Pre-COVID, would you hire a new vendor, interview a potential employee or kick off a large project with a fully remote team? Probably not! 2020 has up-ended many patterns and assumptions we had, including what we do in-person with other people.

Working remotely on a project is a concern especially on complex technology initiatives such as ECM or employee portal projects. These projects are not easy in the best of times, and COVID brings some new challenges and opportunities.

We’re learning how to adapt, and this post shares a few tips for your next remote project.

Meet frequently, meet small, meet short

Large meetings don’t work well: In large meetings, especially while remote, it’s too easy for people to go on mute and tune out. If your project has a large scope that needs to input from many stakeholders, I urge you to break it down into more focused sessions if you’re seeking feedback and discussion. Some large meetings – such as a kickoff or training are ok (more on this later), but try to incorporate a way for everyone to say something from the start.

Long meetings don’t work well either: No surprise, but no one likes long meetings. Keep meetings to 30 or 45 minutes. Don’t go with the default one-hour meetings – it’s way too exhausting! You can record the meeting for anyone joining late. If you do have a long meeting – have a break every hour for 5-10 minutes to give people a chance to walk around, get a snack or use the restroom.  

Get used to video and use a headset: Some habits I’ve learned with video and audio:

• A headset helps everyone hear you better, and spend less mental effort focusing on your voice. Good ones also reduce background sounds like fans and ventilation.

• If you’re a leader, it’s on you to model the behaviour. Put the video on yourself first and others are more likely to follow.

• When you’re talking, look into the camera lens as much as possible, not at everyone else on your screen. People on the call will experience the eye contact which is more engaging and closer to real-life.

• To limit distractions in your background, turn on background blur or use custom backgrounds.

Project kickoff

A great kickoff sets the tone for the rest of the project.

We take a few moments at the beginning to talk about life, even the weather. It sets people at ease and helps to build rapport.

We also incorporate icebreakers in the round of introductions so that people can show a bit of their personality. They don’t have to be cheesy, and should be fun. Here are a few we like:

• Imagine you could live in any decade. What would it be and why? (An added bonus: it’s a little escape from 2020!)

• What's something you've done recently that you're proud of?

• If you could make a documentary about anything, what would it be?

• What childish thing do you still do as an adult?

• What is your favourite 'guilty' pleasure?

Conducting interviews

Is it possible to do interviews and requirements sessions remotely? For sure! In fact, I sometimes like doing these remotely because it’s easier to stay focused and connected with video between us.

If you’re participating in a remote interview with us, here’s what to expect:

• No need to prepare: The interviewer will come prepared with questions and next steps, so don’t worry about preparing answers ahead of time.

• Be present and stay focused: Try to limit distractions on your computer including notifications. Remember to look at the camera when you’re speaking, not your own video or the other person’s image, as tempting as that is.

• Be ready to share your screen: Especially for content discovery or requirements discussions, it’s helpful if the interviewee shares their screen to describe their problems and needs.

• Digital notes and recordings: The interviewer will take notes and a recording with your permission. This is helpful after the session to make sure we captured everything.

Brainstorming and requirements

It’s possible to have a great remote brainstorming session with a remote team. We use digital tools such as Microsoft Whiteboard, or MURAL for more sophisticated brainstorming.

Another simple alternative I like is sharing notes in OneNote during a session. It’s simple, but keeps people focused on what’s being said and they can ask questions if they don’t understand.

Content discovery and getting feedback

The process of understanding all the content in your systems is critical to plan how to classify it in the new ECM system. We use a content discovery process to do that. The Content Discovery process involves:

• A short kickoff with site owners to introduce the process and a Content Discovery spreadsheet for tracking. This is easy to do remotely.

• We save the spreadsheet in a project site that is accessible and editable by all.

• Comments or questions are easily added to the spreadsheet or if we’re using Microsoft Teams, it’s easy to engage there offline.

The Content Discovery spreadsheet is input for how to organize the content going forward. To get feedback on the proposed classification from the project team and end-users we use a couple of tools:

Proven By Users

Proven By Users helps us get feedback on how to group and organize the content from site owners and users. We propose all the sections as ‘cards’ that people can organize and write labels for. Each participant gets a chance to organize cards on their own and the project lead sees the results. This gives insight into the ‘mental model’ of how people think about the content.

Xmind

Xmind creates easy to use and edit mind maps. We propose a draft structure that we can edit in a remote session with site owners as we discuss how changes affect the classification of content.

Training

I’m starting to enjoy training, webinars and conferences that are virtual. The setup in some ways is better! I’m not looking at a screen up at the front, in a big room, that might be too far away or awkward.

Instead of this setup, I’m looking at my screen, next to my notes. It’s easier to learn and absorb this way in my experience.

The one thing that’s missing in a remote learning session is the questions and interactivity. We build in lots of pauses and are mindful of constantly urging questions through raising your hand, using chat, or asking live. These questions usually end up benefiting everyone on the session, especially if we can demonstrate the answer to everyone on screen.

And the single most important thing we do with training is to record sessions for people who missed it or forgot something.

Migration and working meetings

We do a lot of work to help teams plan and execute migration.

The planning discussions are relatively easily to do remotely through video and sharing screens to review content sources.

When we execute manual migration, we set up video calls over Microsoft Teams or similar tool. We call these working sessions ‘migration parties.’

For this type of remote working meeting, people join a longer call that they can drop in and off as needed. It’s like live office hours – people do work during that time to migrate and organize content, and we are there when they get stuck or have questions.

Diana recently wrote about the experience of doing migration parties remotely.

Project management

During the course of a project, we track and report on project performance via weekly status reports that are sent to the project manager(s). These status reports track the elements you’d expect including:

• Project schedule

• Budget progress

• Status of deliverables and implementation

• Any scope changes

• Summary of risks and issues

• Current and forthcoming activities

We also use visual tools such as Microsoft Planner for everyone on the team to see status on tasks:

Build in social time

At Gravity Union, we meet as a group a couple of times a week for 15 minutes to talk about…well anything really. It’s a fun social time for us to connect and have a laugh. We also do periodic trivia and poker games online to connect and build relationships. A quick tip: Use the first five minutes in a meeting or breaks to talk about life and what’s happening. These conversations go a long way in building relationships.

I hope this shows you how to approach your next project with a remote team. With the right attitude and a few simple tools, we know it’s possible to have a great project outcome no matter where you are!

Reach out anytime if you have more questions about how to work remotely.