Deadline Forecast Condition Alert (DEFCON) 2024

Version 5.0 [Effective 1st Jan 2024]

Content

1. Introduction
2. DEFCON Alerts

2a. DEFCON 1

2b. DEFCON 2

2c. DEFCON 3

2e. DEFCON Q

3. Raising a DEFCON

4. Aftermath of raising and neglecting DEFCON

4a. In Case a DEFCON Is Raised

4b. In Case a DEFCON Is Not Raised

5. Management Duties

6. DEFCONs link to Performance Appraisal

7. Guidelines for the Policy Department

7a. DEFCON Policy Refinement

7b. Problems that are being solved using the updated system

7c. Point Allocation and Reduction System

1. Introduction

Welcome to DEFCON (Deadline Forecast Condition) Alerts, your guide to proactive project deadline management. In our community, we prioritize timely project completion and problem-solving. Should any member sense a project lagging or encountering unforeseen hurdles potentially delaying its progress, the DEFCON levels come into play. These levels serve as a structured approach to assess and address project challenges.

Objective: To ensure a smooth flow of information and to minimize ambiguity in speech, we’re implementing an alert system just for deadlines. ANYONE in the community can bring it up.

To understand and solve the workload distribution and to gather resources/expertise beforehand so that the project is completed on time.

Each DEFCON level is strategically designed to manage project hurdles effectively while ensuring accountability and rewarding proactive contributions. Remember, timely alerting of DEFCON levels plays a crucial role in optimizing project outcomes.

2. DEFCON (Deadline Forecast Condition) Alerts

If any community member feels that a project is lagging speed, or has unexpected issues which can delay the project, then one can raise DEFCON as suitable according to the situation. The DEFCON levels are as follows:

2a. DEFCON 1:

DEFCON 1 can be raised when the Amount of workload that will be incomplete is 10% and/or the expertise to solve is available within the same team.

If DEFCON 1 is raised by the CL then they must submit a detailed analysis of the Plan of Action to the employer, which should contain:

• What will be required for task completion
• List down the alternatives that have been taken to avoid future delay

Note:

1. The person from the same team who offered help for the task will be awarded 50 extra points.
2. DEFCON 1 should be raised before 3–5 working days of the deadline.

2b. DEFCON 2:

DEFCON 2 might be raised if either 30% of the workload remains unfinished and/or if the necessary expertise to address the issues is present within the company but outside the team.

To raise DEFCON 2 one has to submit an Evidence-based query so that we can minimize the chances of raising DEFCON 3

Note:

1. The person from the other team who offered help for the task will be awarded 100 extra points.
2. DEFCON 2 should be raised before 5–10 working days of the deadline.

2c. DEFCON 3:

DEFCON 3 can be raised when 50 % of the workload will be incomplete and/or the expertise to solve problems is not available within the company. At such time we will outsource the task. We will ask for help from experts in our ecosystem of approximately 10–50 tech experts who can cover all the main expertise using Upwork freelancers.

Note:

1. DEFCON3 should be alerted at least 15 working days before the deadline.
2. The person accountable for delay/ the task allotted to the person who could not follow through will have a 200–250 points reduction in the month and also a serious disciplinary action will be taken as per the severity. In case if the company’s reputation is disturbed at a high level , it can lead to termination as well.
3. Record keeping POC Neha Chumbalkar

2e. DEFCON Q:

There is a lack of quality within the project. There is a 25% chance that the Employer will be unhappy about the quality.

A demo should be published to the employer and if possible we have to get approval from the employer before the actual launch so that it will help us avoid raising a DEFCONQ

3. Raising a DEFCON

Procedure :Slack +SumHR

A DEFCOn will be raised by using a workflow on Slack or by raising the query on SumHR (SLACK- DEFCON Form procedure and details )

Please refer to the image below.

Just click the bookmark present in your project channel. A form will pop up on your screen, just fill out and submit the form and it will be raised to the concerned people.

4. Aftermath of Raising & Neglecting DEFCONs

4a. In Case a DEFCON Is Raised:

When a DEFCON is raised, the respective CL and the Project Lead/Engineer should provide a report within 24 hours regarding

i) What they are doing to address the issue,

ii) Whether or not a deadline extension request is required and

iii) What led to the delay in the project?

iv) What help do they need on an urgent basis?

Also, the project would immediately come under the purview of the State of Project Emergency.

The clauses applicable would be as follows-

(All of the following will be applied to everyone involved with the project, barring the most extreme circumstances, which will be judged on a case-by-case basis by the GMCs or the C-Suite Incharge.)

• The respective CLs and the Project Leads/Engineers/Task Incharge will do a complete project status assessment and notify GMC and the Employer of the new project deadline within 24 hours of the deadline breach. Failure to comply will result in an unavoidable penalty, the severity of which will be decided by the Employer in the situation.
• Mandatory working hours will commence at 9:00 AM, with ending hours being extended from 6:00 PM to 8:30 PM until project completion.
• Saturdays will be treated as normal work days until project completion.
• All applied leaves will be automatically cancelled until project completion.

4b. In Case a DEFCON Is Not Raised:

That being said,

i) should a project go over the deadline, or

ii) make the Employer unhappy about the quality, without anyone within said project team having raised any DEFCON, at least 1 person within the team would be held responsible and terminated. Also, the CL and the task incharge/Engineer/Project Lead would be issued a memo to explain the causes of the delay and why disciplinary action should not be taken against them.

Notifying the Employer of impending misses in deadlines is the least that is expected of a professional, and thus the above will be observed strictly.

5. Management Duties

This DEFCON Policy is one of the main pillars of McKinley Rice Community operations. Thus it will be the Community Ops Team’s responsibility to routinely check whether everyone in the organization has fully memorized the policy.

Procedures:

1. Identify an individual within the company possessing the necessary technical or mandatory skills to address the issue.
2. Contact the identified individual and confirm availability with their team lead for urgent task assistance.
3. Facilitate coordination between the two team members, outlining timelines and tasks to be executed.
4. Maintain close oversight of the work progress, ensuring all stakeholders are well-informed.
5. If no solution is found then the deadline extension needs to be requested.
6. Upon completion, gather feedback from both involved members regarding the task and the encountered challenges for future reference.
7. Implement point-based rewards or deductions based on discussions held with stakeholders.

The stakeholders and their responsibilities are as shown in the table below:

Roles and Responsibilities for DEFCON

6. DEFCON’s link to Performance Appraisal

The main premise of the DEFCON policy is to ensure that one completes their work as per the deadlines and communicates when help is needed. We appreciate and encourage all our members to raise a DEFCON (1 & 2) if their project work is lagging.

Raising a DEFCON1 and DEFCON2 directly affects your task completion, which affects your monthly scores; which is obvious from the utility of raising a DEFCON.

Also, members helping others will be rewarded points in their monthly scores.

Not raising a DEFCON however will harm one’s performance evaluation.

Please read the Performance Evaluation Policy to understand this better.(TO BE LINKED WITH NEW ONE)