posit::conf(2023)
The ‘I’ in Team
Peer-to-peer best practices for growing data science teams
Liz Roten
September 19, 2023
In the beginning…
We started off with a tiny data science team.
And by tiny, I mean 2 people.
The Incident
…how bad was the incident?
In the beginning, I wrote an R package for my org.
…how bad was the incident?
In the beginning, I wrote an R package for myself.
My colleague installed the update
… while they were writing a time sensitive report.
What went wrong?
- Inaccurate and inadequate documentation
- Lack of communication
- Mismatched priorities
Could my manager have prevented this?
No
There is an “I” in “Team”
Team: a group of individuals working together
You can shape your team by
- caring for your new team members
- seeing how you fit into your team, and
- changing how you work.
When you have a new colleague
Its your responsibility to bring them on board, too!
Peer onboarding
- Make the implicit explicit
- All knowledge is valid and valuable
- Document (aka, make life easier for your friends)
Make the implicit explicit
Don’t deny that water exists
- Everyone has their pet peeves and preferences.
- Every team has a culture.
- Don’t give your new coworker the task of defining water in addition to evaluating if the water is right for them.
Define your water
- What does your weekly schedule look like?
- What tools do you use daily? Why?
- What expectations does your work group have around email/message response times?
All knowledge is valid and valuable
No one is an empty vessel
All the knowledge the new person brings is valuable.
- No matter where they are coming from
- Even if it seems unrelated
Your knowledge it is not inherently superior.
Give your new colleague grace
- Patience will prove best.
- You are on probation, too!
- Don’t rely on catch-all assumptions: ask for specifics.
Document
(aka, make life easier for your friends)
Which comes first?
The bowl!
Documentation is the bowl
Data science is a creative field: there are many ways to solve a problem .
Embrace the diversity of opinion and experience.
Just remember to leave a trail for others to follow.
A matter of investment
- Invest in tools that encourage documentation and lower cognitive load.
- Invest in the time it takes to document/clean up/organize your work.
- Invest in strong social relationships.
Documentation == Communication
Good communication requires knowing your audience!
Work doesn’t always feel like work
- Schedule time to build connections and trust.
- Social gatherings (virtual or in person!) are just as valuable as focus time.
- Try making every other team meeting a casual hang out.
Ultimately…
There is an “I” in “Team”
- Teams are made up of individuals, and its not only the manager’s job to make it work.
- Onboarding is a unique and critical time.
- I’ve grown immensely from working with my colleagues.
Thank you
References
- Barbie Image copyright (©) Warner Bros. Pictures or related entities. Used for publicity and promotional purposes.
- David Foster Wallace 2005 Kenyon College commencement speech
- Cereal or milk?
- posit::conf(2023) art © Posit, PBC. 2023