Chain of command
Questions climb the chart. Only what no manager can decide reaches you.
A decision is made at the lowest level that can make it. Only what nobody below can decide reaches you.
- a naming question the team manager settles
- a clash between two teams the global manager settles
- a pricing call that comes to you
A decision is made at the lowest level that can make it. When a member of a managed team is unsure, its question does not land on you. It goes to its manager as a decision packet: the question, who raised it and what each side said, the options with what each would lead to, and a recommendation with its reason. The manager settles it, or sends it up with the reason it cannot, so whatever reaches you is already framed as a choice.
Try it in CodeAF
- Where
On the teams page. There is nothing to set up: a member's question goes to its manager, and only what climbs to you waits here.
- Press
- Alt+2 to open the teams page.
- An option on the card, or
Your own answer…to type one: Alt+↓ walks the options, Enter decides.
- You see
One card with options and a recommendation. The answer goes back to whoever asked and wakes it.
? question · raised by @notes waiting on you Should prices round half up or half to even? Round half up Prices round away from zero… recommended Round half to even Banker's rounding… recommended because Half-up is the common convention… Your own answer…
Who decides what
The chain is the org chart. A question goes to the asker's own manager; a sub-team's manager sends it on to the manager that started it, a top-level manager to the global manager if you have one, and the top to you. Each hop is one manager's call: answer it with an option or its own words, or send it up with the reason it is not its to decide, one level at a time or straight to you. A packet never moves sideways or down. A manager's own questions climb the same way, and a clash between two teams goes to the lowest manager above both.
You outrank every manager, so a card still waiting on a manager, shown as waiting on ◆ storefront, is yours to answer too. Sending questions to the manager is on by default, and each team's Settings card shows it as questions go to the manager.
Permission prompts never climb. When a member asks to run a command or edit a file, it asks you, always, and no manager can answer for you. Money is yours too: when a team reaches its daily cap, one card asks you to raise it or stop for today, and no manager can raise a cap.
Things to build
- Your calls, named once: a company rule at the global manager that any change to the JSON clients see is yours, so it climbs to you as one card while the rest of the work runs on. Make the big calls yourself
- A version desk: the member writing the release note asks for the version number, it climbs to you, and your own words land in the changelog.
- A spending gate: a $2 daily cap on a team, so an overnight push stops at the cap and waits on one card: raise to $4, or stop for today.
Go further
Make the big calls yourself: a company rule that sends the real decisions to you.
Coming soon: describe the org you want and CodeAF builds it: teams, managers, budgets, standing orders.