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REINVENTING YOUR COMPANY WITHOUT REINVENTING THE WHEEL

REINVENTING YOUR COMPANY WITHOUT REINVENTING THE WHEEL. Brian D. Krueger – Producer Owen Brand – Tools Development Manager David Burton – Programming Production Manager Factor 5, LLC. brian.krueger@factor5.com owen.brand@factor5.com david.burton@factor5.com. This is a huge topic!.

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REINVENTING YOUR COMPANY WITHOUT REINVENTING THE WHEEL

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  1. REINVENTING YOUR COMPANYWITHOUT REINVENTING THE WHEEL Brian D. Krueger – Producer Owen Brand – Tools Development Manager David Burton – Programming Production Manager Factor 5, LLC brian.krueger@factor5.comowen.brand@factor5.comdavid.burton@factor5.com

  2. This is a huge topic! Or: Krueger’s Nightmares

  3. Team Sizes AndBudgets ThroughThe Generations

  4. Team Sizes and Budgets

  5. Team Sizes and Budgets

  6. Team Sizes and Budgets

  7. Team Sizes and Budgets

  8. Team Sizes and Budgets

  9. Team Sizes and Budgets Geometric expansion of project complexity & staff

  10. Some Reasons Why

  11. ART

  12. More People Means… Better Tools Are Needed Which means even more people! …and we haven’t even mentioned I.T., Q.A., administrative... Yet.

  13. More People Means… More Furniture and Computers More Space $!$!$!$

  14. “LAIR” – The Bad News As a single project, “LAIR” is VERY expensive! ($23M-$25M)

  15. “LAIR” – The Good News Core people do work that can apply to more than one project.

  16. “LAIR” – The Good News Core team effort supportsmultiple projects

  17. “LAIR” – The Good News Core costs split betweenmultiple projects

  18. And So On…

  19. Multiple Game ProjectsMake Budgets More Sane All Core Costs In Each Game (1 game at a time):Project 1: $23M-$25MProject 2: $23M-$25M Core Costs Split Between Games (same time):Project 1: $17M-$20MProject 2: $17M-$20M Publishers would prefer not to spend the extra $10M!

  20. Company Infrastructure • More projects => more people => Management, Production, IT, QA, HR • Reporting Structures / Hierarchy • Define all roles • Put people in lead roles because of skill, not seniority • May have to have “old timers” working “under” new hires • One person can’t report to 3 senior people anymore • Specialization: More complex projects mean that people will not be able to jump between disciplines as much • Senior staff must make room, delegate, give up on micromanagement Requires MANAGEMENT BUY-IN! • Team structure • Cells? • Departments? • Where does everyone sit?

  21. Communication • Decision making process • Company Strategy & Policies • Owners = Management? • Form a team of trusted decision makers • Daily decisions • Get the right people in the room, but not too many people: • Democracy no longer works: You can’t fit everyone in a room! • Emailing a question to a large group: crickets! • Who are the right people: Point people • They own and drive an issue to completion • Should be the first person questions are sent to

  22. Communication • Meetings • You’ll have more meetings. Get used to it • Your lead programmer may spend 20 hours a week in a meeting • Not much time left for programming • Relates back to defining roles • With so many meetings, making them productive is essential • Communicate in advance of the meeting • Action items, agendas, meeting goals, • Better scheduling • Management staff may require personal organizers, because meetings are back to back in different locations • Connect them to Outlook or whatever you use

  23. Communication • Tracking Progress • Don’t let issues get lost in the email abyss • Get an issue tracking database that works for you • Get a wiki or some sort of document server to share communication

  24. Culture • Turnover will increase, you can’t keep “small company feel” with 100+ employees. • Cliques form • Hiring multiple people from same former employer is a potential problem if cultures clash • New people will be different from the old ones • Fiefdoms will arise • Company events • Cost more time • Cost more money

  25. Productivity • Next Gen: more data! • Consider more data-driven approaches to avoid programmer bottlenecks • Automated build machines • Data sizes are HUGE • Build times are LONG • Next Gen development costs more • Mythical man month • QA • Complexity slows everything down • Documentation • Interviews • Performance reviews • More users = more bulletproof code needed, Especially in your tools • Training

  26. Hiring This is not an easy thing to do! 3 Pieces of Advice:- Hire Recruitment / HR staff Find a good immigration Lawyer Always hire the right people - not necessarily the best people

  27. Why is it So Hard to find people? • Bigger Teams, Need more people • The average ‘time in the industry’ is declining • Everyone needs more people • There is always someone who will offer a candidate more.

  28. So what do I do? • Improve your company’s presence • Talk to the agencies • Don’t underestimate the contacts of your existing staff • Offer them incentives • Be prepared to train people on the job

  29. That makes sense, so any other advice? • Never underestimate your hiring budget • Travel Expenses for interviews • Visas • Finders fees • Lost time due to • Training • Hiring / Interviewing • Moving

  30. Physical Considerations • Little things get worse with more staff • Cleaning • Dishwashers • Coffee Makers • Catering – time/effort/costs

  31. And don’t forget • More restrooms • More Parking • Overhead costs • Power • Network infrastructure • Furniture

  32. And of course - legal requirements • Every country / state has these – examples ? • Sexual Harassment Training for all managers • Pay must be done fortnightly • You must provide disabled access

  33. Ah, our office is not big enough • Do I remodel/expand or move? • Moving is only viable when your lease is up • and that is never at a good time. • Construction is • Slow • Noisy • Could open the door to more work due to newer building regulations

  34. Conclusion: Know Your Limits • Outsource / Partner where you can • Middleware • Publisher Resources

  35. Conclusion:Know Your Limits • Delays will have larger impact • So will mistakes • Task tracking becomes more important • Hire adequate production staff • I.T. can be a real bottleneck • Plan I.T. hires in advance of other new hires – duh.

  36. Conclusion:Know Your Limits • Fallback Plans • What if hiring doesn’t keep the scheduled pace? • What if construction doesn’t happen on time?

  37. Q & A Recommended Reading: Feiner, Michael – The Feiner Points Of Leadership DeMarco, Tom & Lister, Timothy – Peopleware Brooks, Frederick – The Mythical Man-Month Herbold, Robert – The Fiefdom Syndrome Bethke, Erik – Game Development and Production

  38. APPENDIX: The whole darn thing Hiring • Hire a recuiter early • Hire HR people early • Consider HR help from outside companies like Paychex • How many I.T. people will it take to support the staff at any given time? • Little things that get worse with more people • Dishwasher • Cleaning • Coffee maker • Hiring is expensive! • Competition is fierce these days • Travel expenses • Visas • Bonuses • Lost time • Hiring • Training • Moving • All + All - Planning The Expansion • Management Buy-In • At least 3 projects • Know Your Limitations • Outsource • Data Infrastructure • People Infrastructure • Middleware • Publisher Resources • Delays will have larger impact on larger organizations • So will mistakes • Task Tracking • Hire adequate production staff • Fallback plans • What if hiring doesn't keep the scheduled pace? • What if construction doesn't happen on time?

  39. APPENDIX: The whole darn thing Company Structure • Define all roles • Salary structure • May have to adjust salaries of old-timers • Career Paths • Put people in lead roles because of skill, not seniority • May have old-timers working under new hires • Set goals with employees • Specialization • More complex projects mean that people will not be able to jump between disciplines as much Physical Structure • Remodel or move? • Construction • Slow • Can we pay these people with milestone payments?  :-) • Noisy • May involve bringing facilities up to current code • Space • Power • Wiring • Furniture • Parking • Restrooms • Food • Critical mass (Some laws may apply that didn't before) • Paychecks twice per month • sexual harrassment training • Handbook • written policies!

  40. APPENDIX: The whole darn thing Culture changes • Turnover will increase • Less buy-in / garage mentatility • Cliques form • Hiring multiple people from same former employer • culture clash! • Life is not Star Trek: Voyager • New people will be different from old ones • Fiefdoms will arise • Company events • cost time • cost money Company Structure • Reporting Structures • Old structures must go away • One person cannot report to 3 senior people anymore • Senior staff must make room, delegate, give up on micromanagement • Remember, this requires MANAGEMENT BUY-IN! • David's Examples • Warthog • Lionhead • Factor 5 • Direct Democracy no longer works • Form a "Jedi Council" of trusted decision makers • Workflows • Who sits where? • Who owns what? • Point People • Team structure • Cells/Pods/Cabals? • Departments? • New pipelines will be needed

  41. APPENDIX: The whole darn thing Security • I.M. is a security risk • Consider internal IM • We use "jabber" • Some sensitive data must be available to subset of employees • Special network folders • Special version control depots • Secure ways to transfer data between publisher and outsource companies Communications • PUSH!! • wiki / web server • email • meetings • still never enough! • Improve meetings • Action items • Plan next meeting's agenda • + Set goals for the meeting • Better scheduling • Management staff may require personal organizers • Worth paying for! • Connect them to Outlook or whatever you use • You'll have more meetings • Get used to it! • Ownership • Assign point people • track specific tasks • questions • work with point person • don't send a question as email to a large group!

  42. APPENDIX: The whole darn thing • Complexity slows everything down • Documentation • Interviews • Performance Reviews • More users = more bulletproof code needed • Especially in your tools / datapath • Training • Next-Gen • Consider more data-driven approaches • Less programmer bottlenecks • Automated build machines • Data sizes are HUGE! • Build times are LONG! • Next gen development costs more • Get over your fear of these folks • QA • Marketing • Publishers • Get clear, written deliverables • Have a change request clause in your contracts

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