Re:Finding A Development Process For a Small Startup Team
by erdogan on Tuesday October 16, 2012 @10:55AM
(#4660070)
In theory, I agree with process over tool, and I have seen tool-fetish harming collaboration before. On the flip side, I welcome processes that are naturally evolving with the use of some tools, I don't think we should be too rigid on whether the tool or the process comes first. Whiteboards and post-its may be great if you are working alone, or with people in the same physical space. If you are scattered across different time-zones, these simple tools are not sufficient to mediate collaboration remotely. You have to figure out ways to emulate being in the same physical space to begin with, in order to be in the same mental space. That's when different tools become relevant. And as we figure out best uses of new tools, we might witness the emergence of a new process that was not around or relevant 10 years ago. For this reason, I enjoy these type of posts where people share their collaboration setup, I find them inspiring.
Re:Finding A Development Process For a Small Startup Team
by swombat on Tuesday October 16, 2012 @12:05PM
(#4660425)
Worth throwing in my article about this topic: http://swombat.com/2011/10/24/people-processes-tools
Processes definitely come before tools. People come even before processes, though.
I've been in all sorts of startups from small <$80K to $150M; the tools we used always changed, but post-it notes and whiteboarding were universal no matter the size. :) I know this post is about small startups but just for perspective...
The most consistent processes, which a lot of startups misunderstand when scaling up hence why MBAs fit in well here, are the ones that flow between the various departments like business, sales, engineering, marketing.
How each project is then executed within the various teams will change greatly based on the business. For an engineer at a previous bank I worked for, you have to consider audit trails, PCI compliance, two-person authentication for deployments, etc. It took 8 people to make one deployment to a production server with less than 1,000 uniques per day.
To most tech startups, the inefficiency is appalling and frustrating. That's why I left. But to federal regulators, it's necessary processes in place to maintain integrity.