[Wikimedia-l] About the concentration of resources in SF (it was: "Communication plans for community engagement"

[David Cuenca]

Nathan, you are wrong in shifting to me the burden of proof. The budget
states that there are rising costs associated with the current location.
That doesn't mean that the slots are going unfulfilled, it is always
possible to raise salaries or "import" workers. But is this the best
strategy? Have other strategies been considered?

The 2013-14 plan, page 26, says:
"Nearly half of the Wikimedia Foundation engineering/product team is not
based in the San Francisco Bay Area, so we're operating with
the flexibility to hire people where they are, supporting them in making
the shift to work at the central location if they're willing to do it and
it makes sense for a given position. This gives us increased flexibility in
recruiting and hiring."

Given that situation, would it make sense to look for answers to your
questions? Because what you are asking needs a degree of analysis that only
an external organisation could provide, not only a person, whatever
experience they claim to have.

Micru

On Wed, Jul 24, 2013 at 3:01 PM, Nathan <nawrich at gmail.com> wrote:

> David, do you have experience managing a fully distributed
> organization with offices and staff concentrations spread around the
> world? If so, can you outline how you resolved the various challenges
> (HR, coordination between teams and managers, effective oversight and
> mission management, insurance and liability, language barriers, etc.)
> such that you realized a major benefits in proportion with the costs
> and headaches?
>
> While the WMF may not have an easy time of hiring developers, I
> haven't heard that many engineering slots are going unfilled because
> of a complete inability to recruit. So while you are addressing the
> challenges associated with your proposed model, could you outline the
> specific benefits you think would accrue? Would engineering outcomes
> be better with eng and product teams spread out around the world, in
> different timezones and speaking different languages? Would the cost
> of talent be drastically lower, and allow the WMF to hire many more
> engineers and thus significantly increase the pace of development? If
> you think these things are true, can you explain why?
>
> If it sounds like I'm shifting the burden of justifying such a move
> back to you, I am. It seems more reasonable than expecting WMF
> leadership to rebut the proposition before anyone has truly outlined
> its value.
>
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