How we work in Gizra
By David Hernández Ruiz
I am David Hernández (@David_Baltha)
I write code
and I plug cables
Why this session
Story time
My first day at work
The Gizra Way Definitive Guide
This book is the definitive guide to the Gizra Way, and it tries to encapsulate both the technical aspects and our culture.
The idea is a place for every Gizra employee to go - to better understand what is expected of them and the processes that encapsulate that. To effectively do this, we document only processes that have been tested and work. We try our best to cut out fluff and give the bottom line.
Even though this guide is public to the entire world, we are not afraid of exposing our unpleasant mistakes, or touch on sensitive subjects. Actually, we like it that way because it is also part of the Gizra Way - that slight uncomfortable feeling means we are challenging ourselves. We found that we learn and improve way better and way faster once we are outside of our comfort zone, and share our experiences with others.
Introduction from The Gizra Way page ( http://thegizraway.com )
Fast forward a year
I had a meeting with Rachel
She asked me:
What is "The Gizra Way"?
I answered:
I don't know
Present day
I asked the team how they apply it on their daily job
As I do not know what
"The Gizra Way" is...
Let's meet the team:
Well, part of it
You already met Rachel
She does Business Strategy and Development.
Mostly near Tel Aviv. Sometimes USA
Use value driven googles in everything I do - like the blog about how we decide what to develop, it is the same with every process I decide to invest.
You probably know Amitai
He is the CTO
and one of the bosses
Haifa
I try to get people out of their comfort zone, and push them a bit to better solutions - "There must be a better way", and "what's the essence" as our guide lines
Liat
She is the UX/UI specialist
North of Israel
Recommend the client to develop only what is necessary and to give up features that do not serve his business goals.
Noam (sorry, no picture)
He is an Account/Project manager
Jerusalem
Timebox == Budget
Efrat
The Executive director
Jerusalem
When everything is on fire, always find the essence and deal with it first
Aron
He is a Developer and Team Leader
Budapest
Developers tend to overvalue individual achievement, but external help can speed up the things significantly and can lead to a better result
Orit
HR and Operations Director
Tel Aviv
Always try to do things better, learn from the mistakes and share with the colleagues the lessons learnt
Do you see the similarities?
Focus on value
Our highest priority is to satisfy the customer
through early and continuous delivery
of valuable software.
1st principle of the Agile Manifest
Transparency
Business people and developers must work
together daily throughout the project.
4th principle
Communication
The most efficient and effective method of
conveying information to and within a development
team is face-to-face conversation.
6th principle
Timeboxes
Agile processes promote sustainable development.
The sponsors, developers, and users should be able
to maintain a constant pace indefinitely.
8th principle
Leaving the comfort zone
Continuous attention to technical excellence
and good design enhances agility.
9th principle
Simplicity
Simplicity--the art of maximizing the amount
of work not done--is essential.
10th principle
Question what you do
At regular intervals, the team reflects on how
to become more effective, then tunes and adjusts
its behavior accordingly.
12th principle