Top 5 Tools to Manage your Remote Software Development Teams

“The future we envision for work allows for infinite virtual workspaces that will unlock social and economic opportunities for people regardless of barriers like physical location. It will take time to get there, and we continue to build toward this.”

– Says Andrew Bosworth, Vice President of Facebook Reality Labs

If not all, many of us may have thought that 2013 was the end of remote work when Yahoo sent out a memo to its remote employees, forcing them back into the office. 

But the truth is, remote work grew by 44% in the course of the last 5 years, which is absolutely remarkable. In addition, remote work showed an upward trajectory in 2020 with the onset of the COVID-19 Pandemic. 

Last year, various companies had to shut down their physical workplaces to comply with lockdown and social distancing policies. Consequently, remote work emerged as the “new normal” and became a necessity to contain the virus.

Undoubtedly, remote software development team kept businesses running, but the circumstances under which it was imposed were dire. 

Having said that, not all companies were happy about it and were reluctant to ‘bow’ to the new normal. The underlying reasons were security concerns or employee productivity. They were so accustomed to their old leadership styles that they were unable to adapt to the changing business landscape. But since remote work was ‘enforced’, there was very little they could do about it.

Customer Services, Sales, Education, Computer and Information technology, including software development, are some of the most prominent industries to embrace remote work.

Speaking of which, software developers work with clients from all around the world, so transitioning to remote work for development firms was easy. But managing remote development teams and ensuring maximum productivity is as important. 

Startup.info recently interviewed Fruqan Aziz, CEO of InvoZone. When asked about the difficult choices he had to make during the Pandemic, he said,

‘Even though remote work is the new normal, it isn’t for everyone. The only difficult choice that I had to make was to shift towards a digital workforce, which was, obviously, inevitable. Productivity or performance did not drop, but we did face interruptions in projects, probably due to distractions.’

He also added, 

‘I am used to working in a highly collaborative environment, and remote work transformed that completely. While working in an office setting, managing and supervising is easier, but when everyone is spread out across different locations, collaboration becomes a struggle, and responses are delayed massively.’ 

In the end, he talked about implementing transition strategies to avoid unforeseeable circumstances.

Moving forward, it is evident that upon entering the remote work landscape, managers' biggest challenge is ensuring performance and results. This paradigm shift demanded companies implement processes for the purpose of tracking progress and cutting slack.

This is where technological tools jump in. They help both managers and dedicated software development team to stay focused and productive in order to meet the deadlines, which is in everyone’s best interest.

Now let’s briefly learn about the…

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Importance of Remote Team Management Tools

Let’s dive into the significance of remote team management tools in 2022: 

• Remote tools cut down company costs and time otherwise squandered in miscommunication and unclear project requirements. 
• Managers can easily track the availability of employees by using a time-tracking system across different time zones.
• Companies can customize the tools according to their needs. For example, integrate Jibble with Slack, and you can easily track employees’ attendance. 
• They let you measure focus, performance, and productivity.
• You can gain better visibility into the work being done.
• Last but not least, you can generate reports and insights for employee appraisals. 

That being said, successful businesses prioritize not just productivity but also employee well-being and experience. Therefore, flexible working hours are important not only for job satisfaction but also for high retention rates and technological solutions. 

Let’s Look at the Best Tools for Development Teams

Let’s look at some of the most popular tools for managing a remote development team: 

Asana for Project Management

Source: PCMag

Project management is one of the most important aspects of developing successful software products. There are a variety of project management tools for remote software development teams available such as Jira, Trello, etc. But so far, Asana tops my list. 

This software development team tool provides a centralized place for both project management and communication. Asana lets you manage your team’s work and helps managers stay connected and organized throughout the development process.

Moreover, team leads can assign tasks to their team members with a due date, and team members. On the other hand, you can add comments to their assigned tasks in case of any query.

All in all, it is a perfect project management tool for high-performing software development teams with scrum and agile team structures.

Next up is…

Google Workspace for Team Collaboration

Source: Google Workspace

When we think about tools for managing remote software developers, G-suite pops up into our minds instantly. Why? 

Because almost every company favors it, G-suite offers not just one but multiple productivity applications for remote software development teams, such as Gmail, Drive, Calendar, Hangouts, Docs, Sheets, and Slides for hosting video meetings, group chats, and document collaboration in real-time. All these tools make working with remote developers easier. 

My favorite…

Slack for Internal Team Communication

Source: Slack

Slack is one of the most popular communication tools among small teams and large enterprises alike. It allows team leads to communicate with their team and project members through group channels.

They can also easily track conversations for future reference. Not only this, employees can send attachments and do quick voice calls.

In addition, this instant messaging platform offers several integrations, such as Google Hangout, Trello, Jibble, and other important applications to enhance communication, team building, and collaboration.

A team is incomplete without…

Zoom for Video Meetings

Source: Zoom

Apparently, everyone is very well aware of Zoom – a video conferencing solution for desktop and mobile devices. 

Zoom is very easy to use and comes with ample features. Apart from providing HD video quality, it can support up to 100 participants for 40 minutes in its free version.

Need more than that? You have to buy their premium package for additional features. On the home page, you can find all the main features, such as joining, scheduling meetings, or creating new meeting rooms.

You can also check the details of your upcoming meetings and use the search functionality to easily search for contacts, messages, and files shared through Zoom. 

Last but not least…

Toggl for Task Monitoring

Source: Toggl

Toggl is a simple yet intuitive time and task-tracking application. The application helps remote software teams meet deadlines and maintain their productivity. Apart from tracking just hours, companies can also track total billable hours for easy payroll processing. 

Additionally, it generates comprehensive reports based on time entries and helps managers see how long tasks take to complete for better time estimates.

Read About: How to Choose the Right Career Path in Software Development? 

What Are The Pros and Cons of Remote Working?

Now that we know about some of the important tools that you can use to manage your remote teams, let’s take a look at some of the pros and cons of the remote working model:

PROS

• Remote employees can save money otherwise spent on the commute and daily expenses, including lunch. 
• Remote work offers a flexible work schedule which, as a result, improves productivity and work efficiency.
• Employees can maintain a proper work-life balance.
• Teams can rejuvenate themselves for effective team meetings through power naps.
• Remote work is less noisy as compared to working in physical workspaces
• Remote work lets you steer clear of office politics
• It reduces your carbon footprint, which is better for the overall environment
• The stress-free work environment at home leads to better overall employee health 

CONS

• Setting boundaries at home can become difficult
• Lack of or delayed communication can lead to project failure
• Humans are social animals. Therefore, lack of social interaction, especially for extroverts can be depressing
• Distractions or home drama make collaboration impossible
• You may have ample security concerns
• Remote work can lead to burnout from overwork because most people may not be able to differentiate working hours from non-working hours.

Frequently Asked Questions 

How do you lead and motivate a remote team?

Focus on assisting your personnel handles slightly difficult problems by keeping them motivated and encouraged. You may also organize small group meetings where staff can contribute to the week's experiments and solve problems together.

What is the key to success working remotely?

Flexibility is an important component of a remote working model. Employees will be more motivated to work if you allow them to incorporate their job into their personal lives as they see fit, especially during difficult times.

How do you manage remote programmers?

To manage a remote team, you can communicate and collaborate with them through communication tools such as Asana, Trella, Slack, Microsoft Teams, and more.