In Order to Effectively Collaborate with Remote Developers, You’ll Need These 8 Resources (and Why We Love Them)

At Works, we take pride in our role as educators who are shaping the future course of technology. Our focus is on training exceptional individuals to become the most capable remote developers of tomorrow. To fulfil our mission, we remain up-to-date with the latest tools for remote collaboration and productivity. Below, we have listed our top picks in each category, which will aid you in preparing your own remote development team.

Collaborating with Colleagues

Github

  • Description — A platform designed to oversee and facilitate collaboration on the creation and revision of source code.
  • Why we recommend it: Github is an indispensable resource for software developers. It serves as a reliable platform for hosting source code, communicating with peers, and managing projects. Moreover, its seamless integration with communication and automation tools like Slack, Trello, TravisCI, and Jenkins, allows for swift and easy connection with other platforms. Additionally, its issue-tracking system promotes open communication and sound project management. Github and integration tools such as ZenHub are invaluable in making project management feasible for remote teams. Ultimately, Github remains a critical tool for any software development team to have in their arsenal.
  • Pricing Github provides free access to open-source repositories that are public. For private repositories, the basic Bronze subscription is available at $5 per month and permits users to access up to five repositories with no limit on the number of users.

Slack

  • Description Slack is an online platform that facilitates messaging and sharing of files.
  • Why we recommend it: Slack is an ideal platform for collaboration, offering extensive integration capabilities that surpass those of email. All messages, notifications, and files shared on Slack channels can be easily indexed and searched, facilitating efficient information tracking. Additionally, Slack provides robust third-party connectors to renowned applications like Github, TravisCI, and Jenkins, which allow for a comprehensive overview of ongoing progress by remote teams. Users can also establish notifications to alert them to important changes in the product.
  • Pricing Slack charges a per-user, per-month fee for larger organizations, while smaller teams can utilise the platform free of charge.

Screenhero

  • Description An online platform that enables screen sharing and fosters real-time collaboration.
  • Why we recommend it: Screenhero, which was acquired by Slack recently, is an effective tool for remote Pair Programming. It provides users with the ability to control their computers simultaneously across different localities. Moreover, Screenhero permits users to invite multiple participants to an existing session, enabling easy one-to-many collaboration.
  • Pricing Screenhero is currently available free of charge to all active subscribers. Though signup activation has been deactivated, existing members have permission to invite new users.

Sqwiggle

  • Description An online platform that facilitates video conferencing and the creation of electronic offices.
  • Why we recommend it: With this online platform, one can instantly initiate a video chat with a team member by clicking on their profile picture, which eliminates the need for elaborate scheduling and thus facilitates spur of the moment conversation.
  • Pricing — The platform offers cost-free service for up to three users. For each added user, a fee of $9 per month is applicable.

Activity and Project Management

Trello

  • Description — An online platform that enables the planning and supervision of progress towards achieving goals.
  • Why we recommend it: Trello is equipped with a powerful API that allows developers to integrate it into their workflow with ease – a five-minute tutorial is all that is needed. Trello is compatiable with Slack, which adds another level of integration for their team. With Trello, teams can efficiently monitor their assigned tasks by allocating “Cards” to team members and tracking milestones. The software’s lack of rigid structure makes it user-friendly and more adaptable to individual software development processes, setting it apart from competitors.
  • Pricing — Trello is available at no cost. Additional features, such as admin-level access and more, can be unlocked for a monthly fee of $5 per user.

Context for Remote Software Development

Cloud9

  • Description Cloud9 is a cloud-based development environment that can be accessed from any computer, tablet, or smartphone.
  • Countless reasons exist as to why we wholeheartedly recommend this comprehensive Ubuntu development environment. Not only does it offer supervisory capabilities, but it also enables true collaborative programming with built-in support for various frameworks out of the box, such as Python/Django, Ruby/Rails, and Node.js. Users can clone a repository to their virtual machine (VM), make modifications, and quickly test on a live, shareable server with sub.c9.io web address, making the process efficient. This feature is also compatible with popular repository hosting platforms such as Github and Bitbucket.
  • Pricing An upgraded account can be acquired for a fee of $19 per month.

Data Distribution

Dropbox

  • Description Sharing of documents, media, and presentations are all possible through cloud-based technology.
  • Why we recommend it: Dropbox’s seamless cross-platform functionality, combined with its drag-and-drop feature, is a significant advantage and a major factor in its appeal.
  • Pricing We are delighted to provide businesses with the option of releasing all data sizes of their preference. Subsequently, companies can purchase a yearly business account that includes five-user access for $795. With each additional user beyond the initial five, an additional fee of $125 will be charged.

Advantages of Google Drive

  • Description Allows for real-time modifications and collaboration on shared files that are stored in the cloud.
  • Why we recommend it: Google Docs facilitates simultaneous collaboration by multiple individuals on the same document, allowing them to make modifications and comments.
  • Pricing Google Docs is included with Google Apps for Business, which is priced at either $5 per user per month or $50 per user per year.

Time to Get Started.

We are constantly impressed by the exceptional work of our offsite developers whose contributions lead to the successful completion of projects. To enable these high-achieving individuals to collaborate effectively, providing them with necessary resources is crucial. Therefore, we suggest utilizing Github, Slack, Trello, and ScreenHero as foundational tools to ensure that your distributed development team is able to collaborate seamlessly and maximize their output.

Looking to form a remote development team? Reach out to us!

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