Just Let Me Do My Job!

Presented at DevOpsDays Wellington, New Zealand.

Working with other people sucks sometimes.

You're employed to get things done. So is everyone else in the company. But despite being "on the same team", everyone has their own idea of priorities, urgent tasks, and tasks they consider a waste of time. Different teams and departments have different goals, and when they clash, it slows everyone down and can be frustrating and demotivating. So what's the solution? How can you convince everyone to just let you do your job?

In this talk, I'll share some practical changes you can make to help fix this problem. Backed up by both research and personal experience, these tips will help you to avoid frustrations and focus on what you're employed to do. We'll discuss topics like wasteful meetings, interruptions, unplanned work, frequently changing priorities, and menial tasks. From small changes in your own team, to ways to influence large cultural changes, there's something here for everyone.

Transcript

1. JUST LET ME DO MY JOB! Damian Brady @damovisa
2. “The Company”
3. “The Company”
4. “The Company”
5. Damien
6. Jason
7. Jason
8. Jason held the Shit Umbrella
9. MUD
10. M U D eetings ncertainty istractions
11. MEETINGS
13. 350+ responses 78% in IT 68% in software Samarth Kasturia
14. MON TUE WED THU FRI SAT SUN 8 9 10 11 12 1 2 3 4 5 6
15. MON TUE WED THU FRI SAT SUN 8 9 10 11 12 1 2 3 4 5 6
16. MON TUE WED THU FRI SAT SUN 8 9 10 11 12 1 2 3 4 5 6
17. How much of your meeting time is relevant?
18. How much of your meeting time is relevant? 37%
19. MON TUE WED THU FRI SAT SUN 8 9 10 11 12 1 2 3 4 5 6
20. MON TUE WED THU FRI SAT SUN 8 9 10 11 12 1 2 3 4 5 6 $7,850 / year
21. Do your meetings have goals? Do your meetings achieve those goals?
22. 62% Do your meetings have goals? Do your meetings achieve those goals? 38% 35% 40%
23. MON TUE WED THU FRI SAT SUN 8 9 10 11 12 1 2 3 4 5 6
24. MON TUE WED THU FRI SAT SUN 8 9 10 11 12 1 2 3 4 5 6 $13,550 / year
25. What’s changed?
26. “The Company”
27. Jason clamped down on meetings
28. Jason went to our meetings for us
29. Title: Phoenix Project Update Time: 9:00 – 10:00 Thursday Attendees: Development Team Jason [Dev Manager] Barry [PM] Details: Weekly update for Phoenix Project
30. Title: Phoenix Project Update Time: 9:00 – 10:00 Thursday Attendees: Development Team Jason [Dev Manager] Barry [PM] Details: Weekly update for Phoenix Project Title: Is Phoenix Project Dev On Track? Time: 9:00 – 9:45 Thursday Attendees: Jason [Dev Manager] Barry [PM] Sarah [Dev] optional Details: • Last week’s Todos • Current timeline • Blockers and issues • Revise timeline (if needed) • Todo – Dev Team • Todo – Barry
31. Set a clear goal and agenda
32. Set a clear goal and agenda Send a representative
33. Set a clear goal and agenda Send a representative Avoid gimmicks
34. Set a clear goal and agenda Send a representative Avoid gimmicks Don’t default to 30min or 1hr
35. Set a clear goal and agenda Send a representative Avoid gimmicks Don’t default to 30min or 1hr If it’s not useful, ditch it
36. Set a clear goal and agenda Send a representative Avoid gimmicks Don’t default to 30min or 1hr If it’s not useful, ditch it Meetings
37. DISTRACTIONS
38. How many times are you interrupted per day?
39. How many times are you interrupted per day? 58% 10 or more times
40. MON TUE WED THU FRI SAT SUN 8 9 10 11 12 1 2 3 4 5 6
41. MON TUE WED THU FRI SAT SUN 8 9 10 11 12 1 2 3 4 5 6
42. Flow State
43. How often are you completely focused and absorbed in your work?
44. How often are you completely focused and absorbed in your work? 39% Regularly
45. How often are you completely focused and absorbed in your work? 98.7% At least some of the time
46. When you lose focus, is it caused by an interruption?
47. When you lose focus, is it caused by an interruption? 35%
48. If you lose focus, it takes 23 minutes to get it back
49. MON TUE WED THU FRI SAT SUN 8 9 10 11 12 1 2 3 4 5 6 $25,100 / year
50. “The Company”
51. Jason made sure developers could concentrate
52. Headphones
53. Headphones Do Not Disturb times
54. Headphones Do Not Disturb times ”The finger”
55. Headphones Do Not Disturb times ”The finger” No be there
56. Headphones Do Not Disturb times “The finger” No be there “Go dark”
57. Headphones Do Not Disturb times “The finger” No be there “Go dark” Distractions
58. UNCERTAINTY
59. How clear are your work priorities?
60. How clear are your work priorities? 82%
61. How often do your priorities change before you’re finished?
62. How often do your priorities change before you’re finished? 59% More than half the time
63. Autonomy, mastery, purpose
64. “The Company”
65. Jason helped everyone acknowledge the unexpected work
66. Establish a gate
67. Establish a gate Make the requester responsible
68. Establish a gate Make the requester responsible Trust your metrics
69. Establish a gate Make the requester responsible Trust your metrics Honesty is the best policy
70. Establish a gate Make the requester responsible Trust your metrics Honesty is the best policy Uncertainty
71. M U D eetings ncertainty istractions
72. Be the #shitumbrella You want to see in the world
73. Thank you Damian Brady @damovisa
74. http://damovisa.me/2016/09/01/getting-work-done/ http://smf.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/Social-Market-Foundation-Publication-Briefing-CAGE-4-Are-happy- workers-more-productive-281015.pdf http://www.danpink.com/books/drive/ http://www.simplypsychology.org/milgram.html CC0 licensed photos from Pexels: http://pexels.com