XOP

eXperience Officer Protocol
v3.2

1
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Communication

The objective of communication is that the intent, message and emotion of the sender is well understood by the recipient. It is a task that requires a shared protocol between the two parties.
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Communication is the key to team-work. Team-work is a key to success. At EXP., we have established a few communication platforms that help catalyse our internal communications. They are used for different purposes in different settings.

A medium may function well for a particular purpose, but not for all situations. For example, being able to hold attachments maybe a strength to certain medium, while timeliness could be that of another. We have carefully chosen our communication tools specifically after considering these factors.

The medium is the message.

— Marshall McLuhan




1.1 Trello

Trello is a multi-purpose online Kanban tool.

Kanban is a project management method popularized by Toyota, fully put to test by projects such as the development of the successful Prius.

At EXP., we use Trello for many things, including but not limited to:
- Task Management
- Check-lists
- Directory
- Project Collaboration

Before we go deeper, please get an overview of the tool so we are on the same page with the terminology and concepts:

1.1.1 Responsibilities

As a collaboration tool, it is good to have clearly understood responsibilities, especially between team members and (product/project/location) managers.

Team
- Complete assigned tasks/projects with high quality + on time
- Make progress update as soon as available.
- Help your manager: it is YOUR responsibility to get the feedback/decision you need. You must schedule a time with your manager instead of just sending or @-tagging him/her and wait for the responses.

Manager
- Groom the board regularly
- Write briefs with expected outcome/deliverables/acceptance criteria
- Respond to @ tags as promptly as possible
- Validate cards regularly (at meetings)




1.1 Trello--> NOTION

We are currently in the process of migrating from Trello to Notion for our Kanban task-management, Project Management + Wiki functions. We shall be updating this page as soon as that structure is established.




1.2 Good'ol Email

Email is here to stay and foundational to the business world. It is always good to be overly courteous rather than impolite. At the same time, we try to communicate our forward-thinking, unorthodox brand through our writing. As such, we recommend a writing style mixing formality with humour, warmth and professionalism.

1.2.1 Email Signatures

Please refer to the Brand Code for email signatures guidelines.




1.3 Slack

Instant Messengers (IM) are more instant, more user-friend than emails. Slack is our default instant messenger at EXP.. Slack is our internal communication system, replacing most of the internal emails. Why Slack? One may ask, for there are a plethora of choices out there for IMs. Whatsapp, Line, WeChat, Telegram, to name just a few. Using Slack is not an accident. We use Slack for the following 3 main reasons:

1) It is work focused;
While some IMs may focus on personal, fun chat, they may not be as powerful for work related communications; For example, a single group/team may be having conversations on multiple topics. In those cases, a channel-less IM often experience chaos in those groups. With Slack, through Channels, Conversation and Chat, communications can be well organised by topics.

2) It is integration friendly;
Slack is probably the most integration friendly IM out there, meaning that other applications can react to messages sent within Slack if we so choose, or that events can trigger certain messages to be sent to Slack, making it a great assistance to real-time operations.

3) It is geographically agnostic;
While certain geographic region has a tendency for a particular IM (e.g. Line for Japan and Thailand, WeChat for China, Whatsapp for Hong Kong), EXP., as an international company that crosses boundary, we like the idea that Slack is universal in the sense that it is NOT the preferred personal IM for any locale.
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Before we go any deeper, please watch this overview video on Slack.

1.3.1 Download + Install

Each member of the EXP. team should have Slack installed on their work computer as well as their mobile phones. If you have not already done so, please head over to Slack.com/downloads and install Slack onto your devices now.

1.3.2 Notifications

In order for Slack to function as a real-time communication tool, team members must configure the notifications settings to: Direct messages, mentions & keywords. Team members must not be in Do Not Disturb mode during business hours, and are expected to response as promptly as possible.

In order to encourage work-life-social balance, team members are recommended to disable their notifications during off-hours and weekends. However, if an urgent notification is pushed through, please try your best to respond in a timely manner.

E.g.

1.3.2 Work spaces

For every XO, you'll be invited into 2 Slack Workspaces: X₀ and EXP.is;

  • You should see the X₀ workspace as our Office, where colleagues share internal information to drive the ship forward;
  • EXP.is as our Community-Hall, where we bring all our fans, friends and partners to grow our circle of supporters + influencers.

As a team member of EXP., you'd be present in both, one as a colleague, and one as a representative of our company!

1.3.3 channel Naming

To avoid the proliferation of channels, only Managers or above should open any new channels after having consulted with fellow colleagues. When doing so, only use '-' (dashes) for channel naming. Do NOT use '_' (underscore) except for the few default channels. If you want to know the reason read this.

Sub-channels
As Slack channels are alphabetically ordered, channels that fall under a major topic but becomes more specific, e.g. a specific project – should be named with the  prefix 'proj-'. Here are some of our predefined prefixes:

hk / jp- (regional specific channels)
prod- (product specific discussion. Discussions here should often be tied to a Trello board/list/card)
proj- (communication surround a specific project of reasonable scale that warrants a dedicated channel)

1.3.3 Learn more

You are encouraged to learn more about Slack and share your knowledge with your teammates!

Next:

2. Operation