Developing software face to face
There was a very interesting article in the most recent Wired magazine by Tim Hartford, I agreed with a lot of its content. Though the article was not addressing programming and/or software projects in particular, I think it nailed what we've observed in practice when developing software applications, especially in the rapid/agile manner many clients are demanding these days. Working on-site with the client is the best option whenever it's available: An excerpt:
One day, perhaps, virtual communication will become so good we'll no longer feel the need to shake hands with a new collaborator or brainstorm in the same room. But for now, the world seems to be changing in a way that actually demands more meetings. Business is more innovative, and its processes more complex. That demands tacit knowledge, collaboration, and trust — all things that seem to follow best from person-to-person meetings. "Ideas are more important than ever," Glaeser says, "and the most important ideas are communicated face-to-face."
Which explains why the highest-tech industries are the most dependent on geography. In a study published in the American Economic Review, researchers examined 4,000 US-based commercial innovations and found that more than half came from just three areas: California, New York/New Jersey, and Massachusetts. Almost half of all US pharmaceutical innovations were invented in New Jersey, a state with less than 3 percent of the nation's population.
In theory, technology should allow new-economy firms to prosper as easily in Nebraska as in Silicon Valley. But far from killing distance, it has made proximity matter more than ever.
Link to the whole article: http://www.wired.com/culture/lifestyle/magazine/16-02/st_essay