(^106) 97 Things Every Project Manager Should Know
Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore
Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore
Barbee Davis, MA, PHR, PMP
Omaha, Nebraska, U.S.
CURREnT DISCUSSIonS AMong SoFTWARE DEvEloPERS tend to revolve
around the best programming language, systems architecture, operating plat-
form, or project methodology. No one seems to notice that one of our team
members, Alice, doesn’t live here anymore. Where does Alice live now, and
how will it affect our software development plans?
She may live in India, where English is often trained phonetically, perhaps by a
script. Plan to allow extra time, or use written exchanges, to give Alice the best
chance to perform her part of the development, undaunted by the language
barrier.
Alice may live in Africa. With a smaller pool of technical talent, people may be
more important than projects to her employer. Technology may be limited, so
don’t assume 24-hour email, phone, and Internet connectivity.
Perhaps Alice has a wonderful job in a developing country. If she doesn’t
respond right away on conference calls, she may be experiencing a 30-second
satellite delay between when you talk and when she hears your words. You’ll
get the same gap with her answers or comments.
School yourself in the decision-making differences you may encounter with
team members from Japan. Anticipate more respect for age and experience.
Alice’s youth may make it inappropriate or offensive for her to speak up. Japa-
nese team members may also expect group consensus before any information
from the meeting is captured in writing.
If you have many Alices in multiple remote locations, you will need to care-
fully research numerous small issues to allow your team to function smoothly:
• What are the union agreements where Alice works? Are her working
hours different? Can she work overtime or weekends, come in early, or
work through lunch hours or breaks?