What is Razroo Research
For now, it's that Razroo gives Thursday afternoons to our Engineering talent to research and work on whatever subject they would like to. We have found research to be more meaningful when it's an actual task the company can integrate into the product as well. So we do that as well, but by all means, research is intended for research and not product building.
Razroo - Highly Intelligent Product
Razroo is a highly intelligent product. Good architecture / software prowess can bring 100x returns. We are also a think tank as a product and org. So it has immediate value to the org.
Engagement
Many times software engineers are boxed into a particular sub section of programming. It makes work less engaging and giving people the ability to explore new topics keeps the work engaging and fresh.
Leveling Up - During Company Time
We want to allow people to explore new areas of software that they are interested in during company time.
Attracts Great Talent
Who wouldn't want to work at a company that gives them Thursday afternoons to research if they want? So naturally it allows it to attract greater talent, which once again is highly valuable for a highly intelligent product such as Razroo.
Produces a Scarce Free Environment
By shifting emphasis to quality and knowledge, the sort of products the company produces follow suit. This sort of culture naturally produces an environment of higher quality. Higher quality means better work/life balance, more purpose in our day to day, and happier users.
Cause Product To Re-Think What's Possible
Creating a culture rich in research, also makes us re-think the sort of products we can build. It challenges product owners to think about, "Ok, how can we make this product technically advanced, so that it warrants research". We are a strong believer in Razroo in a customer-centric focus on engineering, but it does promote an additional focus on innovation. This is good, for an innovation-driven industry.
Research Is Structured
Research is structured. Individuals get to identify:
- A new field of software that they want to try out.
- A side of software they would like to explore
- A particular technology they would like to play around with
They are then assigned tickets that are integrating with the current sprint that are labeled as research.
Community Amplifies Research
Razroo is a community. Other engineers within the organization are there to help you on your day to research. Feel free to ask as if you were in a public library, where talking is allowed, at the same table, working on the same group project.
Research Integrated With Agile Workflow
- Research is integrated with Agile Workflow.
- Epics are created for individual subjects such as Machine Learning or Blockchain.
- Stories are added to Epics
- On Research days those tickets can be picked up for people who are interested in working on it.
Not Meant for Software Engineering I and Software Engineering II at times
Junior Engineers and Mid-Level engineers at times, need focus in their day to day with the task at hands. While research is offered at this point in their career, at times, research is perhaps better geared towards the task at hand.
An Option - Minimum of 2 Afternoons per month
Sometimes members of the team would prefer to continue the advancement of the product:
- Either due to the engaging nature of the ticket
- Particular stage of their career
Not being something that particularly interests then
By all means, you are encouraged to do what you feel most comfortable with. We do ask for a minimum of 2 afternoons of research a month in order to keep culture consistent across the company. However, research is on the table and we will be reminding you about it from time to time!
Research - Own Kanban Board and One Month Sprint
Research has it's own Kanban board so it can live outside of the regular lifecycle of product development. Sprints are 1 month as a head nod to research to be more relaxed and emphasis being on quality. The following is a screenshot of our first official Razroo Research 1-month sprint.
