Invisible labour and micro-tasks are a problem for every team. This slideshow looks at how to identify and manage them

1. 1
I N V I S I B L E L A B O U R
G A R E T H E D W A R D S
U n i v e r s i t y o f G r e e n w i c h

2. 2
VISIBLE LABOUR INVISIBLE LABOUR
T h e t a s k s y o u d o to a c c o m p l i s h y o u r d a i l y
( o r p r o j e c t ) w o r k
T h e h i d d e n m i c r o - t a s k s y o u d o to h e l p y o u r
u s e r s c o m p l e te t h e i r w o r k
@garius #iwmw18 #P3

3. 3
Adding a banner image
T h i s i s t h e s t a n d a r d , u n i v e r s i t y - w i d e p r o c e s s f o r u p l o a d i n g a n e w i m a g e
to t h e w e b s i te a n d a t t a c h i n g i t to t h e to p o f a p a g e o r a r t i c l e .
ONE: UPLOAD
Use the Web Hub to
upload your image
onto the website
TWO: NOTE ID
Copy (or note down)
the ID of the image
you uploaded
THREE: BROWSE
Find the page you
want to use the image
on and choose to edit
FOUR: ADD IT
Add the ID you copied
(or noted) into the
‘thumbnail’ field
FIVE: PUBLISH
Go to the details page
and choose to publish
your changes
@garius #iwmw18 #P3

4. 4
Adding a banner image
( Wi t h i n v i s i b l e l a b o u r )
ONE: UPLOAD
Use the Web Hub to
upload your image
onto the website
TWO: NOTE ID
Copy (or note down)
the ID of the image
you uploaded
QUERY IMAGE
Webteam asked for
feedback on picture
quality and relevance
RESIZE IMAGE
Send image to
webteam for resizing
as too big
UPLOAD FAILED
Webteam
troubleshoot why
image did not upload
@garius #iwmw18 #P3

5. 5
Adding a banner image (cont.)
( Wi t h i n v i s i b l e l a b o u r )
CAN’T SEEM TO EDIT
The edit link doesn’t
seem to work. Ask
webteam for help
THREE: BROWSE
Find the page you
want to use the image
on and choose to edit
FOUR: ADD IT
Add the ID you copied
(or noted) into the
‘thumbnail’ field
FIVE: PUBLISH
Go to the details page
and choose to publish
your changes
IMAGE ISN’T SHOWING
Ring Webteam and
ask them why it is not
showing
@garius #iwmw18 #P3

6. 6
“When's the last time
you had three or four
hours to yourself to get
work done? It probably
wasn't at the office.”
J a s o n F r i e d , 3 7 s i g n a l s
@garius #iwmw18 #P3

7. 7
THE IMPACT OF INVISIBLE
MICRO-TASKS
T A S K S W I T C H I N G
M i c r o - t a s k s d i s r u p t t h e w o r k p a t te r n a n d o f te n f o r c e ( o r m a ke a te a m m e m b e r i n i t i a te ) a t a s k
s w i tc h . A l l d a t a f r o m : M a r y Cz e r w i n s k i E r i c H o r v i t z S u s a n Wi l h i te ( 2 0 1 3 )
50
Average number of tasks
interrupted for another one,
per day
TASK SWITCHES
266%
Time-to-complete (TTC) for a
returned-to task over an
uninterrupted one
TTC (INTERRUPTED)
31%
Time spent answering the
phone or email, per day
TIME ON COMMS
40%
Number of switches that were
initiated by the team member
themselves.
SELF-MADE SWITCHES
@garius #iwmw18 #P3

8. 8
Understanding micro-tasks
I N V I S I B L E L A B O U R
I n v i s i b l e m i c r o - t a s k s e x i s t i n p r a c t i c a l l y e v e r y te a m , s y s te m o r p r o c e s s . T h e i m p o r t a n t t h i n g i s
h o w te a m s t r e a t a n d d e a l w i t h t h e m .
It’s rare that the initiator is trying to be disruptive
M I C R O - T A S K S A R E N O T I N H E R E N T LY B A D
The first step to addressing them is to drive them out into the open
M I C R O - T A S K S N E E D T O B E A C K N O W L E D G E D
Often they exist because of fixable problems within our systems or processes
M I C R O - T A S K S C A N B E E N G I N E E R E D O U T
@garius #iwmw18 #P3

9. T H E M A S S E F F E C T
Websites are spaceships. The bigger they are, the harder to turn.

10. 10
THE MASS
EFFECT
Entrepreneurial activities differ
substantially depending on the type of
organization and creativity.
Entrepreneurial activities differ
substantially depending on the type of
organization and creativity.
Entrepreneurial activities differMicro -tasks that exist because the
website is overly large, the
codebase too complex or a wide
range of admin systems exist
“That section is
set up
differently to
the other ones”
“This page looks
weird since you
made those
other changes”
“Can anyone
remember who
coded this?”
“Oh that page is
in the old style.
We have to
change it for
you”
@garius #iwmw18 #P3

11. 11
MANAGING MASS EFFECT
I N V I S I B L E L A B O U R
D e a l i n g w i t h M a s s E f f e c t r e q u i r e s te a m s to b e s t r i c te r i n h o w t h e y s c o p e a n d c o d e s y s te m s
CONSISTENTLY
B U I L D
Don’t create custom interfaces
or sections of your website
unless you really have to. This
ensures user skills are
transferable
COMPLEXITY
B L O C K
Don’t build complex layouts or
systems just because the user
likes them or feels they can
cope. Stick to the basics unless
its unavoidable
STANDARDS
M A I N T A I N
Use industry standard
techniques and languages.
Ensure that anyone on the
team can code something, or at
least navigate the code base
SEMANTIC
B E
Structure you content and code
semantically. This helps people
think the right way, and helps
keep things simple and easy to
update or improve
@garius #iwmw18 #P3

12. F E A R O F T H E
U N K N O W N
Some users won’t jump. They need a gentle push.

13. 13
FEAR OF THE
UNKNOWN
Entrepreneurial activities differ
substantially depending on the type of
organization and creativity.
Entrepreneurial activities differ
substantially depending on the type of
organization and creativity.
Entrepreneurial activities differMicro -tasks that exist because the
user is reluctant to make a
decision or unwilling to take an
action
“I don’t think
I’ve been
trained on this”
“It just needs
doing as my
manager says
it’s really
urgent”
“Can you just
stay on the
phone while I do
it?”
“I would try, but
it doesn’t seem
to want to let
me log in”
@garius #iwmw18 #P3

14. 14
MANAGING FEAR ITSELF
I N V I S I B L E L A B O U R
D e a l i n g w i t h Fe a r o f t h e U n k n o w n r e q u i r e s a n u n d e r s t a n d i n g o f h o w p e o p l e t h i n k a n d t h e
p s y c h o l o g y o f f a i l u r e a n d p r o c r a s t i n a t i o n .
TUTORIALS
M A K E
You don’t have to document
everything, but you do need to
provide easy guides for the
things people actually struggle
with.
SKILLS
D E M A N D
Set a baseline level of computer
ability you expect your users to
have before they can be
granted access to your systems.
PHONES
R O T A T E
Some users will latch on to the
people they see as helpful.
Make it harder for them to get
attached.
NO
S A Y
There are very few things that
genuinely require an urgent
intervention. Make failure have
a cost for the user so they are
motivated to change.
@garius #iwmw18 #P3

15. 15
L E E R O Y J E N K I N S !
That button you told people not to click yet? He’s clicking it.

16. 16
“ O k a y g u y s … t h e s e
e g g s h a v e g i v e n
u s a l o t o f t r o u b l e
i n t h e p a s t … ”
“ W h a t d o y o u
t h i n k A b d u l , c a n
y o u g i v e u s a
n u m b e r c r u n c h
r e a l q u i c k ? ”
“ I ’ m c o m i n g u p
w i t h 3 2 . 3 3 ,
r e p e a t i n g o f
c o u r s e ,
p e r c e n t a g e o f
s u r v i v a l … ”
“…alright chums
let’s do this!
LEEEEROY
JENKINS!!!”
“ O h m y G o d . H e
j u s t r a n i n . ”
@garius #iwmw18 #P3

17. 17
Everybody died
@garius #iwmw18 #P3

18. 18
LEEROY
JENKINS!
Entrepreneurial activities differ
substantially depending on the type of
organization and creativity.
Entrepreneurial activities differ
substantially depending on the type of
organization and creativity.
Entrepreneurial activities differMicro -tasks that exist because the
user has done something they
shouldn’t have done
“Um. Something
weird has
happened”
“I thought I’d
try it myself
and…”
“The person
who set this up
isn’t here
anymore”
“We’ve hired a
graduate intern”
@garius #iwmw18 #P3

19. 19
MANAGING THE LEEROYS
I N V I S I B L E L A B O U R
D e a l i n g w i t h L e e r o y s m e a n s a c c e p t i n g t h a t ‘ b i g r e d b u t to n s ’ a r e j u s t to o te m p t i n g f o r s o m e
PERMISSIONS
D E F I N E
Make sure that your permission
structure correctly blocks
things you don’t want people to
do
SIMPLICITY
E N F O R C E
‘We can look at that in future,
but only after you’ve done the
basics first’
EXPERTS
B E
Expertise in a different subject,
or an outside interest in digital
media, does not make one an
expert. Be firm but clear
about this.
EVERYTHING
H I D E
Most CMS systems are a hotbed
of features that are designed to
look good in the showroom but
are rarely used. Hide them all!
@garius #iwmw18 #P3

20. @garius #iwmw18 #P3
{ display : none }

21. 21
Quick wins
I N V I S I B L E L A B O U R
G e t t i n g b e t te r a t h a n d l i n g m i c r o - t a s k s d o e s n ’ t h a v e to s t a r t w i t h b i g c h a n g e s . A f e w c u l t u r a l
c h a n g e s c a n g o a l o n g w a y.
Build a team culture that acknowledges the need for concentration time
I T I S O K AY T O S AY ‘ N O T N O W ’
If a person cannot use a computer then there is a training issue, not a digital one
I T I S O K AY T O R E M O V E A C C E S S
If someone insists on complexity, make them prove it is necessary
I T I S O K AY T O S AY ‘ P R O V E I T ’
@garius #iwmw18 #P3

22. 22
@garius
twitch.tv/garius
GARETH EDWARDS
U N I V E R S I T Y O F G R E E N W I C H