Communication Protocols

Template Version: 1.3
Last Updated: 2024-12-19
Applicable To: Team collaboration, remote work, project communication

Template Overview

This template provides comprehensive communication protocols for software development teams, covering synchronous and asynchronous communication, documentation standards, and collaboration tools integration.

Communication Framework

Core Communication Channels

1. Instant Messaging (Slack/Teams)

Channel Structure

#general - General team updates and announcements
#dev-team - Development team discussions
#project-[name] - Project-specific discussions
#alerts - Automated alerts and notifications
#random - Casual conversations
#support - Help and Q&A
#standups - Daily standup updates
#releases - Release coordination

Slack Guidelines

Message Formatting:

✅ Good:
"Hey @john, the API endpoint /users/profile is returning 500 errors. 
Can you check the server logs? Error details in thread 🧵"

❌ Bad:
"API broken. Help!"

Thread Usage:

• Use threads for detailed discussions
• Keep main channel clean
• Use reactions for quick responses
• Pin important information

Notification Etiquette:

// Response Time Expectations
{
  "urgent": "15 minutes (use @channel)",
  "high": "2 hours (direct mention)",
  "normal": "4 hours (no mention needed)",
  "low": "24 hours (async discussion)"
}

Bot Integration

Standup Bot Configuration:

# standup-bot.yml
standup:
  channel: "#standups"
  time: "09:00"
  timezone: "America/New_York"
  questions:
    - "What did you accomplish yesterday?"
    - "What are you working on today?"
    - "Any blockers or impediments?"
    - "Any help needed from teammates?"
  
notifications:
  reminder: "30 minutes before"
  missed_standup: "1 hour after"

GitHub Integration:

# github-notifications.yml
github:
  channels:
    - channel: "#dev-team"
      events: ["pull_request", "issues", "releases"]
      repositories: ["main-app", "api-service"]
    
    - channel: "#alerts"
      events: ["build_failure", "deployment"]
      repositories: ["*"]

  formatting:
    pull_request: "🔀 PR #{number}: {title} by @{author}"
    issues: "🐛 Issue #{number}: {title}"
    build_failure: "❌ Build failed on {branch} - {commit_message}"

2. Video Conferencing

Meeting Types and Guidelines

Daily Standups (15 minutes)

## Agenda Template
- **Time**: 9:00 AM daily
- **Duration**: 15 minutes max
- **Participants**: Development team
- **Format**: Round-robin updates

### Structure
1. Quick wins from yesterday
2. Today's priorities
3. Blockers and help needed
4. Parking lot items → follow-up meetings

### Guidelines
- Camera on encouraged
- Mute when not speaking
- Keep updates brief (2-3 minutes max)
- Use "parking lot" for detailed discussions

Sprint Planning (2 hours)

## Sprint Planning Template
- **Frequency**: Start of each sprint
- **Duration**: 2 hours
- **Participants**: Dev team + Product Owner

### Agenda
1. Sprint goals review (15 min)
2. Backlog refinement (30 min)
3. Story estimation (45 min)
4. Sprint commitment (15 min)
5. Sprint board setup (15 min)

### Preparation Required
- [ ] Stories refined by Product Owner
- [ ] Technical spikes identified
- [ ] Dependencies mapped
- [ ] Team capacity calculated

Architecture Reviews (90 minutes)

## Architecture Review Template
- **Frequency**: As needed for major changes
- **Duration**: 90 minutes
- **Participants**: Architects + Senior Developers

### Structure
1. Problem statement (10 min)
2. Proposed solution walkthrough (30 min)
3. Alternative approaches (20 min)
4. Risk assessment (15 min)
5. Decision and next steps (15 min)

### Deliverables
- Architecture Decision Record (ADR)
- Implementation plan
- Risk mitigation strategies

Virtual Meeting Best Practices

Pre-Meeting Setup:

#!/bin/bash
# meeting-setup.sh - Automated meeting preparation
echo "🎥 Setting up for meeting..."

# Close unnecessary applications
osascript -e 'quit app "Spotify"'
osascript -e 'quit app "Slack"'

# Set Do Not Disturb
osascript -e 'tell application "System Events" to set the do not disturb of the notification center to true'

# Open required applications
open -a "Zoom"
open -a "Notion"  # For meeting notes
open -a "VS Code" # If code review needed

echo "✅ Meeting setup complete!"

Meeting Etiquette:

• Join 2-3 minutes early
• Mute by default, unmute to speak
• Use "raise hand" feature for questions
• Share screen with purpose and preparation
• Use chat for links and follow-up items

3. Email Communication

Email Guidelines

Subject Line Standards:

[PROJECT] [PRIORITY] Brief description
[API-REWRITE] [HIGH] Database migration scheduled for Friday
[MOBILE-APP] [LOW] UI feedback needed by EOD
[URGENT] Production issue - Payment gateway down

Email Structure:

## Email Template

**Subject**: [Project] [Priority] Brief description

**Summary** (1 sentence):
Key point or action required.

**Context** (2-3 sentences):
Background information and why this matters.

**Action Required**:
- [ ] Specific action item 1 (Owner: @name, Due: date)
- [ ] Specific action item 2 (Owner: @name, Due: date)

**Next Steps**:
What happens after the actions are completed.

**Additional Information** (optional):
Links, attachments, or detailed background.

---
Best regards,
[Name]

4. Documentation Standards

Technical Documentation

API Documentation Template:

# API Endpoint Documentation

## POST /api/v1/users

### Description
Creates a new user account with the provided information.

### Authentication
Requires API key in header: `Authorization: Bearer {token}`

### Request
```json
{
  "email": "user@example.com",
  "password": "securePassword123",
  "firstName": "John",
  "lastName": "Doe",
  "role": "user"
}

Response

Success (201 Created)

{
  "id": "uuid-string",
  "email": "user@example.com",
  "firstName": "John",
  "lastName": "Doe",
  "role": "user",
  "createdAt": "2024-01-15T10:30:00Z"
}

Error (400 Bad Request)

{
  "error": {
    "code": "VALIDATION_ERROR",
    "message": "Invalid input data",
    "details": [
      {
        "field": "email",
        "message": "Invalid email format"
      }
    ]
  }
}

Error Codes

Code	Description	Resolution
VALIDATION_ERROR	Input validation failed	Check request format
EMAIL_EXISTS	Email already registered	Use different email
UNAUTHORIZED	Invalid API key	Verify authentication

Example Usage

const response = await fetch('/api/v1/users', {
  method: 'POST',
  headers: {
    'Content-Type': 'application/json',
    'Authorization': 'Bearer your-api-key'
  },
  body: JSON.stringify({
    email: 'user@example.com',
    password: 'securePassword123',
    firstName: 'John',
    lastName: 'Doe'
  })
});

#### Architecture Decision Records (ADR)

**ADR Template:**
```markdown
# ADR-001: Choice of Database Technology

## Status
Accepted

## Context
We need to choose a database technology for our user management system that can:
- Handle 100,000+ users
- Support real-time features
- Provide strong consistency
- Integrate with our Node.js backend

## Decision
We will use PostgreSQL as our primary database.

## Consequences

### Positive
- Strong ACID compliance
- Excellent performance for complex queries
- Rich ecosystem and tooling
- JSON support for flexible schemas
- Proven scalability

### Negative
- Additional operational complexity
- Learning curve for NoSQL developers
- Requires careful schema design

## Alternatives Considered
- MongoDB: Rejected due to consistency requirements
- MySQL: Rejected due to JSON support limitations
- DynamoDB: Rejected due to cost and vendor lock-in

## Implementation Notes
- Use connection pooling (pg-pool)
- Implement read replicas for scaling
- Set up automated backups
- Use migrations for schema changes

## Review Date
2024-07-01 (6 months from decision)

5. Incident Communication

Incident Response Communication

Incident Severity Levels:

const SEVERITY_LEVELS = {
  P1: {
    name: "Critical",
    description: "System down, data loss, security breach",
    responseTime: "5 minutes",
    channels: ["#alerts", "#incident-response"],
    notifications: ["email", "sms", "phone"]
  },
  P2: {
    name: "High", 
    description: "Major feature broken, performance degradation",
    responseTime: "15 minutes",
    channels: ["#alerts", "#dev-team"],
    notifications: ["slack", "email"]
  },
  P3: {
    name: "Medium",
    description: "Minor feature issues, non-critical bugs",
    responseTime: "2 hours", 
    channels: ["#dev-team"],
    notifications: ["slack"]
  },
  P4: {
    name: "Low",
    description: "Cosmetic issues, feature requests",
    responseTime: "24 hours",
    channels: ["#dev-team"],
    notifications: ["issue_tracking"]
  }
};

Incident Communication Template:

## 🚨 INCIDENT ALERT - P1 CRITICAL 🚨

**Incident ID**: INC-2024-001
**Status**: INVESTIGATING
**Started**: 2024-01-15 14:30 UTC
**Severity**: P1 - Critical
**Impact**: Payment processing unavailable

### Summary
Payment gateway is returning 500 errors. Users cannot complete purchases.

### Current Status
- ✅ Incident confirmed and war room established
- 🔄 Investigating root cause
- ❌ Resolution not yet identified

### Impact Assessment
- **Users Affected**: ~5,000 active users
- **Revenue Impact**: ~$10,000/hour
- **SLA Impact**: Breaching 99.9% uptime SLA

### Response Team
- Incident Commander: @sarah.jones
- Technical Lead: @mike.smith
- Communications: @lisa.wang

### Actions Taken
- 14:32 - Payment service restarted
- 14:35 - Database connections checked
- 14:40 - Third-party payment provider contacted

### Next Update
15:00 UTC (every 15 minutes during P1)

### Status Page
https://status.ourcompany.com/incidents/inc-2024-001

Real-Time Collaboration Protocols

1. Pair Programming

Setup Checklist:

#!/bin/bash
# pair-programming-setup.sh

echo "🤝 Setting up pair programming session..."

# Share screen/editor access
echo "1. Screen sharing active?"
echo "2. VS Code Live Share extension enabled?"
echo "3. Git branch created for session?"
echo "4. Test environment accessible to both?"
echo "5. Communication tool ready (voice/video)?"

# Session guidelines
echo "
📋 Pairing Guidelines:
- Switch driver/navigator every 25 minutes
- Take breaks every 2 hours
- Communicate thoughts and decisions aloud
- Both participants should understand the code
- Commit frequently with good messages
"

Pairing Session Template:

# Pair Programming Session

**Date**: 2024-01-15
**Participants**: @developer1, @developer2
**Duration**: 2 hours
**Goal**: Implement user authentication API

## Session Notes
### Pomodoro 1 (25 min) - Driver: @developer1
- Set up JWT authentication middleware
- Implemented password hashing
- **Key Decisions**: Used bcrypt with 12 rounds

### Pomodoro 2 (25 min) - Driver: @developer2  
- Added input validation
- Created user registration endpoint
- **Key Decisions**: Used Joi for validation

### Break (15 min)

### Pomodoro 3 (25 min) - Driver: @developer1
- Implemented login endpoint
- Added error handling
- **Issues Found**: Token expiration edge case

### Pomodoro 4 (25 min) - Driver: @developer2
- Fixed token expiration handling
- Added unit tests
- **Completed**: Basic auth flow working

## Outcomes
- ✅ User registration working
- ✅ Login/logout implemented  
- ✅ Token refresh mechanism
- ⚠️ Need to add rate limiting (next session)

## Code Quality
- Test coverage: 85%
- No linting errors
- All edge cases handled

## Next Session
- Implement rate limiting
- Add OAuth integration
- Performance testing

2. Code Review Protocols

Pull Request Template:

## Pull Request

### Summary
Brief description of what this PR accomplishes.

### Type of Change
- [ ] Bug fix (non-breaking change that fixes an issue)
- [ ] New feature (non-breaking change that adds functionality)
- [ ] Breaking change (fix or feature that would cause existing functionality to not work as expected)
- [ ] Documentation update

### Changes Made
- List key changes made
- Focus on what, not how
- Link to relevant issues

### Testing
- [ ] Unit tests added/updated
- [ ] Integration tests added/updated
- [ ] Manual testing completed
- [ ] Test coverage maintained/improved

### Deployment Notes
- [ ] Database migrations included
- [ ] Environment variables updated
- [ ] Feature flags configured
- [ ] Monitoring/alerts updated

### Reviewer Checklist
- [ ] Code follows team standards
- [ ] Changes are well documented
- [ ] Tests cover new functionality
- [ ] No security vulnerabilities introduced
- [ ] Performance impact considered

### Screenshots/Recordings
If UI changes, include screenshots or recordings.

Review Response Templates:

Requesting Changes:

## Review: Request Changes

Thanks for the PR! The overall approach looks good. I have a few suggestions:

### Must Fix
- **Security**: Line 45 - SQL injection vulnerability. Use parameterized queries.
- **Bug**: Line 78 - Null pointer exception possible. Add null check.

### Suggestions  
- **Performance**: Consider caching the user lookup on line 23
- **Readability**: Extract the validation logic into a separate function

### Nitpicks
- Line 12: Missing JSDoc comment
- Line 34: Inconsistent variable naming

Looking forward to the next iteration! 🚀

Approving Changes:

## Review: Approved ✅

Great work! The implementation is clean and well-tested.

### Highlights
- Excellent error handling throughout
- Comprehensive test coverage
- Clear documentation

### Minor Suggestions for Future
- Consider adding integration tests for the API endpoints
- The validation logic could be reusable elsewhere

Ready to merge! 🎉

3. Remote Work Protocols

Daily Schedule Template:

# Remote Work Schedule - [Name]

## Core Hours
**Team Overlap**: 10:00 AM - 3:00 PM EST
**Flexible**: 8:00-10:00 AM and 3:00-6:00 PM EST

## Daily Structure
- **9:00-9:15**: Team standup
- **9:15-12:00**: Deep work (meetings discouraged)
- **12:00-1:00**: Lunch break
- **1:00-3:00**: Collaboration time (meetings encouraged)
- **3:00-5:00**: Individual work/async collaboration

## Availability Indicators
- 🟢 Available for chat/quick calls
- 🟡 Focused work - async communication preferred
- 🔴 Do not disturb - emergency only
- 🏠 Working from home office
- ☕ Coffee break (15 min)

## Communication Preferences
- **Urgent**: Phone call or text
- **Same day**: Slack direct message
- **Next day**: Email or async Slack
- **This week**: Project management tool

Async Communication Guidelines:

// async-communication.js
const AsyncCommunicationRules = {
  documentation: {
    rule: "Document decisions and context",
    tools: ["Notion", "Confluence", "README files"],
    template: "Problem → Solution → Reasoning → Next Steps"
  },
  
  timeZones: {
    rule: "Always include timezone in scheduling",
    format: "Meeting: Tuesday 2:00 PM EST / 11:00 AM PST",
    tools: ["World Clock", "Calendar timezone support"]
  },
  
  handoffs: {
    rule: "Clear handoffs between time zones",
    template: "Status → Blockers → Next Actions → Contact Info",
    frequency: "End of day for each timezone"
  },
  
  responses: {
    urgent: "4 hours",
    normal: "24 hours", 
    lowPriority: "72 hours",
    autoReply: "Set out-of-office with expected response time"
  }
};

Communication Metrics and KPIs

Team Communication Health

// communication-metrics.js
const CommunicationMetrics = {
  responseTime: {
    target: {
      slack: "2 hours",
      email: "24 hours", 
      pullRequest: "24 hours"
    },
    measure: "Average time from message to first response"
  },
  
  meetingEfficiency: {
    target: "80% of meetings rated effective",
    measure: "Post-meeting survey: 'Was this meeting effective?'"
  },
  
  documentationCoverage: {
    target: "90% of decisions documented",
    measure: "Architecture decisions, API changes, process updates"
  },
  
  knowledgeSharing: {
    target: "2 knowledge sharing sessions per sprint",
    measure: "Tech talks, code reviews, pair programming hours"
  },
  
  communicationSatisfaction: {
    target: "4.5/5 team satisfaction score",
    measure: "Monthly team survey on communication effectiveness"
  }
};

Crisis Communication

Emergency Response Protocol

Crisis Communication Script:

## Crisis Communication Script

### Initial Alert (within 5 minutes)
"We are experiencing a [severity level] incident affecting [systems/users]. 
Our team is investigating and we will provide updates every [frequency]. 
Current status: [brief description]"

### Regular Updates
"UPDATE: [timestamp] - [current status]. 
Actions taken: [bullet points]. 
Next update: [time]."

### Resolution Notice
"RESOLVED: [timestamp] - The incident has been resolved. 
Root cause: [brief explanation]. 
Impact: [affected users/duration]. 
Prevention: [steps taken to prevent recurrence].
Full post-mortem will be available in [timeframe]."

Tool Integrations

Slack Workflow Automation

// slack-workflows.js
const SlackWorkflows = {
  standupReminder: {
    trigger: "daily at 8:55 AM",
    message: "🌅 Good morning! Standup starts in 5 minutes in the main room.",
    channel: "#dev-team"
  },
  
  deploymentNotification: {
    trigger: "webhook from CI/CD",
    template: "🚀 Deployment to {environment} completed. Version: {version}. Status: {status}",
    channels: ["#deployments", "#dev-team"]
  },
  
  pullRequestReminder: {
    trigger: "daily at 4 PM",
    condition: "open PRs > 2 days old",
    message: "👀 You have pull requests waiting for review: {pr_list}",
    target: "dm to reviewers"
  },
  
  meetingFollowUp: {
    trigger: "meeting end",
    action: "create shared note",
    template: "Meeting notes for {meeting_title}: {meeting_notes_link}",
    channel: "meeting participants"
  }
};

---

These communication protocols ensure effective collaboration in distributed teams. Customize them based on your team size, time zones, and specific needs.