Pros
- The team is getting good milage out of scrum. The two week sprints are solid with little scope creep. The work is broken down well before we estimate it. All in all, this is the best adoption of scrum I've ever seen. - Pretty much everyone gets along. It's not uncommon for people to hang out outside of working hours because of common interests. There is a regular gaming night after work, for example. Movies are a thing to. - The office is close to public transportation. You can commute by train, bus, car, or foot. - Lunch is provided 3 days a week by private kitchen staff. It's good, as long as you like Asian Fusion. - The team is flexible about the schedule. If you need to take you kid to the doctor or wait for the cable guy it's not going to be a problem. - There are occasionally dogs, and there is a 'company cat' that is loved and adored by all. He lives outside, and hangs around to be loved on by anyone that walks past.
Cons
- Who is keeping an eye on the competition? The core tech concepts are becoming common place, and Oblong is in danger of being out innovated. First mover advantage is fading in the face of Silicon Valley heavyweights, and nobody seems to notice. (There is a reason this is #1 on the Cons list) - Lack of transparency. You really don't know where you stand, or if your doing a good job. There us very little feedback about performance, and people get let go with little to no warning that something is wrong. - You work in an open office environment. Everyone gets issued a pair of headphones to make up for that, but it's not really much help. The office is distracting and keeps people from doing their best work. - Pair programming isn't really a thing. More collaboration might cut down on wasted effort caused by working in isolation. - Ineffective communication. While all the team leads send out emails at the beginning and end of each sprint talking about all the things that their teams did, or are going to do there is no voice that ties it all together. - Teams full of individual contributors instead of team mates. Oblong works in scrum teams, but the members of the scrum teams generally work alone. This leads to siloing, and isn't really a very effective way to get a lot of tasks done. It also means that if you lose someone, your scrambling to pick up the pieces. - The office in in the Arts District downtown. Parking is terrible, traffic is terrible. Lunch is offered because you can't afford to eat in the neighborhood. Living near the office is painfully expensive, so most people have long commutes. If you DO decide to move close to the office, your going to need a roommate or spouse with comparable income. You can't do it by yourself. It's just too bloody expensive. Reasonably priced housing is a painfully long commute from the office. The office is over crowded, and probably VERY expensive. Seriously guys, move!
