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Building the Perfect Team

Building the Perfect Team. Michael Capps, Ph.D. President, Epic Games, Inc. Overview. Audience check What gives me the right… Defining success Hiring Rewards Saying Goodbye Critical Positions. Epic Games. Founded 16 years ago by CEO Tim Sweeney About 110 employees in Raleigh

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Building the Perfect Team

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  1. Building the Perfect Team Michael Capps, Ph.D. President, Epic Games, Inc.

  2. Overview • Audience check • What gives me the right… • Defining success • Hiring • Rewards • Saying Goodbye • Critical Positions

  3. Epic Games • Founded 16 years ago by CEO Tim Sweeney • About 110 employees in Raleigh • More in Utah, Warsaw, Shanghai • Early success with Jill of the Jungle, Epic Pinball, then Unreal • Licensing Unreal Engine since 1996, hundreds of games using • 2006 shipped Gears of War, 5M units and 30+ GOTY awards • Gears of War 2 comes soon: November 7th worldwide

  4. Leadership expert? • Not really… • I lead because I hate inefficiency • Or that which I perceive as inefficiency • Or really, when it’s not done how I’d do it • So I guess I lead because I simply hate following…

  5. Mike’s fascinating story • Socialization via Education 1976 - 2000 • America’s Army 2000 – 2002 • Scion Studios 2002 – 2004 • Epic Games 2004 – until I’m hit by a bus

  6. Visualize Success • What’s our end goal? • “Team dynamics” and “Culture” • Really, we want: • People to work harder than average • People to work hard on the same thing • Not in scope: • People to work hard on the right thing

  7. Visualize Success • In other words, we want a team with • Unity of purpose • Willingness to sacrifice for that purpose • This doesn’t mean ‘sacrifice your family’ • Rather ‘sacrifice enjoyable inefficiencies’

  8. Enjoyable Inefficiencies • Petty squabbling • Intolerance for failure • Territorial behavior • Random web browsing • Random ‘research projects’ • Tasks that look deceptively like progress but don’t help to ship games • Unreal Tournament during lunch • Unless you’re working on UT of course…

  9. Team case studies • Project Lowlife: • “get it running on almost anything” • America’s Army: • “keep a secret and shock the world” • Scion Studios: • “beat Epic at their own game”

  10. Team case studies • Epic Games • be the undisputed best in games and tech • Okay, so we think we did that. So now: • “Against the odds, stay on top!”

  11. Team case studies • Do you see the trend in these cultures? “MISSION: (Almost) Impossible”

  12. Believing in leadership • Your team needs to be confident in you • You don’t have to be perfect • you can’t be! • Earn their trust and they’ll support your decisions

  13. Believing in leadership • So if you’re going to screw up • Please do so with confidence • Panache even • Heck, blame your screwups on this talk • Or, if you’re making a game • Blame your engine middleware

  14. HiringDisclaimer: I am not an artist…

  15. …but I can hire them!

  16. Epic’s Hiring Process • Resume review by HR • Resume review by experts • Skills Test • HR phone call • Experts phone call(s) • Reference checking • On-site interview • Background investigation

  17. A good resume • Bad spelling is a pass • Programmers who don’t spell check probably don’t test their code • Artists who don’t spell check probably don’t ask peers to review their work

  18. A good portfolio • Should include only great work • if they send something weak, assume they don't know the difference • or they don't ask for advice from peers / mentors • Both mean “no-hire” • Look for crediting, clean presentation, etc.

  19. Demonstrate Passion • Good teams require passion • So we look for this first and foremost • What projects are they working on at home? • For junior hires: • Look for game focused internships or extracurricular activities • Best tests are outside of the classroom • Hobby projects, mods, etc. are king

  20. Skill test • As per Joel Spolsky: make them juggle • See how they take direction • No matter how perfect the results, we always send back for more • “I don’t take tests” • Don’t hire this guy • He’s probably too important to write input code or clean up LODs • Or any of the other stuff that ships games

  21. The on-site interview For artists: not for skills, just team fit For coders: technical interview and team fit What are we afraid of? • that they won’t work hard • or that they will bail on us • or that they are a jerk • or that they secretly want to be a designer

  22. Interview psychology • We look for people who: • Are nice and friendly, pass the elevator test • Are respectful of your team’s work • Show excitement about working there • Want to learn from your team

  23. Interview psychology • You want a team full of people who feel lucky to be here • You MUST turn down brilliant people who don’t fit your culture • Someday, your lead coder will get mad at you for passing on a brilliant jerk programmer • Tell him it’s my fault

  24. Hiring Strategy • This industry is startingly small • There are at most two degrees of separation between every game company in the world • So play nice with offer timing, other companies, etc. • You don’t get lots of chances to screw up, so use them wisely

  25. Environment is important

  26. Environment • Read Peopleware • Physical environment • Environment foments collaboration • Or more frequently, prevents it • Manage interruptions • Interruptions are surprisingly costly

  27. Environment • Team environment • Epic is game teams and engine team • Game teams: • Producer • Lead designer • Level designers and lead • Gameplay coders and lead • Artists and lead

  28. Rewarding Performance • Rewards are very dangerous • People will do what you reward them for • So much can go wrong: • Infinite defect methodology • Doing that which is noticed • Working when it’s noticed • Reward based on performance reviews!

  29. Reviewing Performance • Details of the epic process • Twice yearly • Leads and random peers • The Big Conversation • Epic’s review points • Quality and Attention to Detail • Creativity and Problem Solving • Communication and Teamwork • Work Ethic

  30. Reviewing Your Performance • 360-degree feedback • Climate surveys • HR one-on-ones • Compliments, Concerns, Criticism meetings • Lots of informal discussions, lunches, etc! • Managing by walking around isn’t just a cliché

  31. Saying Goodbye • Employee reviews aren’t always positive • Punishment and firing is critical to maintaining team trust • Nothing demotivates like working next to someone who isn’t working hard • Act carefully • Treat them like you’d want to be treated • Employees need to be confident that you won’t fire on a whim • Maybe they’re just on the wrong task?

  32. Saying Goodbye • Epic’s process • Disclaimer: rules on doing this legally are quite complex • Epic’s contracts are at-will • Having reviews is helpful • Initial informal discussion • Formal discussion with a performance plan

  33. Saying Goodbye • Epic Performance Plan • Written statement they must sign • Producer, discipline lead, and HR • Immediate, significant, and ongoing improvement • Short lifetime for review, usually 2 weeks • If it goes poorly, terminate • Otherwise repeat, increase interval, finish

  34. Saying Goodbye • I have roughly a 60% success rate… • But I’ve felt better 100% of the time • And I don’t work next to the guy • Be open and honest about termination • Tell the team immediately • His team shouldn’t be surprised! • Reassure team it was a long discussion

  35. Critical positions • The “Hit by a bus” bus is coming • What do you do?

  36. Critical positions • Find the most critical position • Figure how to make it (more) bus-proof • Repeat throughout the organization • Warning: if anyone is actually hit by a bus on your team, you will be the logical suspect

  37. Leadership and promotion • We usually have the luxury of time at Epic • So we test extensively under fire • “Responsibility without authority” • To lead this way, they must earn respect • Also makes promotions nice and smooth… • “Oh yeah? It’s about time …”

  38. Critical positions • You could be hit by a bus, too • Make yourself replaceable • Who are you grooming for your job? • You are be paid to create a sustainable organization • Not to keep yourself in a job for life

  39. Critical positions • Not all employers appreciate this, sadly • You usually must have a clear replacement before you can be promoted • And it’s polite to prep a replacement before you move out • So prep now before either opportunity knocks

  40. There is no trick to teams • Many necessary conditions for team gel • But no sufficient conditions • Make a lot of teams • Experiment with sub teams and ad hoc teams • Build a toolchest • Learn from others, it’s less painful • In the end, you’re training your gut

  41. There is no trick • Read everything • There is no perfect book for game production • Managing engineers is an art form with hundreds of books • Producers must manage artists at the same time… • Steal from books – Good to Great, Drucker, Peopleware, Slack, Flow, Wisdom of Teams, etc.

  42. In conclusion • Success comes from motivated teams • Teams can come from good luck • But they’re more likely to come from diligent culture planning • Hire the right people • Reward them • Firmly remove wrong people • Watch your critical positions • And you’ll have the team you need

  43. Questions?

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