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Using Conway’s Law to Make Remote Teams Actually Work in 2021
Conway’s Law shows us how organizational structure impacts our work. But chances are you’ve never heard of it.
A little over a year ago, the severity of COVID-19 began to sink in. It jostled the entire workforce, its effects abrupt and consequential. People either lost their jobs or were rushed to a remote work environment.
It was a complete mess, and within the chaos, complications arose. It’s to be expected when a pandemic forces the world’s largest work-from-home experiment.
Newly remote teams began reporting the same kinds of issues. Communication channels were ubiquitous, but it remained difficult to find useful information. The loss of in-person interactions caused serendipity to dwindle. Unable to grasp organizational structure, confusion ensued. Teams couldn’t bond without having ever met in person.
There’s a solution to these problems. But if you’re not a software engineer, there’s a good chance you’ve never heard of it.
Conway’s Law is a theory that bridges organizational structure and technology. Far from it being an error of business, it is a unique potential to solve the same problems every remote team faces.