Your Team as a Distributed System

Explore how distributed systems theory can be applied to team leadership and management in this 47-minute conference talk from Voxxed Days Singapore 2019. Discover how Andrew Harvey, CTO in Residence at Microsoft Sydney, draws parallels between technical concepts and team dynamics. Learn to use software architecture principles and distributed systems theory to better understand, engage with, and lead teams as they scale. Gain insights into communication, culture, and team optimization through the lens of CAP Theorem and the 8 Fallacies of Distributed Systems. Walk away with practical tools to analyze team dynamics, set up successful scaling strategies, and navigate common challenges in technical leadership roles.

YOUR TEAM AS A DISTRIBUTED SYSTEM
INTRODUCTIONS
THE PETER PRINCIPLE
PEOPLE DON'T THROW STACK TRACES.
DEFINING DISTRIBUTED SYSTEMS
8 FALLACIES OF A DISTRIBUTED SYSTEM
THE NETWORK IS RELIABLE
LATENCY IS ZERO
BANDWIDTH IS INFINITE
4. THE NETWORK IS SECURE INFORMATION IS TRANSMITTED ACCURATELY
TOPOLOGY DOESN'T CHANGE
THERE IS ONE ADMINISTRATOR
TRANSPORT COST IS ZERO
THE NETWORK IS HOMOGENEOUS
SINGLE POINT OF FAILURE
DON'T BUILD A MONOLITH
ROCKSTARS DON'T SCALE.
CONSISTENCY VS AVAILABILITY
HOW DO WE SCALE OUR TEAMS?
MONITORING
CONFLICT RESOLUTION
(REDUNDANT) COMMUNICATION
CLARITY OF ROLES
RE-ITERATE COLLECTIVE GOALS
CULTURE EATS STRATEGY FOR BREAKFAST
CULTURE & CHARACTER
IT'S ABOUT CHOICES
WHO WE HIRE, WHO WE FIRE, BEHAVIOURS WE REWARD, AND THOSE WE REPRIMAND.
MAKE GOOD CHOICES