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Team communication protocol
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comm_protocol.md

Guidelines for Team Communication on Slack

In order to streamline communication across the company, we have decided use Slack as the central communication platform.

  • All internal communication happening on whatsapp will be ported to slack.
  • list of official channels is provided below, in case it is not obvious which whatsapp group maps to which channel just ask on#help-slack.
  • Whatsapp groups involving external vendors and clients will remain open, all others are now deprecated.

Please go through the list of official channels below and also read through the FAQs. This document is fairly loose, in case of any confusions or clarifications necessary, post on channel #help-slack so we can discuss and improve this document over time.

Official Slack channels

For emergencies:

#fire - product related issues
#urgent - non-product related issues

For regular team specific communication and sharing:

  • #team-operations
  • #team-product
  • #team-engineering
  • #team-marketing
  • #team-sales
  • #team-legal
  • #team-accounting
  • #team-hrm

For company wide announcements and knowledge sharing

  • #general

Not sure what channel to use ?

  • seek counsel on #help-slack

Have any questions/suggestions regarding communication?

  • post on #help-slack

NOTE:

  • All public channels are treated as official. Do NOT create public channels without discussion on #help-slack

FAQs (please read)

What are official channels, how are they different from regular channels?

  • official channels are visible to all and provide a standard company wide framework for communication.
  • you have to stay updated and respond to communication on official channels you are a part of.
  • you have to strictly abide by the purpose of these channels.
  • creation of public channels requires discussion and approval as public channels are visible to all and as a result fall in the official channel category. Use #help-slack to start a discussion for doing the same.

How do I start a thread in a channel?**

  • go here to learn everything about threads

Thread vs Channel vs Private Channel, how do I decide?

  • Is this just a short term topic (will die in a few hours, a few days or a couple weeks aka most things)? Start a thread in appropriate official channel, you can start it in multiple channels if not sure.

  • Is this a long running topic (will remain relevant for several months)? create official channel with appropriate people. Always discuss on #help-slack and your manager before creating a channel. and use appropriate naming convention.

  • If you need to create a channel quickly without discussion or approval, create a private channel so it does not appear on everyone's side-bar

  • Still not sure? Ask for counsel on #help-slack

Wouldn't allowing folks to create private channels lead to problems like "too many places to catch-up on"?

  • Yes, PLEASE AVOID CREATING PRIVATE CHANNELS
  • If you join/create a private channel then you are creating these problems for yourself.
  • If you are invited to one, try to see if the topic at hand can be managed within threads on existing official channels and suggest the same.

I am on a facility or a client meeting and there is a bug/usability/inaccuracy issue with a product I am demonstrating or deploying, where should I post?

  • We will have a dedicated channel #fire for it which will include folks from ops/tech/product. Use #fire only if the issue can't wait. NOTE: #fire is for product/data related issues only.
  • If it can wait start a bug/enhancement/feature thread on channel #fix. This will help start a conversation and if valid product team will raise an asana ticket for the same.

I am on a facility or a client meeting and there is an issue unrelated to Product, where should I post?

  • Use channel #urgent only if it can't wait.
  • if it can wait, start a thread in appropriate channel.

I have a product enhancement/feature/bug-fix request, where should I post?

  • post on #fix

What about client specific internal channels?

  • You should avoid creating client specific channels. Start issue/topic specific threads instead on appropriate official channels.
  • If you do end up creating a client specific channel use the following naming convention - proj-client-name (all small, kebab case) ex: proj-pasura, proj-pepsi, proj-demo-client.
  • keep this in mind.

What about product-feature specific groups/channels?

  • There should be no need for those in most cases. Just start threads in #product.
  • If you feel the need to create a dedicated channel for a product vertical. Please use naming convention pv-vertical-name for example: pv-provenance, pv-fms
  • please avoid these as much as possible anyway
  • keep this in mind.

What about engineering domain specific groups/channels?

  • There should be no need for those in most cases. Just start threads in #engineering.
  • If you feel the need to create a dedicated channel. Please use naming convention dev-domain-name for example: dev-security, dev-mobile
  • keep this in mind.

What if I need to share a channel externally?

  • NEVER share any channel externally without express approval of your manager, always confirm first on #help-slack.
  • If you have to create one use naming convention - ext-purpose for ex: ext-agri-bd.
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