Agile Teams

I’ve completed Cross-Cultural Dialogues: 74 Brief Encounters With Cultural Difference. This book on cultural differences was a quick read, amenable to being read in short bursts, and I think GSD teams may find it useful. It’s not by any means a comprehensive guide to help you get out, and stay out, of trouble: I expect one of the other books on my shortlist to fill that purpose. I think it can serve as a good introductory book for raising awareness among experienced people who may question whether these cultural misunderstandings actually occur, or to help anyone realize just how much more common they are than they might have realized. I’m probably more attuned to these incidents than the average software person, and I still found myself saying, “Oh yeah, I never did understand what was going on there” more than a few times. Get a copy for each of your global sites, and have your teams pass it around – I’ll bet it starts a few conversations.

Next up: Cultural Intelligence: A Guide to Working with People from Other Cultures (and, nowadays, who isn’t?).

For a current project investigating the use of collaboration tools on GSD (global software development) projects, I’ve been assessing the impact of videoconferencing on development team activities. On the plus side is the great potential benefit of visual feedback. On the negative side, I’ve realized, is the great potential to inadvertently offend never-met teammates of a different cultural background with one’s gestures or body language.

To help me better understand these factors, and so I can assess whether they might be useful references for our development teams, I’ve picked up a few books on the topic, including:

• Gestures: The DO’s and TABOOs of Body Language Around the World
• Cross-Cultural Dialogues: 74 Brief Encounters With Cultural Difference
• Kiss, Bow, or Shake Hands (updated edition)
• Cultural Intelligence: A Guide to Working with People from Other Cultures

Also, towards the general topic of GSD and cultural differences, I’m [re-]reading:

• The Psychology of Computer Programming
• Cultural Diversity: Its Social Psychology

Recommendations for other good resources on this topic are welcome! I’ll summarize my opinions of the usefulness of these books for GSD purposes in this blog.