There is no way to overstate it–collaboration is huge for developers. The necessity for clear communication among developers has only grown in recent years with the rise of remote work. And great collaboration just can’t happen with distributed teams without asynchronous communication.
For developers, collaboration and async intersect first and foremost with…bugs.
The first computer bug was an actual bug. You read that right– it was a moth.
At Harvard in 1947, pioneering computer scientist Grace Hopper was receiving a computational error she couldn’t explain. A few colleagues got involved, taking apart the hardware of her machine to find a moth trapped in a relay.
While that incident is famous for coining new terminology, it also highlights the importance of collaboration for developers. Hopper knew there was a problem, but it wasn’t until her colleagues joined her in troubleshooting the issue that the problem was resolved.
Ask Questions, Get Feedback
As developers we need to constantly ask questions of our fellow devs. For instance, another developer may own a component of a project that you are collaborating on, and you find that you’re getting an unexpected output.
The ability to ask a question or demonstrate the issue you are having directly to the owner of that component can save you the time it would take to write and submit a bug.
By recording a quick video of the problem using the Zight (formerly CloudApp) screen recorder, you can avoid the workflow bureaucracy and resolve the issue faster.
The same concept applies to feedback. If an update is producing abnormal outputs, colleagues can quickly relay what is happening by sending a short screen recording, making feedback fast and easy.
Skip Scheduling
We’re all familiar with the traditional modes of collaboration, specifically synchronous Zoom meetings. We’re also all familiar with the hassle of finding times that work for all parties, or worse–-the dreaded group meeting that really only pertains to a few developers.
With Zight (formerly CloudApp), we can skip the back and forth of finding a time that works for all parties and instead pop a video into our shared slack channel.
Collaborate with Convenience
The ability to record a video and disseminate it quickly is invaluable.
Replacing a meeting with a video of the information we need to share is not only a time saver for me, but it wins back the calendars of fellow developers.
The developers who need (or want) to watch the entire video are able to, and the developers who are looking for a high-level overview just to get the gist of its content are able to do so without the risk of hurting a presenter’s feelings by ducking out of a meeting early.
Reduce Friction
As a developer, Zight (formerly CloudApp) has helped reduce the friction our team experiences by closing the gaps in communication that traditional modes of collaboration tend to create. Our overall collaborative experience has improved for the better. We save our time and our sanity.
If the time it takes to resolve your bugs is, well, bugging you, then we encourage you to give Zight (formerly CloudApp) a try and de-bug your day.