Every Friday, developers and managers should meet briefly to discuss the successes of the previous week. A Friday Wrapup Meeting should include all team members regardless of their status, position, or present work-load. The meeting’s mood should be kept upbeat and the discussion should be used to highlight company successes and developer contributions over the past week. This article contains recommendations for conducting these meetings.
Stay Positive
As a general rule of thumb you should avoid negative discussion topics. I should mention this has little to do with sugar coating a slacking developer or ignoring potential problems. Conflicts should be identified and resolved but Friday Meetings are not a suitable environment for this process.
The Friday Wrapup Meeting is conducted at the end of the day on Friday, which gives developers about five minutes after the meeting before they head home for the weekend. If a developer receives schedule pressure for delivering a product, they must wait until Monday to resolve the problem. Negative feedback during Friday Meetings is counter-productive because there is no way for the developer to immediately resolve conflicts without losing time in their personal life. Developers should be encouraged to enjoy their weekend, not stress over work.
Recommended Discussion Items
- New tools, software packages, and development suites that were reviewed or added to the company’s tool arsenal
- Creative or innovative solutions to problems encountered during the week
- Company-related successes such as new projects, clients, or employees
- Improvements to development procedures
- How an employee’s work improved or benefited the company
Discussion Items to Avoid
- Updates on project estimates
- Reminding developers about upcoming deadlines
- Problems encountered during the week that still pose a threat to project health
- Company-related pitfalls
- Nagging developers to finish work; public humiliation is rarely effective
The Project Manager’s Role
The project manager’s role during Friday Wrapup Meetings is to analyze and transcribe individual developer motivations. Listening to the things that excite your developers reveals potential motivation techniques.
Examples of Interpreting Motivations
- A non-JavaScript programmer creates a JavaScript widget: take screenshots of the widget in action and give the programmer a print-out of the widget to put on the wall.
- A programmer develops a framework or complex system: have the developer create a class diagram of the framework and frame it above the programmer’s desk.
- A designer creates an amazing website design: have the designer piece together a montage of the wireframes, sketches, conceptual pieces, and the final product. Have the designer post this on a wall for everyone to see.
Public Displays of Success
From my examples above you can see I’m leaning towards displaying things developers have worked on in the past. Displaying income earned over the past month or a screenshot of an entire website is a good start but it doesn’t highlight individual contributions. Remember that managers and developers have fundamentally different motivations. Managers are traditionally focused on success while developers are more focused on learning and personal growth.
Side-Effects
Side-effects may include but are not limited to:
- A company atmosphere that encourages personal growth and exploration
- Developers are reassured their managers are interested in what they have to say
- Developers are more motivated because they feel appreciated
- Increased team cohesion, which is provided by team members listening to others
References
McConnell, Steve. Rapid Development: Taming Wild Software Schedules. Redmond, WA: Microsoft Press, 1996.
McConnell, Steve. Professional Software Development. Boston, MA: Addison Wesley, 2004.