Needs Collaboration Queue - Shared View and Workflow 🤝
Problem Statement
The problem this proposal is trying to address is that "it's too hard for ticket assignees to get help when they need it because nobody else can see their assigned tickets". Another problem this proposal would solve is "SEs skip tickets outside their comfort zone because they feel it's too hard to get help if/when they need it".
What is the problem?
- It's too difficult for ticket assignees to get help when they need it.
- Requesting help in Slack has become increasingly ineffective.
- Assigning oneself to a ticket ensures that nobody else will see it, which adds a barrier to organic collaboration and proactive knowledge sharing
- SEs skip tickets outside their comfort zone because they feel it's too hard to get help if/when they need it
Hypothesis: Removing assigned tickets from shared ZD views reduced organic collaboration and proactive knowledge sharing among Support team members.
Why is this a problem?
- SEs skip tickets or reply but don't assign tickets outside their comfort zone because they feel it's too hard to get help if/when they need it
- Requesting help and not receiving it is dispiriting, leads to feelings of isolation and helplessness
- Requesting help in Slack has become an increasingly _in_effective way to get help on a ticket
- Knowledge sharing is a team force multiplier on a Support team where nobody knows everything and everybody experiences imposter syndrome
- We know we must rely on others for the expertise they have that we don't.
- Visibility into tickets with assignees who need assistance can facilitate collaboration and help us deliver better results for our customers and our team.
Yeah, the support team only knows everything together. Like database sharding but people.
😂 - @kchappell
Proposal
"Needs Collaboration" shared ZD view & workflow as a mechanism to facilitate collaboration on tricky tickets within the ticket assignment model.
🤝
Needs Collaboration Workflow Ticket Assignee Workflow
- ticket assignee gets stuck, wants second set of eyes
- adds
needs_collaboration
label - ticket assignee gets help from others (via pairing session, internal notes, slack thread)
- assignee removes the
needs_collaboration
label once sufficient assistance has been obtained
Support Team Workflow
- SEs see ZD view called "Needs Collaboration" in ZD
- SEs check this queue when caught up on their assigned tickets
- if SE sees the opportunity to help in collaboration queue, they help out via internal note (async) or initiate a pairing session & Slack thread (sync)
This workflow will be a shared responsibility. The expectation is that all SEs check the view and contribute by collaborating with others according to their ability and capacity. This view/workflow would have lower priority that FRT on crew day + my assigned tickets.
The goal is to provide some insight into tickets where ticket assignees need help to move the ticket forward to those who have time/capacity to help teammates who are stuck.
👁
Needs Collaboration View This view would include all tickets with needs_collaboration
label applied, sorted by NRT breach.
This shared view would capture tickets where the assignee requested help by adding the needs_collaboration
label.
DRI
@greg will act as the Support Engineer DRI for this issue.
This change itself needs collaboration
Required Resources
-
👍 and green-light🚦 from Support Managers and Senior Support Managers - time/attention/testing/TLC from Support Ops
- alignment that organic collaboration can help deliver better customer results and proactive knowledge sharing can improve our teams' resiliency
Potential Roadblocks/Things to consider
Without the required resources above :point-up:, this plane will never leave the ground.
Desired Outcome
- SEs organically and proactively help with teammates that would like a second set of eyes
- SEs are more confident in taking assignment of tickets in areas outside their comfort zone
- Subject-Matter Experts, Seniors, Stable Counterparts et al. can find opportunities to share knowledge with teammates less familiar/comfortable with a particular area of our product
- Increase collaboration and knowledge sharing experienced SEs and those still onboarding or training
- Better facilitate multiple SEs working together on tricky or high-touch/high-priority tickets
What does success look like?
See desired outcomes above
How do we measure success?
Success indicators may include:
Metrics
- Increase in pairing sessions
- Decrease in FRT breaches (crew members more confident in taking tickets if they can act to have others will be looking at it as an opportunity to help)
- Decrease in NRT breaches
- Increase in ticket assignment after first reply (for non HPAR tickets)
- Improved employee retention
Things we're not measuring
- Decrease in unacknowledged requests for help on tickets in Slack
- Improved Employee satisfaction
- Increased morale and sense of camaraderie on global team - encourage SEs feeling part of a team with shared goals vs. isolated individuals (especially important when working on an all-remote team)
- Improved Scalability - knowledge sharing is paying it forward, sequestering knowledge helpful to others can lead to debt and duplicated work
Where would future feedback go?
Feedback follow-up issue and/or MRs with future iterations.
Related Issues/MRs/Epics/Tickets
- #3691 (closed)
- #3694 (closed)
- https://gitlab.com/gitlab-com/support/support-team-meta/-/issues/3707
- #3568 (closed)
- &141
Terminology
- ZD - ZenDesk
- SE - Support Engineer (anyone with "Support Engineer" in their job title)
- DRI - Directly Responsible Individual
- organic collaboration - collaboration that occurs naturally, without force or distress
FAQ
Ask questions in comments below and I'll do my best to answer and address them here.
Isn't Needs Collaboration Queue just another "Hot Queue"?
Needs Collaboration Queue is not a "Hot Queue". It is a way for ticket assignees who feel stuck to indicate that they'd like need help on a particular ticket, and a way for SEs caught up on their tickets to find opportunities to work together and lend a helping hand to their teammates.
Needs Collaboration Queue should actually increase Ticket Assignment by giving SEs more confidence in taking assignment of tickets outside their comfort zone.
Who would be responsible for sending replies on tickets in Needs Collaboration Queue?
Tickets in Needs Collaboration Queue would still have a ticket assignee as de-facto DRI for next replies.
Whose responsibility is it to assist with tickets in the Needs Collaboration Queue?
Any/all SEs who are caught up on their work and seeking opportunities to help others. It's a shared responsibility.