The Distributed Teams Manifesto
Updated: 2024 | Scope: Global Engineering Orgs
The Core Tenet
Geography is a detail. Timezone is a constraint. Architecture is the solution.
1. Default to Asynchronous
If an action can be completed without blocking another human being, it must be asynchronous. Pull requests, RFCs, and status updates do not require a Zoom call. Reserving synchronous time for high-bandwidth tasks (incident response, architecture debates, 1:1s) increases the value of that time.
2. Centralize on UTC
When discussing system events, deploy times, or maintenance windows, local time is banned. Every engineer must be able to convert their local time to UTC natively.
3. Hand-offs over Stand-ups
When the sun sets on the West Coast, the work doesn't stop; it gets handed off to APAC. Build continuous integration systems and documentation trails that allow the next timezone to pick up exactly where the last one left off without a sync meeting.