Culture of successful development teams Marin Bezić, Concero d.o.o. marin.bezic@concero.hr

About me 8 years with MSFT in Redmond 4 years with MSFT in Europe Shipped 3 releases of the first Microsoft BI product Lead a team of 25 developers in the SQL Server product unit 4 years with MSFT in Europe Business and marketing management Founded Concero d.o.o. Helping clients optimize software development processes and teams

The story of the “Plato” team Start-up - V1 (OLAP Services 7.0) Small “startup” Agile & slow Cowboys & heroes Transition - V2 (Analysis Services 2000) Larger team – communication challenges Existing customers – quality challenges Integrated into SQL Server – process challenges Grown up - V3 (Analysis Services 2005) Well “oiled” engine Team that clicks Productivity leaps Becomes #1 product in the OLAP market (based on OLAPReport)

What does it mean “successful”? Happy developers Great products What does it mean “successful”? Happy customers Happy shareholders/owners

What does it mean “culture”? How things get done Unwritten rules What does it mean “culture”? Invisible thing that glues the team together* * http://blogs.hbr.org/cs/2011/03/culture_trumps_strategy_every.html

Culture is critical for success "Culture is everything," Lou Gerstner, IBM CEO Culture is critical for success long term

What makes culture? Beliefs Behaviors Background

Purpose Doing the right thing Beliefs Employees as partners

Believe in Making an Impact Teams need big, bold, challenging goals People like “thrill” – creating, competing, winning, … They want to know the big picture And work on something to be proud of Employees who don’t understand why their work is important become disengaged. How to do it? “Paint” for the team the compelling future Tell them how their work contributes Tell them stories about real customers Even better – get customers to tell the stories

Believe in Doing the Right Thing “What is the right thing to do?” “What is the best for our customer?” Going the extra mile to help customers Doing the right thing, not only feels good, but also creates happy customers

Believe in Employees as Partners Share information with employees Invest in employees (training, career plans) Egalitarian atmosphere Employees respond when they feel appreciated

Behaviors Empowerment Dealing with mistakes Having fun Facing brutal facts SWE Fundamentals

Meritocracy Rewarding people based on merit Give more to people who deserve more An element of performance oriented culture Headache for managers but helps retaining great talent How to do it? Set challenging goals Give ownership, power, and responsibility Review and Reward for performance Celebrate real achievements

Empowerment “Let go” People own their work/code/components/team Ownership must be “meaningful” Everybody is accountable and responsible for their actions Empowerment means fast decisions and agility. How to do it? Trust & Track Push decisions down Let people fail (and learn)

Dealing with mistakes No fear of failure People should be willing to make risky decisions, innovate, think differently Excuses are a waste of time Enemies don’t believe them, friends don’t need them (John Wooden) How to do it? Put focus on end success/results Fail fast Make it easy to talk about a problem – “red flag” Make sure that people learn from their mistakes

Self criticism Proactively giving and seeking feedback Open and honest communication Leverage collective knowledge and experience How to do it? Set the bar (expectations) high Make continuous improvement a goal Institute the review culture Code review, spec review, plan review, strategy review

SWE Fundamentals Focus on core software engineering principles and best practices Examples: Built in quality from the start Think before you code Realistic schedule Transparent status Make decisions based on data

Fun Positive attitude and relaxed atmosphere make it easier to solve tough problems Happy people are smart(er)?1 How to do it? Make it easier for people to relax during the day Fusbal, ping pong, video games Add a touch of humor to a stressful situation Manage those spreading negativism 1 http://blogs.hbr.org/cs/2011/03/are_happy_people_dumb.html

Personalized environment Background Space Dress code

Office environment Space per employee Dedicated space 100 ft2 = 10m2 Work surface 30ft2 = 3m2 Minimize noise “Workers who reported before the exercise that their workplace was acceptably quiet were one-third more likely to deliver zero-defect work.” DeMarco, Tom; Lister, Timothy R. (2010-04-15). Peopleware: Productive Projects and Teams. Dorset House Publishing. Kindle Edition.

Personalized environment Home away from home Make people feel comfortable at work Allow them to “personalize” their environment Allow them to “personalize” their schedules Because the only thing that matters is RESULT

Appearance and dress code

Motivation and Culture

Motivation model by Dan Pink - MAP Mastery Autonomy Purpose Dan Pink: Drive Mastery – the urge to get better and better at something that matters Autonomy – the desire to direct our own lives Purpose – the yearning to do what we do in the service of something larger than ourselves Daniel H. Pink, Drive – The Suprising Truth About What Motivates Us http://www.amazon.com/Drive-Surprising-Truth-About-Motivates/dp/1594484805/

MAP-ing Culture Elements Mastery Meritocracy Self Criticism Dealing with mistakes Employee learning and growth Autonomy Trust Empowerment Fun Personalized environment Space Appearance Purpose Making difference

Summary - My observations on culture The most important ingredient for a successful team The management defines the culture Culture is not learned by reading posters on the wall It is contagious And it is built over time

Thank you! Marin Bezić marin.bezic@concero.hr www.concero.hr

VPRAŠANJA? Po zaključku predavanja, prosimo, izpolnite vprašalnik. Vprašalniki bodo poslani na vaš e-naslov, dostopni pa bodo tudi preko profila na spletnem portalu konference www.ntk.si. Najlepša hvala!