The Huge Gifts I Got Working in a High-Performance Work Environment — Frameworks
Perfection is not attainable, but if we chase perfection we can catch excellence. — Vince Lombardi
Background
Back in 2019, I am fortunate to be part of the launching of one of the largest virtual banks in Hong Kong. I learned loads of work efficiency and office survival tips that I wish I know earlier.
Office survival is never easy for anyone. And because of that, I have consolidated this list to share my findings!
In this series, I will break it down into 4 specific topics,
- Preparation
- Frameworks on Gathering Requirements
- Meeting Handling
- Email Handling
This article will focus on Frameworks on Gathering Requirements which is to address,
How do you know, what exactly you need to do?
If you are interested in the previous topic — Preparation, here is the link for it,
Introduction
When I was at an early age, I was a playful kid who doesn’t stick around with desks and books. There was an exam that hits me hard as I failed hard.
I told myself starting today, I will be putting at least 1 hour into studying!
I cleaned my desk, put my books on the table and…
I was lost
Even though I want to put the time into studying, I wouldn’t know how to begin it.
Afterwards, I start to pay attention and ask around how do my buddies study and I start to pick up on “Studying”
Studying resonates with work in many ways. We can be easily lost in what we should do in our project. It’s because we are unfamiliar with the tasks and goals. Thus, we have the stage of gathering requirements to resolve this.
Thus, I have prepared the points that I learned to share here.
- Know about your scenario and study it well (Reference 5W1H)
5W1H is an “easy to understand” framework for gathering requirements for our actions.
Without a proper understanding of the requirements, we will be acting instinctively.
- Who: Who are the parties involved. How did they behave in the company and why is that? If they are behaving like this, who can I portray them as
The goal is to identify the personalities we are dealing with. It gives a better preparation for what questions/obstacles we could be facing.
- When: When does this start and end? Why it's given this timeframe? Any urgency from this?
Timing is the essence. Most of the time when we work on tasks/projects, we need to be aware of how long this takes.
Overdue and completing early can result in many emotions. Don’t treat lightly on deadline. It is a promise and expectation to treat as sacred.
- Where: Where does this take place? Should I be staying in the office or working from home?
Make sure to fit yourself in and respect the work culture. Try to find the pattern and how co-workers behave. Sometimes even the director said it’s completely fine to work from home. But the reality is, everyone is back in the office. Thus, you might as well be back in the office until you find out the real answer.
- What: What is the current progress? What’s the story of this?
This is more on reconnaissance. If the project is progressing, don’t solely believe the project progression report.
Interview the co-workers and the clients. Listen to how they comment on the project. That’s the real project report and idea. Besides, you might find out something unexpected! (i.e. Rumors, Gossip, Friendships even!)
- Why: Why are we doing this? Why is this done in this way? Why can’t the client just accept the work?
The question is to focus on the objectives aka the deliverables. We deliver the tasks to someone. It could be our manager or the client most of the time. In order for our efforts don’t go to waste, we need to make sure the works are answering the questions. Without well-defined objectives, it could result in a waste of time and effort.
- How: How would you do it? How is it? How does this work?
How is the summary of 5W as it is the summary of the strategy? A lot of times, “How” interprets as the “Punchline”. The answer you would say when someone asks what’s this project about.
Takeaway on 5W1H
This serves as a fundamental direction on how to plan the upcoming project/plan. It is crucial for us to bear these answers when carrying out the tasks. Without them, it might be the same as following our instincts. And most of the time, it usually backfires on us.
2. Set a regular time to check in for feedback
Tasks and Deadlines usually reflect on the trust bound within.
Imagine a task that a manager assigned to me for carrying out in 1 day.
It shows the manager is confident in I can finish the task in 1 day (duh)
but also,
Something is holding the manager back on assigning 1+ day’s task to me. This most of the time shows the manager lack of confidence that I am able to finish those tasks.
Trust is built slowly and there is no shortcut that can buy the trust. Try to break down the assignments into pieces and report at a regular time. Shows the progression as well as your thoughts on the assignments. That is how to show our work style/thoughts. And better yet, to have a mutual understanding.
3. All requirements are welcome!
Markdown all the requirements and concerns/queries from everyone. Treat the requirements as a test for yourself on 5W1H. It questions and reinforces your direction on the project. They are inspirations from a perspective you might not anticipates.
4. Email/IMs with acknowledgement
Acknowledgement is crucial nowadays as most of the time we communicate via email or Instant messaging(IMs). It’s vital to remove the worry from the audience whether the message is well received or not.
It is a simple courtesy to let others know you are working on it/message received.
Summary
When we are spending time on something, we are throwing our time and sweat into it. We need to understand why does this worth all the trouble.
The tips serve as the fundamental or the “Guide for Dummies” on how to speak to ourselves on our actions.
Once the expectation is set, the execution will be as easy as following the tracks to the finish line.
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