Giving back to the community through transparency and a public handbook

Presented at the 2024 Code4libBC unconference on how transparency and a public handbook gives back to the community and profession.

Transcript

1. GIVING BACK TO THE GIVING BACK TO THE COMMUNITY THROUGH COMMUNITY THROUGH TRANSPARENCY AND A TRANSPARENCY AND A PUBLIC HANDBOOK PUBLIC HANDBOOK May 16, 2024 Cynthia Ng @TheRealArty
2. ABOUT ME ABOUT ME
3. ABOUT ME ABOUT ME Documentarian
4. ABOUT ME ABOUT ME Documentarian Blogger
5. ABOUT ME ABOUT ME Documentarian Blogger (Former) Web developer
6. ABOUT ME ABOUT ME Documentarian Blogger (Former) Web developer Current GitLab handbook "owner"
7. Tambako The Jaguar. (2011). A couple of relaxed pigs. Flickr. https://flic.kr/p/arqcdX CC BY-ND 2.0
8. ANSWER THESE QUESTIONS ANSWER THESE QUESTIONS
9. ANSWER THESE QUESTIONS ANSWER THESE QUESTIONS Do you have processes that need to be followed?
10. ANSWER THESE QUESTIONS ANSWER THESE QUESTIONS Do you have processes that need to be followed? Do you have shared workflows with other teams?
11. ANSWER THESE QUESTIONS ANSWER THESE QUESTIONS Do you have processes that need to be followed? Do you have shared workflows with other teams? Do you have information that you frequently share?
12. ANSWER THESE QUESTIONS ANSWER THESE QUESTIONS Do you have processes that need to be followed? Do you have shared workflows with other teams? Do you have information that you frequently share? Do you have people from other organizations ask how you do things?
13. A HANDBOOK: WHAT AND WHY A HANDBOOK: WHAT AND WHY
14. WHAT IS A HANDBOOK? WHAT IS A HANDBOOK?
15. WHAT IS A HANDBOOK? WHAT IS A HANDBOOK? A handbook is a type of reference work, or other collection of instructions, that is intended to provide ready reference. - Wikipedia
16. WHAT IS A HANDBOOK? WHAT IS A HANDBOOK? A handbook is a type of reference work, or other collection of instructions, that is intended to provide ready reference. - Wikipedia The handbook is the central repository for how we run the company.
17. - GitLab WHY A HANDBOOK? WHY A HANDBOOK?
18. WHY A HANDBOOK? WHY A HANDBOOK? “Shared reality” with a Single Source of Truth (SSoT)
19. WHY A HANDBOOK? WHY A HANDBOOK? “Shared reality” with a Single Source of Truth (SSoT) Low-context communication
20. WHY A HANDBOOK? WHY A HANDBOOK? “Shared reality” with a Single Source of Truth (SSoT) Low-context communication Documented workflows promote
21. WHY A HANDBOOK? WHY A HANDBOOK? “Shared reality” with a measurement clarity Single Source of Truth (SSoT) Low-context communication Documented workflows promote
22. WHY A HANDBOOK? WHY A HANDBOOK? “Shared reality” with a measurement clarity results standardization Single Source of Truth (SSoT) Low-context communication Documented workflows promote
23. WHY A HANDBOOK? WHY A HANDBOOK? “Shared reality” with a measurement clarity results standardization worker autonomy Single Source of Truth (SSoT) Low-context communication Documented workflows promote
24. WHY A HANDBOOK? WHY A HANDBOOK? “Shared reality” with a measurement clarity results standardization worker autonomy efficient onboarding / inclusivity Single Source of Truth (SSoT) Low-context communication Documented workflows promote
25. WHY A HANDBOOK? WHY A HANDBOOK? “Shared reality” with a measurement clarity results standardization worker autonomy efficient onboarding / inclusivity continuous improvement Single Source of Truth (SSoT) Low-context communication Documented workflows promote
26. WHY A HANDBOOK? WHY A HANDBOOK? “Shared reality” with a measurement clarity results standardization worker autonomy efficient onboarding / inclusivity continuous improvement operational scalability Single Source of Truth (SSoT) Low-context communication Documented workflows promote
27. CREATING A HANDBOOK CREATING A HANDBOOK
28. WHAT YOU NEED WHAT YOU NEED
29. WHAT YOU NEED WHAT YOU NEED Buy-in
30. WHAT YOU NEED WHAT YOU NEED Buy-in Location / Version controlled tool
31. WHAT YOU NEED WHAT YOU NEED Buy-in Location / Version controlled tool Easy (enough) to use
32. WHAT YOU NEED WHAT YOU NEED Buy-in Location / Version controlled tool Easy (enough) to use Reinforcement
33. WHAT YOU NEED WHAT YOU NEED Buy-in Location / Version controlled tool Easy (enough) to use Reinforcement Public by default (separate internal only)
34. WHAT YOU NEED WHAT YOU NEED Buy-in Location / Version controlled tool Easy (enough) to use Reinforcement Public by default (separate internal only) Start small and iterate
35. GITLAB HANDBOOK PAGES GITLAB HANDBOOK PAGES Source: https://handbook.gitlab.com/handbook/about/#count-handbook-pages
36. SET EXPECTATIONS TO ENCOURAGE SET EXPECTATIONS TO ENCOURAGE CONTRIBUTIONS CONTRIBUTIONS
37. ENCOURAGING CONTRIBUTIONS ENCOURAGING CONTRIBUTIONS
38. ENCOURAGING CONTRIBUTIONS ENCOURAGING CONTRIBUTIONS Invite collaboration on changes
39. ENCOURAGING CONTRIBUTIONS ENCOURAGING CONTRIBUTIONS Invite collaboration on changes Have guidelines on what level of review is required
40. ENCOURAGING CONTRIBUTIONS ENCOURAGING CONTRIBUTIONS Invite collaboration on changes Have guidelines on what level of review is required Have clear guidelines on internal-only information
41. ENCOURAGING CONTRIBUTIONS ENCOURAGING CONTRIBUTIONS Invite collaboration on changes Have guidelines on what level of review is required Have clear guidelines on internal-only information Example: SAFE framework
42. ENCOURAGING CONTRIBUTIONS ENCOURAGING CONTRIBUTIONS Invite collaboration on changes Have guidelines on what level of review is required Have clear guidelines on internal-only information Example: Doesn't need to be perfect, Not "set in stone" SAFE framework
43. WHY A PUBLIC HANDBOOK? WHY A PUBLIC HANDBOOK? For the same reasons!
44. WHY A PUBLIC HANDBOOK? WHY A PUBLIC HANDBOOK?
45. WHY A PUBLIC HANDBOOK? WHY A PUBLIC HANDBOOK? Efficiency
46. Source: Support Driven Slack: #leadership. Used with permission.
47. WHY A PUBLIC HANDBOOK? WHY A PUBLIC HANDBOOK? Efficiency
48. WHY A PUBLIC HANDBOOK? WHY A PUBLIC HANDBOOK? Efficiency Consistency
49. WHY A PUBLIC HANDBOOK? WHY A PUBLIC HANDBOOK? Efficiency Consistency Collaboration
50. WHY A PUBLIC HANDBOOK? WHY A PUBLIC HANDBOOK? Efficiency Consistency Collaboration Operational transparency
51. Harvard Business Review, March-April 2019. when people see the work going on behind the scenes, they value the service more. - Ryan Buell on Operational Transparency https://hbr.org/2019/03/operational-transparency
52. WHY A PUBLIC HANDBOOK? WHY A PUBLIC HANDBOOK? Efficiency Consistency Collaboration Operational transparency
53. WHY A PUBLIC HANDBOOK? WHY A PUBLIC HANDBOOK? Efficiency Consistency Collaboration Community resource Operational transparency
54. Source: LinkedIn post
55. WHY A PUBLIC HANDBOOK? WHY A PUBLIC HANDBOOK? Efficiency Consistency Collaboration Community resource Operational transparency
56. WHY A PUBLIC HANDBOOK? WHY A PUBLIC HANDBOOK? Efficiency Consistency Collaboration Community resource Data source Operational transparency
57. TAKE AWAY TAKE AWAY
58. A public handbook is a way to give back
59. OTHER WAYS TO SHARE OTHER WAYS TO SHARE
60. OTHER WAYS TO SHARE OTHER WAYS TO SHARE Write publicly
61. OTHER WAYS TO SHARE OTHER WAYS TO SHARE Write publicly Blog
62. OTHER WAYS TO SHARE OTHER WAYS TO SHARE Write publicly Blog Article
63. OTHER WAYS TO SHARE OTHER WAYS TO SHARE Write publicly Blog Article Newsletter
64. OTHER WAYS TO SHARE OTHER WAYS TO SHARE Write publicly Blog Article Newsletter Make resources public
65. OTHER WAYS TO SHARE OTHER WAYS TO SHARE Write publicly Blog Article Newsletter Make resources public LibraryToolshed.ca
66. THANKS! THANKS! Cynthia "Arty" Ng artychan@mastodon.social about.me/cynthiang