Engaging Everyone
November 7th, 2006[ Software Development ]
Try this if you want to scare the pants off the average product manager at the average software company. Tell them you’re implementing 20% projects.
“Google requires engineers to spend a day a week on projects that interest them, unrelated to their day jobs”
Disclaimer: I know nothing of Google. I’ve never worked, visited, or otherwise been a part of the monster. All I know is bits I’ve read in the press so this is all just my take and nothing more.
Gmail began as a 20% project. Developers love to tinker with technology, it’s why they’re good at building software and this idea plays into that. Whether you admit it or not, your developers are not spending 95%, 90%, or even 80% of their time working directly on your companies deliverable software. They’re also working on projects that interest them. Endorsing this, and bringing it out in the open, allows you to tap into the knowledge they acquire in an open and meaningful way.
Turnover within software development often comes down to sheer boredom. Developers tire of the same old code base, the same old approach to the same old problems. Jumping ship, and moving to a new organization offers the excitement of new challenges, fresh ideas, and new processes.
On the other side, when you have new people join, they bring with them new ways of approaching problems, new ideas on existing processes, etc. My take, 20% projects reduces turnover and training costs while increasing overall productivity.
Truly excited, passionate developer says: “I’ve got a great idea, what if we built a foobler into our product?”
Guy in charge of his ‘hours’: “Sounds interesting. We’ll need to build a business case to demonstrate it’s ROI”
Truly excited passionate developer heads back to his desk and continues down the slope to becoming bored apathetic code jockey. After a few more exchanges like that one, no one will hear his ideas any longer. He’ll learn the real lesson, his ideas aren’t needed.
Here’s the same guy with 20% projects in place, talking to 3 other developers: “Hey, do you guys have a 20% project you’re currently working on? I want to build a foobler into our product. We could build a prototype as a 20% project and start using it internally.”
You now have excited, passionate developer taking on roles like salesman, project manager, team lead, consensus builder, support rep, etc. They’ve been given a medium to spread their passion and excitement virally throughout the organization. They have the power to act on their passions and take real action. They’re building community, they’re thinking outside the role of code implementer, they’re engaged.
“Toyota does a great job of engaging their employees. Toyota employees are required to submit two suggestions per month that they can implement themselves or with a teammate. As a result, Toyota receives about 1.5 million employee suggestions for improvement each year. More impressively, 80% of these actually get implemented! Even though many of Toyota’s employees perform repetitive manufacturing jobs, this approach fully engages employees in improving their work processes.”
20% projects are meant to facilitate the growth of your individual’s, allowing them to be creative and use their imaginations. They can actively take on new roles, make mistakes, learn by doing, take on responsibility, feel in control and capable of contributing.
Quality people quit companies when they know they lack the power to change things. 20% projects addresses that head-on. While it’s great to end up with a product like GMail, in my opinion any actual products that come out of something like this is just gravy.
People are most productive and work best when they enjoy what they’re doing and most importantly have a sense of ownership. You can ask people to be leaders, take responsibility, innovate, etc until you’re purple in the face. People learn through action not orders or lessons. 20% projects are a stepping stone to 100% projects. It allows people to enjoy their work and learn that it isn’t as important what you do as how you do it. In the beginning they may pine to work on their 20% projects but over time their passion will bleed over and infect all of their projects. If you’re lucky, in time, you’ll be unable to distinguish when people are working on 20% projects or not.