1. Cross Discipline Saviors
Strike Teams:
Cross Discipline Saviors by
Starr Long
Producer, NCsoft

2. Definition What are Strike Teams? Small teams Cross Discipline
Collocated
Focused on Single Area/System
Goal Oriented
Temporary

3. Cross & Collocate Thou shall Cross & Collocate! Cross discipline:
Inter Dept.: Artist, Programmer, Designer
Intra Dept.: Modeler, Texturer, Animator
Collocation:
Same office / cube area
Or at least nearby / adjacent areas

4. Cross & Collocate Thou shall Cross & Collocate! Why?
Better communication
Communication hard across disciplines
Attention from all disciplines simultaneously vs. sequentially
Proximity speeds up communication
Morale increases
Promotes accountability
Usually equals results

5. Cross & Collocate (or not)
Thou shall Cross & Collocate?
Why not?
Moving people around hard
Progs don’t like sharing space
Disciplines speak different languages
Confusion of Authority Lines
Who’s in charge? Strike lead or dept. lead?
If Strike lead what does dept. lead do?
If dept. lead which one since cross disc.?

6. Focus! Thou shall focus on single area and iterate!
Focus on single game system/area only
UI, Combat, Mission 1, Mission 2, etc.
Focus on results not processes
Entirely goal & iteration oriented
Regular demonstrable goals (weekly?)
One large goal for end of the milestone

7. Focus! Thou shall focus on single area and iterate! Why?
Results orientation
Focus on game goals vs. dept. goals
Constant iteration to “get it right”
Avoid slogging through process
Nimble and dynamic

8. Focus! (or blinded?) Thou shall focus on single area and iterate?
Why not?
Blind to big vision
Macro vision can be lost when focus on micro
Very hard to schedule
Non-sequential tasks, iteration, etc.
Usually more need than resources
More systems than staff

9. Temporary Thou shall make them temporary entities!
Reorganize continually based on needs
Form new ones, dissolve old ones, etc.
Why? Resource bound
Why not? Multi-tasking confusing

10. Organization: How To Organize via traditional dept. model
Art, Design, Programming departments
Dept. leads (Lead Prog., Art Dir., etc.)
Resource allocation, reviews, scheduling
Retained long term
Build foundations of game first
Then go to strike teams
Doing it too early will defeat purpose

11. Organization (cont.) Keep numbers small Formal vs. Informal
As few strike teams as possible at any time
No one on more than 1 active strike team
Each strike should have a lead
Formal vs. Informal
Depends on need
Formal = mailing lists, regular reports, etc.
Informal = ownership, iteration, etc.

12. Why Strike Teams? Payoffs: Nimble and dynamic Promote accountability
Results oriented
Focus on game goals vs. dept. goals
Elusive “Getting it right”
Improve cross discipline communication
Tend to improve morale for troops

13. Why not Strike Teams? Challenges: Very hard to schedule
“Big Picture” can be lost
Confusion of Authority Lines
Usually more need than resources
Can hurt morale

14. Examples Products using similar methods:
Lord of the Rings (EA, Neil Young)
Guild Wars (Arena.net / NCsoft)
Other definitions / similar structures:
Mini Teams
Pods
Matrix Management
Resource Pool Management

15. Strike Teams right for you?
Payoffs large but challenges just as big
Good:
Focus on the game and results
Communication sped up, barriers removed
Morale improved
Bad:
Confusion of authority
Hard to manage / schedule
Usually resource bound