Remote Working

Remote working - working from home - is actually easy to set up providing that you understand and handle the issues involved :-

1. security - ultimately you have to trust your staff . Even in the most secure site that I worked on there were 6 ways that staff could get data out . It is important that basic precautions be taken . The easiest way , with software development , is to divide the project up into modules and to provide these modules as libraries to the staff - this ensures that most of the staff don't have access to all of the source code and it also ensures that any access via infiltration is minimised .
2. communication - project managers often have a problem communicating with someone remotely located - they prefer to communicate emotionally rather than by written word or by using video phones etc. . This is largely a problem of ability - of development - etc. . The fact is , even if the developer is on site the project manager may still be poor at communicating . Ultimately the project development requires specifications and tests and it can be driven by these - and , if so , it can be worked remotely .
3. costs - the home worker pays for all their costs except equipment costs . If they are a contractor they pay for all their general equipment costs . There might be just some freight costs . The company saves on office costs .
4. hours - home workers tend to be flexible with their hours but this is usually not a problem . Home working allows , for example , for the staff member to start early , have a long lunch break , and finish late . It allows for increased hours - there is no time spent in commuting ( and no costs involved in commuting - financial or environmental ) .
5. equipment - all that is usually required is a PC - same as on site working . Contractors usually provide their own PC dedicated purely for remote working . It's just a matter of setting up the client PC on a VPN and connecting it to the office - all very easy , remotely accessible and remotely configurable . Items such as Flash programmers , serial cables etc. are normally provided by contractors . Items such as the client's platform and client specific programmers are provided by the client . Contractors usually have a range of generally available software including development suites . If necessary they can install copies on the client PC and use a license provided by the client . Alternatively the client can remotely download the software required onto the contractpr's client PC .