Collaboration, Communication And Expectations

Slide 1: Outsourcing Project: Collaboration, Communication & Expectations Dennis Stevenson May 20, 2008

Slide 2: How will we get there?

Slide 3: Collaboration & Communication  Over communicate because… • You only get one chance to say it the first time • It is too easy to misunderstand each other  Listen as hard as you talk because… • Accents & Telephone make it hard to understand • We are dealing with complex topics  Write it down because… • Your memory and mine is fallible • Someone important inevitably missed the conversation 3

Slide 4: Collaboration & Communication  Be Gracious with each other because… • Neither of you would be here if you didn’t deserve to be • Tomorrow we will start all over again  Focus on Problems not Personalities because… • We’re here to solve problems, not fix people • There will be plenty of problems… no time for personalities  Keep it short and sweet because… • Time is limited and speed is critical • We want to build and maintain momentum 4

Slide 5: Expectations  No Repeat Mistakes • First time mistakes are about learning – that’s ok • I expect teams to communicate lessons learned  No Shortcuts without permission • We will deploy this code to customers who trust us • Code performance and behavior is EVERYTHING.  Consistency, Consistency, Consistency • Do it well and do it once – don’t reinvent the wheel • This isn’t the end of the changes 5

Slide 6: Expectations  Next Day Answers • Make the time differential work for us, not against us • If you don’t have an answer, say so and give a date  Know the Plan & Critical Dates • Ignorance is not an excuse • Your performance either helps or hinders the plan  Escalate Issues at the first possible moment • I can’t fix what I don’t know is broken • If there is a problem, I expect time to react 6