I'm Si. This is my readme. It tries to summarise my role at ASOS and what it might mean to you.
This README is intended to explain who I am, what I do and what you can expect from me at ASOS.
It includes a brief overview of my profile, responsibilities, my principles and values, 121’s and anything else I deem necessary to share. (Side note: I do tend to suffer from TMI at times).
The expected audience are new starters but not exclusively - it can be referred to by direct reports, peers and seniors to hold me accountable.
In the true nature of transparency and sharing, I’ve open-sourced this in Git with some geeky Markdown. This way all the change history is available along with the ability for shared modifications. Plus I get to stretch my tech skills beyond Yet-Another-Office-Doc. You might also notice I like lists.
- I’m Si Jobling (aka SimonJ on internal comms) and I work in the Web Platform, mostly focused on My Account.
- My official title is “Agile Delivery Manager”, which roughly equates to
(isScrummaster || isFlowmaster || isAgileCoach) && isLineManager - I started ASOS as a UI Engineer back in 2013 when there were just a handful of us. I tend to understand mostly what’s going on with the applications but my coding skills are dwindling (see above).
- I've been around having worked previously on Content Platform, Checkout & Optimisation Testing (aka MVT) so I know quite a few people. Feel free to ask me for guidance.
- I’m normally called a “Northerner” or “Brummie” as I travel from beyond Watford and originate from the Birmingham office. I am neither.
- I’m an early bird and tend to be in the office around 8.15am. Late afternoon meetings are not ideal as I want to get home to my family.
- I’m a little bit OCD (it’s hereditary). I’m quick to highlight typos and grammar - don’t hate me, just embrace it. I also like to have accurate data - make sure our project trackers and calendars are up-to-date!
- Similarly, I hate unread counters. I try to find zen with Inbox Zero and always read Slack messages. If I’ve missed your comms, you have the right to poke me with a reminder.
- I’m often seen as the “good cop”. I tend to focus on people’s strengths or try to understand their weaknesses. Please don’t abuse this.
- I have a history of being the social committee, often organising group and community events to create platforms for speaking. I will probably encourage you to take part.
As an ADM, I have a specific role to play at ASOS which I believe combines the following:
- Facilitation of team delivery including the relief of any blockers
- Coaching team and direct reports to be better
- Encourage open and diplomatic communication internally and externally
- Communicate with key stakeholders about anything that is relevant, warts and all.
- Collaboration is key Despite the silos we all work in, I always encourage people to work across teams and platforms. I’m not a hero-worshipper (even though I will recognise and appreciate the occasional moment of individual effort).
- Face to face > Comms Don’t rely on emails, instant messaging or any other digital form of communication to get an answer; get off your chair and find people to speak to them directly. It always yields a more useful and quicker response which can be followed up by some form of confirmation.
- JFDI or GSD Endeavour to deliver sooner rather than gold-plate your solution. The faster you get something live, the quicker you can iterate. That doesn’t mean to ship bugs though; follow the rule books to make sure you have covered all the known scenarios and work with others to ensure you're confident (see above).
- Nothing is set in stone As much as I love a process, I’m always open to suggestions for improvement. Same goes for documentation. I rarely print anything out (why waste a tree?) so it’s completely plausible to make changes. In fact, if there are any living documents, make sure they’re reviewed on a regular basis to ensure accuracy. Hitting the delete button is OK.
- Be constructive with your feedback Whilst we all love a bit of positive affirmation, it’s also human nature to focus on the negatives. If doing this, try to be constructive and offer a suggestion or open the discussion to coach out some options with clear actions.
This is your chance to talk to me about anything you want to highlight. Please don’t be shy - apparently I’m a good listener (I’m a Cancerian if you’re into that horoscope mumbo jumbo). Everything you tell me is confidential unless we agree otherwise so it’s a safe environment for us to talk.
I like to focus on your personal development and wellbeing. We will often refer to your objectives. Make sure you’re familiar with yours and regularly reflecting.
Occasionally, we’ll “talk shop” such as projects, teams and deliveries. This will only be short though and an opportunity for me to encourage you to push yourself.
Be prepared for our chats. Make a note of things you want to bring to the table. However, if it’s urgent, don’t wait; just ask me for a quick chat (a Slack message is an easy prompt) and I’ll find 10-15 minutes for you.
As mentioned previously, I’m a fan of constructive feedback. If I’m doing something you’re not happy with or think I could improve on, tell me. Face to face might be difficult for some situations so send me a message but I’d obviously prefer a chat if possible.
With this open transparent readme, feel free to raise a pull-request or add a comment to understand it further. Even challenge it - if it’s not clear or contentious, I’d like to address it.