Result Only Work Environment [closed]

Question

I would like to set up a ROWE for my dev team: Result Only Work Environment.

Basically, people work how they want, when they want, as long as the work gets done. This environment has been a huge success for Best Buy: increasing productivity and reducing turnover.

Does anyone have any advice for making this work for a dev team?

Edit:

More details: I will be leading a team of 3 other fairly experienced developers. I plan on standardizing the basic processes, such as version control, bug tracking, code review, planning, testing, etc. "How they want to work" more refers to how they manage their time: i.e. scheduling meetings, pair programming.

Answer 1

If you have other departments in your org., consider managing their expectations as well. It will be difficult to convince them that their project is going to take longer (throw in all the technical jargon you can think of) than you thought when they notice your team is never around (in their eyes).

You'll still have to have realistic expectations in your planning. Are you really allowing for flex time when they have 10 hrs of work to do that is due in 10 hours? How are you going to handle trouble-shooting issues that get escalated to the dev team?

One developer could be consistently better than the rest/take less time, but the team may feel this person has a lighter workload. Get ready to crush some egos.

I guess pair-programming is out?

Answer 2

The answer to this question is going to vary depending on the size and culture of the organization. Some would also argue that the process can matter, and you don't want your people taking any approach to achieve a result at the expense of something which they do not feel as as important.

Can you provide more info on the size of the organization and what working there is like today?