Recently, Tactile added a new location to its roster of Philly and DC: Austin, Texas. While Tactile already had dispersed teams somewhat centralized on the East Coast, the new addition in the Lone Star State inspired us to up our game when it came to making dispersed teams work.
Why the emphasis on government projects?
The Tactile motto, “Designed to give a damn”, means creating digital experiences that improve people’s quality of life. One of the ways we do that is by partnering with government agencies to improve citizens’ interactions with federal, state, and local websites. We believe that government and constituents deserve less burden and a more enjoyable experience!
What’s special about dispersed teams and government projects?
A key partner on Tactile’s US Department of Education 21APR project, Dr. Debora Ortloff, Senior Researcher at Juniper Education Consulting, frames it this way: “Government projects are complex and have to meet the needs of highly diverse demographic contexts—for example, 50+ States and Territories. Dispersed teams have the benefit of pairing experts that can really tackle the complexity but don’t work in the same geographic region. It provides reasonable ways to meet increasing complexity.”
What is so complex about it?
Projects with a lot of moving parts require more flexibility and constant communication. Everyone needs to be on the same page at any given time, especially when things can change quickly. The biggest challenge to overcome is the infrequency of face-to-face interactions. Personal interactions like these are the types of rich communication that allow team members to read body language and get a clearer understanding of context. Dispersed teams do not enjoy this old-fashioned luxury unless there are centralized meetings where everyone gets together—and for dispersed teams, that just does not happen on a daily basis. This increases the challenge of keeping everyone on the same page. How does the team mitigate this?
Communication
Support Coordinator, Kevin Yonn, counters this obstacle “by setting up web conference calls weekly and having an all-in-one messaging app where we collaborate and communicate.” We also remain flexible by using texts and phone calls—whatever it takes to keep communication flowing. We would rather over-communicate than leave any team member in the dark.
Be Proactive
Subject Matter Expert, Duane Sergent, shares, “I approach this challenge by being more diligent about asking questions on status updates from the project manager.” This provides an added layer of exchange, especially when things get hectic. Taking this step often prevents information from falling through the cracks.
Creating Structure AND Flexibility
As a project manager, it is my goal to set structure that is stable and clear for the team and the government client, yet flexible enough to protect our success as things change. This flexibility allows us to bend without having to reinvent a strategy when there is added pressure from an unexpected change. Team members can stay calm and nurture collaboration as we solve problems together.
These are just a handful of the ways in which Tactile engineers success on our government projects. For an inside look at one of our biggest inspirations, check out this advice from 18F, the federal government’s digital services agency.
