As a remote development company, it is vital that everyone works according to the same rules and principles. Tunga’s values are strength, independence & joy. Our mission is to create opportunities for people to take control of their own destiny. In other words, we prefer to rely on the self responsibility of our team than to rely on rules.
The consequence is that: 1) these rules can change & improve. Please provide input where you deem it necessary. 2) you can deviate from the rules as long as you have a good reason for it and inform your Project Manager or Talent Manager about it (i.e. your deviation from the rules is a conscious decision because the situation requires something else).
That aside, these rules are here to help us all be great professionals and become successful as a company. Therefore, they are very important. Breaking them will have consequences.
a) You are required to be *online* during office hours. Your management, your team members and if applicable the client should always be able to reach you during office hours.
b) Should you be offline longer than 1 hour (a meeting, in traffic, etc) you will notify your team, and if applicable your PM and the client in advance of the duration of and the reason for being offline, through a designated channel in Slack.
c) As long as you’re online (during office hours) you will reply to any internal or client communication request (a call, a Slack message, etc) within 2 hours.
d) Always be on time for meetings, whether online or offline. As soon as you foresee you will be running late, alert your colleagues and the client through a designated channel in Slack.
e) Before an online meeting or call, especially with a client, make sure your internet and microphone work properly.
f) If you anticipate or have doubts that you will not meet any deadline, please inform the PM, Tunga, and the client promptly (within 2 hours of reaching the conclusion).
g) Make sure you fill your progress report daily as it drops in your email. It is paramount to customer satisfaction that the client is updated often and timely.
h) You cannot be punished by anyone on Tunga for making a mistake. However, trying to cover up for your mistake (or someone else’s) is considered breaking the most important rule: always be transparent!
a) Before you move anything to the ‘ready for testing’ phase (either for the PM or the client), you have to make absolutely sure you thoroughly test every feature.
b) PM’s are required to adhere to the QA procedures as set out in the project proposal / scoping documents. Shipping code to a client without having followed the proper QA procedure is not allowed unless it has been explicitly allowed by Tunga management.
c) You do everything in your power to make the client happy. The client is asked to rate your work regularly. If a client rates your work unsatisfactory, you will receive a warning.
a) If you make agreements with clients/ stakeholders, always make sure you confirm those agreements in writing. No written confirmation = no agreement.
b) You are not allowed to exceed the officially estimated amount of hours for a task or project unless you have the explicit approval of the Project Manager. Unless explicitly agreed otherwise, hours exceeding the estimate will not be paid to you. If you anticipate exceeding the estimated hours for a task or project you are obliged to inform your Project Manager within 2 hours of coming to this conclusion.
c) In general, during a project, you will stay within the scope and timing of as agreed with the client in the scoping document or project estimate. In case there is a change of scope, the Project Manager is required to update the project scope & planning and share it with the client, the team and all other relevant stakeholders within 48 hours upon updating.
d) If you’re asked to do something you consider extra work or out of scope, always confirm this to the Project Manager and get written confirmation.
e) Tunga only works by the grace of the people working for Tunga. Therefore you are required to always mention and/or provide alternatives for any inefficiencies or liabilities you may encounter while working for Tunga.
f) When you commit to working for Tunga, you are required to stick to your commitments. If for some reason you cannot complete the assignment, you notify the respective project manager as soon as possible. As a rule, the notice period for a project is two weeks, and for a dedicated developer is 4 weeks.
a) Don’t assume, but verify. If any feature is not clear to you, ask your co-developer or the PM as soon as possible. The sooner you solve the unclarity of the feature, the better.
b) Don’t muddle along, but cooperate. Avoid trying to solve an issue on your own while the answer is one Slack message away.
c) Underpromise and overdeliver. It’s always better to deliver early, before the actual deadlines, than waiting until the last minute. This might help you resolve some issues already or make things more clear for you to create better work.
d) Communicate SMART. Always make sure that 1) it is clear what you expect, 2) when you expect it and 3) who you think is responsible for it. (WRONG: “Can someone please help me with estimate XYZ?”. RIGHT: “Hey John, I need some help. Do you have time today to make the planning of estimate XYZ? If yes, please let me know your ETA, I need it before EOD.”)
e) There is no such thing as over communicating.It’s better to communicate too much – although we don’t need to know about what you had for breakfast per se – than too little. Communicating a lot can help prevent things from escalating.
f) Be professional. Propose suitable tools required to do your job (including servers/ architecture) to the client early or in the middle of the project timeline. If the client insists on particular tools/server/architecture, inform him of the consequences; Tunga cannot be held accountable. Also, if the work process is hindering you to perform in a professional matter, say so and seek a solution together.
g) Be proactive. Think about what problems or obstacles may arise and solve them preemptively. Don’t wait for the shit to hit the fan. Even if it’s technically not your role or responsibility.