🕵️‍♀️Observer Handbook

In Tech Fleet, an observer is someone who attends project meetings to observe, witness, or watch what is happening. You may be invited to participate in meeting activities or ask questions, but it is also fine to quietly watch and learn.

What are the benefits to being an Observer?

• Gaining an understanding of Agile UX methods.

• Watching cross-functional teamwork across research, design, product management, and development.

• Understanding the roles of leads and apprentices.

• Spending less time and energy than if you were an apprentice.

• Gaining name recognition, if you attend meetings regularly. (So if I project needs to suddenly fill a role, you could be called on!)

Is “observer” the same as “shadower”?

Yes! The two are used interchangeably, though we are moving towards using “observer” more exclusively.

What projects can I "observe"?

You are welcome to join any live project meetings that are happening. You do not need permission to join any meetings. Simply go to the Tech Fleet Web Calendar for meeting links.

To see which projects are currently live, head to the Current and Upcoming Openings page in the user guide and scroll down to the "Live Projects" section. In that section you can see the current projects and direct links to their team channels. The calling all shadowers channel in Slack is a general channel where project teams post their daily meetings across all projects. Teams also have dedicated shadower channels that allow you to dedicate yourself as an observer to one team and communicate with the team in Slack. Check out the "Live Projects" section in the user guide for team shadower channels.

What is the proper etiquette for observing in a meeting?

When you join a meeting, someone from the team may or may not say hello to you, so be prepared to turn on your mic to say hello back, or just to listen quietly if the team is in the middle of work. It's up to you whether you turn your camera on or not.

The more you observe, the more you will gain a sense of how best to participate in meetings. In general, you want to make sure that you are giving more to the project than you are taking.

So, if you want to ask a question or share an idea, you might ask yourself whether speaking up could be good for the project or team. It doesn’t need to be an amazing idea to be shared, so don’t be shy! Your voice is most definitely welcomed.

However, if it doesn’t seem like a good time to speak up during the meeting (meeting agendas are often quite busy) you can also wait and post in the team’s Slack channel after the meeting.

How often should I come to meetings?

As often as you’d like. Observing is self-managed by you. You can join shadower channels in Slack to pair up with others who are observing, and check the #calling-all-shadowers channel for daily updates on meetings happening in Tech Fleet programs.

You may want to observe a single project from start to finish, or you may want to hop around from project to project, or from team to team. Each project has its own shadowers channel. Ask someone for access in the project's "general" Slack channel.

If you want to get involved in the project, it’s best to attend as many meetings as possible, so that you have context. You can also look in the project’s Slack channels and Notion page to get a better understanding.

Will it be weird if I just show up in a meeting?

No. All teams expect that observers will show up, unannounced, at any time. Depending on what is happening in the meeting, they may welcome you or ask you a question, so be prepared to turn your microphone on to answer. But you also might just slip into the meeting quietly while the team is working, and that is normal, too. Just make sure to turn your mic off when you’re not speaking.

Where can I find the meetings?

Look on the Tech Fleet Web Calendar where you will find all of the meetings that are open to observers. The beginning of the event name will tell you what project the meeting is for, and the end of the event name will tell you the team that is meeting or the purpose of the meeting.

The meeting event will include a link to a video call. If you see a Vowel, Zoom, or other video call platform link, that will be your link to the call. If you don’t see a non-Meet call link, then the meeting will be on Google Meet.

Who do I talk to if I have questions?

Ask on Slack! Depending on your question, you may want to post in #calling-all-shadowers, #general, or #welcome-buddy-up. To understand the purpose of a Slack channel, look for the channel topic at the top of your screen, and also check for pinned posts.