Started out with Sean and I talking about bulk update tools and best usage practices. He was trying to bulk update almost 14,000 items using an existing tool inside the system. At that point, it may be faster for a developer to just run some quick code vs spending hours using an existing tool.

After that, a couple of guys popped on for the standup meeting. Pretty quick meeting. Alan, Bryan, and Wayne were on. After Bryan left, Alan and Wayne were talking about some of their challenges as a development team (meaning the adilas developers). They were talking about having an all-remote team (nobody onsite), different skill levels, different hours and schedules, knowing what to do without being told. Another couple topics that were discussed were being able and willing to mock-up or fake the data or dataset that was needed, and working together as a collaborate group. Not that we can't do it, but most of our current training has been very independent and somewhat dealing with solo or independent projects.

A couple things that we are going to keep working on is better communication and keeping the momentum going. Sometimes we make a lot of assumptions. Being able to mock up and virtually fake the data that is needed, is a real skill. Can I pretend that I'm getting x, y, and z and then return a, b, and c. We also wanted to help our developers know that it is ok to ask. It is also ok to pitch a proposal (make a suggestion or provide a proof of concept). For example, both Alan and Wayne were filling like the guys were saying - I can't do this or that because I'm waiting on someone else to give me this or that. They wanted to be told exactly what to do, every step of the way. We are trying to increase communication and understanding so that we can keep the momentum going in a good direction. Almost no one can fully operate in stop and go type scenario. That makes it really tough.

I've allreay covered some of this, but here were some of my notes: Learning how to fake data and virtually mock things up - different skill levels - ideas vs requirements - what to do vs how to do it - testing and dealing with custom includes - global vars vs page level vars - getting tests in place and then using them.

Final topic for this morning's meeting was dealing with pair programming, teaching and training, and doing practice sessions, including learning how to write pseudo code (fake or assumes products or results). We have some great talent. We would we be well off if we could help share that and distribute it around a bit.