101 for a Services Company!
Kumudu Bandarage
LinkedIn Top Voice | Enabling agility | Delivering value | Certified Scrum Professional | Agile Coach & Advanced Scrum Master | Trainer | Wealth Coach
We've all been there, at least few of us. Who had worked for product organizations and headed to learn more and for challenges at services based companies. Did you feel like the world turned upside down? Started seeing 'weekend' in your dreams? and played your own guitar at 2AM in the morning to balance your stress levels? OK, you are not alone. (I mean isn't weird to play your own guitar that early in the morning - that's why i added 'own')
While, it is what it is. Let's look at few methods to implement to make things more live+able and workable and digestive for everyone. Again 'if' you dare to change. Just like the SL politics, 75 years and counting worst. Read on if you wanna #change
(1) Resources
Without a doubt the most important factor when it comes to services run companies are resources management. Everyone wants the PMs to own this and clearly we loose productivity. What we need is a dashboard, a daily dashboard to show the resource utilization. (Lets not get in to hourly yet! isn't it too harsh) + This must have history option to go back and see past days as well as a monthly sum up. Help your CEO to enjoy a good coffee while checking these reports out.
Hire a Project Coordinator, We need someone fully dedicated to do this, get her to sync with the team owners everyday in the morning to get a pull of the utilization and update a common dashboard. She shall only maintain and update this. Within the day if there are changes she'll be informed and updates done. By EOD a daily report is sent to management on the day's resource utilization. Making sure LOT of things are put on place.
What if i need a tester today? Simple, instead putting on Slack, calling 11 different people, call the Resource coordinator and get a info pull, at once make a call to the right person. Woha! Sorted.
*Note that she has more time to be utilized too, probably get some errands done of the PMO world or whatever way to make things more helpful
(2) The 'Meeting'
A Meeting with most expensive people in the company shall happen either once a week or twice week only. Everyone surely does 'not' need to know everything, if yes, why did we assign them their own projects? Oh! learning can be shared on a single weekly or bi-weekly meeting if that comes to your mind. (How many of such worked at the next project like a charm which was burst on a daily common meeting? ask your self)
There is something called a 'SOS' in the industry, spend sometime to learn what they are used to achieve in 15 mins of time. Instead of these lengthy meetings where people blame each other, shout and cry. Use smaller meetings with only the really required team members, talk the only required updates and queries.
Plus sort the queries prior the meeting anyways when you start work. Isn't it basics?
(3) A 'few' Experts
Really! Can i know an example where this helped or improved on the long run. No-No. You must focus on grooming your junior levels to come up to speed. You must delegate and expect the deliveries with the set DODs. (Definition of Done). Prior that set the DORs (Definition of Ready) and also DOB (Definition of Build) never heard of it? Hire a 'real' PM, would you?
Let the QA confirm on testing, DEV assure the engineering, DEVOPS and BA to own their respective areas. CSM to handle the client, not to bring the client down without handling to team level. (Like a 150 CRs to make client happy FOC at the burden of the team! What did you do at the UAT? had drinks with them did you?)
It is hard to change if you had not done this right, but if you struggle to deliver even after a decade in the business (With your fav PMs and Designers whom you groomed from childhood or whatever) then its time to sit back and see how you shall improve to be better. Isn't it?
(4) Devils 'Approval' Gate
What do you mean? A team cannot start work without an Architect review? What on earth. Then why do we have to do a code reviewer from another team get our code reviewed. These are real blockers for un-real rapid work environments. It's like having a Ferrari car supported by a tuk engine when you do this. (I gave this exact feedback and I was told, urrr, never-mind)
STOP it. Empower your team leads to make decisions. Let them own the code reviews. Make it in-house. Don't make impediments. You are rather suppose to smooth-en the delivery line. Isn't it?
Tell me, do you make coffee at home and ask for sweetener from the next house? Oh pls. Stop this nonsense. Get your tech lead to own this, let him make decisions and you randomly check if he is doing right and fine.
Architects are suppose to find solutions on real challengers or to make improvements on the core systems. No one shouldn't waste their time on day to day boring tasks.
(5) How It was done!
These are outdated phases. Who cares about how its done in past. Talk about;
(6) Dedicated help of hands
Agree of changing team mates in a service environment, but for heaven's sake keep dedicated support of expertise on all areas as Architecture, DEV Engineering and Quality Engineering, SEO, Performance, TechOPS, DEVOPS, Monitoring, Accessibility, what not.
If anyone has to put 7 slacks, 10 calls and wait 24 hours to get a slot from any of the above support area experts. Duh! Something is deeply wrong. Isn't it?
Ideal would be to have team mates who can assure on above within the team it self. But we all know 'ideal' is a far destination on cloud.
(7) Unlearn to Learn
It's easier that way to have the right mindset.
(8) Mustard and the Industry best practices
You may have your sauce or the mustard, fine. Also; there is nothing like you need to buy the industry best practices. But then, try it and see if it tastes better. May be it does!
(Bonus Tip #1)
Eat on time, let others eat on time, be professional, learn on empathy, there is a long way to go! It's a journey of always learning..
(Bonus Tip #2)
Be true, be honest, be yourself, there is absolutely nothing to hide, if you are hiding your identity or company for any reason, means some fundamental, basic integrity issue. However you put it out does not justify.
(Best Learning)
What i loved the most was learning to take 3 calls at once simultaneously. 1 on Slack, one on Zoom, and the other on Phone and for mother gods sake all these 3 calls were important, urgent and critical at the same time!
While you cannot really have multiple critical/urgent items all at once, you can!
Trust me when i say.
#services #101 #doitbetter
I can be wrong, you may have done it much better than 1000s of us, let me know your feedback! Lets game this and do it better together