You’re managing a remote team in computer science. How can you make sure everyone is productive?

Have a clear vision and direction of the project and set expectations from the very start. Moreover, know your team well, the strengths of each team member, and set realistic expectations accordingly. Define roles and responsibilities of each team member clearly and come up with a plan. Break the bigger goal into smaller ones and set deadlines for the smaller ones.

Comprehensive documentation just like waterfall models have to do with the project. Setting goals and project deadlines for the rapid and efficient work.

The first thing when it comes to team management is to clearly define the goals, objectives, and expectations for each team member. - Utilize collaboration tools and project management software to facilitate communication, collaboration, and task management. - Schedule regular check-in meetings with individual team members and the entire team to provide updates, and discuss progress. - By fostering a culture of open and transparent communication within the team. - Establish clear guidelines and policies for remote work, including expectations regarding availability, communication protocols, and work hours. - Break down the project into measurable goals and milestones, and regularly track progress against these benchmarks.

Track backlog items, ensure clear process and operations from start to finish. JIRA is a very clear way of measuring progress by individual.

The easiest way to answer the prompt is to be attentive with progress and your team. Talk to your team daily, check in on things and oversee the operation as a whole. If you take ownership of your team and their progress it should be abundantly clear if they're doing work.

Not only the tool is important, but also the procedures. (My background as a process engineer comes out here). Many times, errors, time loss, or insecurities are issues that can be easily solved procedurally (e.g., naming GitHub branches based on ticket ID). Finally, it is very useful, whenever possible, to use a board where the columns represent the steps of the process.

Programming or software?engineering is a team sport. With projects being such at a large scale nowadays, such as developing software, it's just not practical to do all of it alone. Nowadays, building sites such as Twitter take hundreds?if not thousands?of engineers to build and maintain. Thus, promote a culture that fosters collaboration and teamwork. Encourage team members to ask each other questions and help each other out when experiencing blockers. Moreover, meet with your?team regularly, perhaps on a weekly basis, to check-in to see everyone's progress, how well the team is working together, etc.

A good manager invests in his employees' growth while also taking into account their well-being. Nowadays, projects can be intense, leading to fatigue or burnout at times. Thus, be open to what your employees say about their workload, whether it's manageable?or a little too much. Moreover, encourage your employees to regularly take breaks, whether?it's exercising, socializing, or happy?hours!