure the tasks are completed on time.

Features of Todoist

• Allows you to create, organize & prioritize your tasks with due dates & labels.

• Send reminders & alerts to stay on top of your deadlines.

• Allows a seamless collaboration with team members by assigning tasks.

Zoho Projects

Zoho Projects is a member tool of the Zoho Suite of tools that has various functionalities. Some of them enable a CRM, a recruitment system & a Sales platform  - all are purely targeted towards the real estate industry. Being Zoho user-friendly, it allows project management solutions that can enable data synchronization between other tools.

Features of Zoho Projects

• A special feature called “Blueprints” which allows you to map down complex tasks to let them move from pipelines.

• Allows a feature to easily identify all the issues & flag them for rectification purposes.

• Allows a feature to create Gantt charts to weigh tasks based on criticality.

How I can help you in managing the Remote Team

I am Mukesh Ram, founder of Acquaint Softtech holding 15+ years of experience in Software Development & IT Staff Augmentation. I can help you hire remote developers at just $15/hour within 48 hours. 

Recently one of my connections Zakaria Mahmud, MSc asked me the best ways to manage remote teams. I suggested him to use some tools that can help him manage remote teams smoothly. Moreover, I suggested him to implement the best practices to streamline his project management by using the right collaboration tools.

Closing Notes

By using IT staff augmentation & software development outsourcing methods companies can build remote teams. However, managing these remote teams will be a difficult task. But, using the right collaboration tools can help you manage the remote teams effectively.

Frequently Asked Questions about Remote Teams Collaboration Tools

Q: What are the essential communication toolkits for Remote Teams

Slack or Microsoft Teams are instant messaging & team collaboration for effective remote project management.

Q: Which project management tools are important for organizing remote work

Trello & Asana are efficient project management tools for task assignment, deadlines & progress tracking.

Q: What are some highly recommended video conferencing tools for remote teams?

Zoom & Google Meet are reliable video calling & online meeting tools for video conferencing.

Q: Which cloud storage services are important for team collaboration?

Google Drive & Dropbox are the pioneering file-sharing tools.

Q: What are the best time management tools for remote teams?

Time Doctor or Toggl tracks the working hours & provides productivity analysis to attain smooth project management