The New Work Force Frontier - Level 20

Level 20:
What it is = The new Work Force Frontier.

What that means :
This is a company dedicated to utilizing the technology of today’s world to bring teams of people together who:

• ...desire to get rewarded directly for the efforts that they put into their work.
• ...desire to have ownership privileges of projects that they build.
• ...are looking for a way to increase their income and their quality of life.
• ...can see that the new frontier is the internet, and who want to be a part of the development of communities and marketing strategies based on that technology.
• ...are comfortable working remotely.
• ...can work well as a member of a team that most often will be separated by large distances, teams whose primary means of connecting with each other will be through the internet.
• ...can work well as a member of a team that will most likely contain teammates that are culturally diverse, i.e. if you are an engineer on a team you need to be able to get along well with the marketing people, and marketing folks, have got to be able to communicate with and get along well with the engineers of the team, (and everyone has to love the accountants… because they need love too and… well… they help us all get paid.)
• ...can use, or are willing and eager to learn how to use, modern internet communication tools to coordinate efforts with the teams that they work with, (most often, access to broad-band internet will be a requirement.)
• ...work well under a management structure that will most closely resemble managed projects. (i.e. project coordinators that plot out a projects development that is based on the completion of objectives or milestones by team members.)
• ...can make realistic estimates on when work objectives can be completed, and then consistently deliver high quality results by those deadlines.
• ...are exited by the opportunity of the great potential returns on time investments, and who are willing to forgo the security of a regular paycheck in return for receiving their reward that is directly based on how well that the project they helped to produce or market does in the market place.
  

Based upon the principle that the people that build a thing should get to reap the rewards of their creation, Level 20 seeks to provide the infrastructure necessary that will alow professionals, to designate how much time that they can allocate to a project, then become part of a team that develops and markets internet driven products and applications to the masses, and reap the rewards for doing that.

If that definition fits you at all, then by all means read on. (even if you found nothing in common with the preceding list feel free to read it as well.)

Here’s the preview… keep in mind it's a ruff draft:

Here are a few definitions to keep in mind while reading this document :

Green = Good – on target with budget and schedule (the norm.)

Yellow = Caution – possible delay is sighted or an overage on the budget becomes a possibility.

Red = Criticle Failure Eminent -In eminent danger of missing the deadline, or not meeting the expected quality requirements. Also red means that additional funding is required and will need to be allocated to this objective. (this will of coarse decrease the expected returns for everyone.) Red also means that failure in this area may require for the project to be placed on hold.

Placed on hold = all work towards the project is halted while feasibility and profitability are
re-evaluated. This would be executed to allow the architect and project coordinators to re design the project plan.

Inactive project = a project that has been placed on hold, and then has been added to an
inactive project list by the Supervising Architect. Personnel can then have their time freed up so that they are eligible to be re assigned to other more feasible projects.

In the event that a project goes to the inactive project list and later is placed back on active status, a provision * in project design document will explain how rewards will be determined for teams or agents who’s work from the inactive project that is used on the now active project will be awarded.

• Level 20 Architects build a basic project idea, and a brief outline of a
  suggested reward program, and select a supervising Architect for the
  project.


• Project Coordinators are selected by the supervising Architect to run a particular
  project or a portion of a project.


• Project Coordinators work with the Supervising Architect to put together a project
  design document with time lines that estimate what positions / roles will
  be needed to complete the project and how many hours will be needed by
  each roll to complete the project on time.


• Project Coordinators will plan a budget for the project.


• Project Coordinators will work with the supervising Architect to refine the reward
  structure that will be offered to the team that works on the project.


• The reward – will most often be
  based upon the direct result of the team members.
• In other words, the Project Coordinators break down the project into
  milestones, and objectives that need to be completed.


• Then the PC (Project Coordinator) assigns a priority to each objective:
  


• Critical – the most vital parts of the project. These are the objectives that
  would be the hardest to replace teammates on or would severely cripple
  the project were they not completed with high quality and on time.


• Normal – most objectives will have this status.
  These objectives are definitely important to the over all
  success, but have some flexibility on time lines or would be fairly easy
  to replace team members if the objective remained in a yellow status for
  very long.


• Non Critical – These are the areas that would be easy to replace team
  members on if they went to a yellow status or are very flexible as to
  when they could be completed during a project.
  


• The PC assign a value to each of the objectives.
  


• The value assigned will be based on the objectives priority and based on the
  time estimates and budget that was determined in conjunction with the
  Supervising Architect.


• The value assigned will be designated as a percentage of the return of what
  ever profits that the project generates.
  


• The team or agent that completes that objective is awarded the predetermined
  value of that objective.
  


• Bonuses will be awarded based on exceeding expectation.


• Penalties will be subtracted from the assigned value and will be based on failed
  deadlines, or expectations not being met.


• A penalty that was assessed to a team or agent will go directly into the
  bonus pool which is shared by those that exceeded expectation.


• i.e. an agent completes an objective several weeks in advance of the
  deadline – based on the priority of the objective, the value of the
  objective, and the degree of exceeding the expectation a point value **
  will be assigned to the team or agent. (1-6)


• i.e. a team is late on completing an objective and the end result doesn’t quite meet the expectation. – based on the priority of the objective, it’s value and the severity of the failed expectation a negative point value will be assigned to the team or agent. (negative 1 – negative 6)


• Any penalties that were assessed to an agent or team will be added to the bonus pool for each objective that a negative point assessment was given.


• The bonus pool is calculated as a percentage of the profits. The starting
  size of the bonus is defined in the design document.


• To determine what amount of the bonus reward goes to which teams or
  agents, the point totals of each team are added up. The total amount of
  points that were awarded is considered to be equal to100 percent of the
  bonus pool. From there it is easy to figure up what percentage of the
  bonus pool every point is worth. Each team or agent then converts their
  point total into the percentage that those points represent, and then
  pool is divided up amongst the teams and agents based on those
  calculations.
  


• If the resulting project is sold outright, then the profits of that sale are
  awarded as follows:


• The gross value of the Sale of project result minus the expenses and minus a percentage of the profits (not to exceed 10%) that will be reinvested into the growth of level 20.
  


• If the project result generates a continuing revenue then the profits of that continuing revenue are awarded as follows:
  


• The gross Quarterly value of the revenue, minus the expenses that were used
  to complete the project (as a general rule the expenses should be paid off within 5 years, but the exact details of repaying expenses will be defined in each design document,) minus the costs involved in maintaining the project minus 10% of the profits which will be used to reinvest in the marketing and growth of the project itself and minus a percentage of the profits (not to exceed 10%) that will be reinvested into the growth of level 20. The proceeds
  will be awarded on a quarterly basis to the project teams and agents that participated in the projects creation.


• If the continuing revenue project is sold, then the profits of that sale
  are awarded the same way as previously defined.
  


• The Project Team is put together by the Project Coordinators. This is done by
  selecting members / agents that have indicated that they have available time commitments to allocate to the various roles that will be needed to complete the project. This is done by reviewing and interviewing members / agents of Level 20 and going over
  the design document with each agent or team lead. (Team leads determine how rewards will be distributed amongst his team…This enables contractors who reward their employees in a more traditional manor to participate. However the Team Lead does need to be a registered Level 20 agent designated as a team lead.)


• During the interview process, the projected budgets, and time lines need to be
  discussed and agreed upon between the project coordinator and the agent or team lead. This part is very crucial. This is where Agents and Teams commit to meeting deadlines, and where expectations are explained and defined as well as the penalties and rewards for exceeding or failing to meet expectations are discussed and reviewed. This interview meeting needs to go over the same things that the kick off meeting goes over, except the focus should be more on the specific objective instead of the overall project.
  


• The Supervising Architect should be consulted with on any major revisions to
  the design document or timelines.
  


• If the needed personnel resources haven’t been met then the Project Coordinator would be responsible for utilizing the Level 20 resources to recruit new Level 20 agents to fulfill any roles that are not filled by existing agents.


• Once the whole project team has been selected and everyone has been assigned to all of the objectives and agreed to the deadlines and rewards and penalties, then a kick off meeting is held.
  


• In the kick off meeting, introductions are made so that the team gets to know who all is involved.


• The overall project is reviewed and the desired end result is explained and reviewed.


• The definition of success for this project should be defined in this meeting.


• The expected rewards should be reviewed including what the expected sale amount and expected profit margin will be. Or it is going to be an ongoing revenue project then the expected quarterly income amounts should be reviewed.


• each project objective is reviewed.
  


• The entire time line for the overall project is reviewed.


• Clear expectations are set, and agreed upon for each objective. This should be done in front of the whole team.


• The reward system for the project is reviewed.


• A clear understanding of when an objective will be put in a yellow or red status needs to be understood by each person for their objective.
  


• All of the communication tools need to be explained, and previous to the kick off meeting a check list needs to be completed that shows all that all of the team members have access to all of the communication tools that will be used and that they have access to the tools that will be used to track the status of the project.


• Reporting needs to be explained:
  


• Exactly who needs to do exactly what
  reports?


• Where, When, and How each report should be submitted.


• Clarify that reporting accurately and on time will be reflected in the overall
  rating of whether or not a team or agent met the expectation for the
  objective.
  


• Any potential issues need to be noted for review later. Each team lead and agent that is responsible for an objective should have the opportunity to list any areas that need to have special attention paid to them.
  


• The next group project review meeting should be scheduled.


• Objective review meetings should be scheduled.




• After the kick off meeting the PC will play the roll of monitor making sure that
  all the tasks stay on task, and moving any objective to yellow or red status.


• If an objective moves to yellow or red then the PC needs to determine whether to
  bring in new team members to complete that objective or exactly what needs to be done to get the objective back to green status.
  


• The PC will also work with the Supervising Architect to determine if a project needs to go on hold to be reviewed or re-designed.


• Objective Owners can be Solo Agents or Team leaders who are responsible for delivering an objective but rely on others to help them accomplish this.


• Teams can be made up of a group of Level 20 Agents (called an ‘in house’ team,)
  or the team could consist of a group that the Team leader is in charge of, and who are not members of Level 20. (called an ‘outsourced’ team.)
  


• If the team is made up of Level 20 Agents, then the rewards for that team should be defined in the design document.
  


• If the team is made up of non Level 20 Agents, then the rewards for that team are determined by the Team Leader, and only the Team Leader or the company he represents will receive the rewards from Level 20.


• If a Level 20 agent is working in an outsourced team the agent’s reward for that objective, will not be defined in the design document. The agent CAN still work on other in hose teams or operate as a Solo agent as long as the agent can meet the time commitment requirements.
  


• Objective Owners are responsible to make sure that the objective stays in the green status.


• Objective Owners are responsible for accurately and promptly reporting status via the reporting tools. Also regular communication between objective owners and team members is encouraged via the communication tools provided by Level 20.

* Inactive status - When a project goes from inactive back to active, the whole process is started new. A new design document will be created for the re activated project. All the roles are filled just like they would be if it was a new project. Many or all of the roles may be filled by new agents. The original teams would still need to be rewarded for any work from the old project that was used in the new reactivate project. The new design document would include the provision from the old project design document that lists how the reward will be distributed to the old project members for work that is used in the new project. What ever gets used from the
old project should be listed in the new design document. The distribution of the reward to old project members should be defined in the new document as well.

** Point Value – the more Critical a task the better the opportunity to earn a bonus of course the opposite is true in that if expectations of time lines are failed, the penalties are worse.

A Critical task at normal value would get either 5 or 6 points. (positive or negative)

A Normal task at normal value would get either 3 or 4 points. (positive or negative)

A Non Critical task at normal value would get either 1 or 2 points. (positive or negative)

In the Design Documnet the objectives will be defined as High Value - Normal Value - Less Value - objectives. Depending on the value of the task, a point can be added (high value), no change - (normal Value) or Subtracted (Less Value.)

-to be continued and refined- by Wade Hone – Saturday November 18, 2006 6:42 am. --