Chapter 13 Communication and Coordination

Contributors: Jade Benjamin-Chung, Ben Arnold

These communications guidelines are evolving as we increasingly adopt Slack, but here some general principles if you work closely with Ben.

13.1 Slack

If you work with Ben but are not a member of Proctor’s Slack workspace then ask him to invite you!
We do not recommend using Slack for messages you’d like to save and find again in 6 months – for messages with important information and documentation that you will need in the future, use email!
Use Slack for scheduling, coding related questions, quick check ins, etc. If your Slack message exceeds 200 words, it might be time to use email.
Use channels instead of direct messages unless you need to discuss something private.
Include tags on your message (e.g., @Ben) when you want to ensure that a person sees the message. Ben doesn’t regularly read messages where he isn’t tagged.
Please make an effort to respond to messages that message you (e.g., @Ben) as quickly as possible and always within 24 hours, unless of course you are on vacation!
If you are unusually busy (e.g., taking MCAT/GRE, taking many exams) or on vacation please alert the team in advance so we can expect you not to respond at all / as quickly as usual and also set your status in Slack (e.g., it could say “On vacation”) so we know not to expect to see you online.
Please thread messages in Slack as much as possible.

Use email for longer messages (>200 words) or messages that merit preservation.
Generally, strive to respond within 24 hours. If you are unusually busy or on vacation please alert the team in advance so we can expect you not to respond at all / as quickly as usual.

Ben manages projects and teams using a kanban board approach in Trello.
You and/or Ben will add new cards within our team’s Trello boards and assign them to team members.
Each card represents a discrete chunk of work.
Cards higher in a list are higher priority.
Strive to complete the tasks in your card by the card’s due date. Talk to Ben about deadlines – we can always manage the calendar!
Use checklists to break down a task into smaller chunks. Usually, you can do this yourself (but ask Ben if you ever want input).
Move cards to the “DONE” list on a board when they are done.

We mostly use Google Drive to create shared documents with longer descriptions of tasks. These documents are linked to Trello cards. Ben often shares these docs with a whole project team since tasks are overlapping, and even if a task is assigned to one person, others may have valuable insights.
Please invite both of Ben’s email addresses to any documents you create (bfarnold@gmail.com, ben.arnold@ucsf.edu).

Ben will schedule most meetings through the calendar.
Our meetings start on the hour.
If you are going to be late, please send a message in our Slack channel.
If you are regularly not able to come on the hour, notify the team and we might choose the modify the agenda order or the start time.
Add hoc meetings are welcome. If Ben’s office door is open, come in!