# Communication & Collaboration Framework
## RAG Heat & SWARMCARE Projects

**Document Version:** 2.1 Ultimate
**Last Updated:** 2025-10-31
**Owner:** Project Director
**Review Cycle:** Quarterly

---

## Table of Contents

1. [Executive Summary](#executive-summary)
2. [Communication Principles](#communication-principles)
3. [Communication Channels & Tools](#communication-channels-tools)
4. [Meeting Structure & Cadence](#meeting-structure-cadence)
5. [Team Collaboration Practices](#team-collaboration-practices)
6. [Stakeholder Communication](#stakeholder-communication)
7. [Documentation & Knowledge Sharing](#documentation-knowledge-sharing)
8. [Async vs. Sync Communication](#async-sync-communication)
9. [Conflict Resolution](#conflict-resolution)
10. [Transparency & Reporting](#transparency-reporting)
11. [Onboarding Communication](#onboarding-communication)
12. [Cross-Team Coordination (RAG Heat ↔ SWARMCARE)](#cross-team-coordination)

---

## Executive Summary

Effective communication and collaboration are critical success factors for the dual-project execution of **RAG Heat** and **SWARMCARE** with 22 team members across multiple work streams. This framework establishes clear communication channels, meeting structures, collaboration practices, and stakeholder engagement protocols to ensure 100% project success.

### Communication Goals

1. **Transparency**: All team members and stakeholders have visibility into project progress, risks, and decisions
2. **Efficiency**: Minimize meeting overhead, maximize productive work time
3. **Clarity**: Clear roles, responsibilities, and decision-making authority
4. **Responsiveness**: Fast communication turnaround for blockers and critical issues
5. **Inclusivity**: All voices heard, diverse perspectives valued
6. **Documentation**: All decisions, discussions, and knowledge captured in writing

### Key Communication Metrics

| Metric | Target | Measurement |
|--------|--------|-------------|
| **Response Time (Slack/Email)** | <2 hours for urgent, <24 hours for normal | Slack analytics |
| **Meeting Attendance** | >90% attendance for required meetings | Calendar tracking |
| **Documentation Coverage** | 100% of major decisions documented | Confluence/Notion page count |
| **Team Satisfaction (Communication)** | >4/5 rating in sprint retrospectives | Retrospective surveys |
| **Stakeholder Update Frequency** | Monthly demos + bi-weekly email updates | Calendar + email logs |

---

## Communication Principles

### 1. Core Principles

**Default to Transparency**:
- Share information openly unless confidential (legal, competitive, personal)
- Public channels (Slack public channels) over private DMs when possible
- All decisions documented in shared spaces (Confluence, Notion, GitHub)

**Write Things Down**:
- "If it's not written, it didn't happen"
- Meeting notes, decisions, action items documented
- Tribal knowledge → Documented knowledge

**Respect Everyone's Time**:
- Meetings have agendas, start/end on time
- Async-first for non-urgent communication
- Optional vs. required meetings clearly labeled

**Assume Positive Intent**:
- Blameless culture (mistakes are learning opportunities)
- Constructive feedback, no personal attacks
- Conflicts resolved through dialogue, not escalation

**Bias Towards Action**:
- Make reversible decisions quickly (don't overthink)
- Escalate blockers immediately (don't wait)
- "Disagree and commit" when consensus is not possible

### 2. Communication Etiquette

**Slack/Chat**:
- Use threads to keep conversations organized
- Tag (@mention) specific people when action is needed
- Use @channel/@here sparingly (only for urgent, everyone-needs-to-see messages)
- Emoji reactions for quick acknowledgments (✅ = seen, 👍 = agree, 🚀 = excited, ⚠️ = concern)
- No "hello" messages - state your question/request directly

**Email**:
- Clear, descriptive subject lines (e.g., "[ACTION REQUIRED] Deploy to production by Friday")
- TL;DR at the top for long emails
- Action items clearly stated (who, what, by when)
- Reply-all only when necessary

**Meetings**:
- Arrive on time (5-min grace period for emergencies)
- Camera on for important meetings (sprint reviews, stakeholder demos)
- Mute when not speaking
- Raise hand or use chat for questions
- Take your own notes (shared notes doc available)

**Code Reviews**:
- Constructive, specific feedback (avoid "This is bad" - say "Consider using X instead of Y because...")
- Approve quickly if no major issues (< 24 hours)
- Address feedback promptly (< 1 business day)
- Emoji reactions to show approval (👍) or concerns (🤔)

---

## Communication Channels & Tools

### 1. Tool Stack

| Tool | Purpose | Owner | Access |
|------|---------|-------|--------|
| **Slack/Discord** | Real-time team communication | Project Director | All team members |
| **Email (Gmail/Outlook)** | Official communication, stakeholders, external | Project Director | All team members (company email) |
| **Zoom/Google Meet** | Video meetings | Project Director | All team members |
| **Confluence/Notion** | Documentation, wikis, project knowledge base | Technical Writer | All team members (view), specific roles (edit) |
| **Jira/Linear** | Sprint planning, task tracking, bug tracking | Tech Leads | All team members |
| **GitHub** | Code repository, PRs, code reviews | Tech Leads | All engineers (role-based access) |
| **Figma** | Design collaboration, mockups | UX Designer | Designers, Frontend Engineers, Product Owner |
| **Google Drive/Docs** | Shared documents, presentations, spreadsheets | Project Director | All team members |
| **Loom/Async Video** | Async video updates, demos, tutorials | All team members | All team members |
| **Calendly** | Meeting scheduling (for external stakeholders) | Business Development Lead | Business Development, Project Director |

### 2. Slack/Discord Channel Structure

**Recommended Channel Organization**:

**General Channels**:
- `#general` - Company-wide announcements, celebrations
- `#random` - Off-topic, watercooler chat, memes
- `#announcements` - Official announcements (Project Director only posts)

**Project Channels**:
- `#rag-heat` - RAG Heat team discussions
- `#swarmcare` - SWARMCARE team discussions
- `#integration` - Cross-team coordination (RAG Heat ↔ SWARMCARE)
- `#sprint-planning` - Sprint planning discussions, backlog grooming
- `#daily-standups` - Daily standup updates (async option)

**Functional Channels**:
- `#engineering` - Engineering-wide discussions, technical deep dives
- `#backend` - Backend engineers (FastAPI, databases, APIs)
- `#frontend` - Frontend engineers (React, Next.js, UI)
- `#ai-ml` - AI/ML engineers (LangChain, vector DBs, models)
- `#data` - Data engineers (Neo4j, ontologies, pipelines)
- `#devops` - DevOps discussions (deployments, infrastructure, monitoring)
- `#qa` - QA engineers (testing, bug reports, quality)
- `#research` - Research engineers + Research Lead (papers, experiments)

**Support Channels**:
- `#help` - General help requests
- `#bugs` - Bug reports and triage
- `#incidents` - Incident response (P0/P1 incidents)
- `#deployments` - Deployment notifications (automated + manual)

**Advisory Board & Stakeholders**:
- `#advisory-board` - Private channel for advisory board discussions
- `#stakeholders` - Updates for Jaideep, United Health Group, external partners

**Social & Culture**:
- `#wins` - Celebrate wins, accomplishments, milestones
- `#learning` - Share articles, papers, tutorials, learnings
- `#feedback` - Anonymous feedback (use tools like Officevibe, Polly)

### 3. Email Guidelines

**When to Use Email** (vs. Slack):
- External communication (stakeholders, vendors, advisors)
- Formal requests or approvals (legal, compliance, contracts)
- Long-form communication (project updates, reports)
- Sensitive topics (HR, performance, confidential)

**Email Conventions**:
- **Subject Line Prefixes**:
  - `[ACTION REQUIRED]` - Action needed by recipient (with deadline)
  - `[FYI]` - Informational, no action required
  - `[URGENT]` - Needs immediate attention (< 2 hours)
  - `[DECISION NEEDED]` - Decision required from recipient
- **TL;DR**: Summary at the top for emails > 3 paragraphs
- **Action Items**: Clearly stated at the end (who, what, by when)

**Example Email Format**:
```
Subject: [ACTION REQUIRED] Review HIPAA Compliance Checklist by Friday

TL;DR: Please review the attached HIPAA compliance checklist and provide feedback by Friday, Oct 27, 5 PM.

Hi [Name],

[Context: Why this is important]
[Details: What needs to be done]
[Timeline: When it's due]

Action Items:
- [ ] Review HIPAA compliance checklist (Attached) - [Name] - Oct 27, 5 PM
- [ ] Provide feedback via email or Slack - [Name] - Oct 27, 5 PM

Let me know if you have questions.

Thanks,
[Your Name]
```

### 4. Meeting Tools & Best Practices

**Video Conferencing** (Zoom/Google Meet):
- **Camera On**: Required for sprint reviews, stakeholder demos, important 1:1s
- **Camera Optional**: Daily standups, casual meetings
- **Backgrounds**: Professional or blurred backgrounds
- **Recording**: All sprint reviews, stakeholder demos recorded (with consent)

**Meeting Agendas**:
- Created in Google Docs or Confluence
- Shared 24 hours before meeting (minimum)
- Template:
  ```
  Meeting: [Name]
  Date: [Date and Time]
  Attendees: [List of required and optional attendees]

  Agenda:
  1. [Topic 1] - [Owner] - [Time allocation, e.g., 10 min]
  2. [Topic 2] - [Owner] - [Time allocation]
  3. ...

  Pre-read Materials:
  - [Link to doc 1]
  - [Link to doc 2]

  Notes:
  [Live notes during meeting]

  Action Items:
  - [ ] [Action 1] - [Owner] - [Deadline]
  - [ ] [Action 2] - [Owner] - [Deadline]
  ```

---

## Meeting Structure & Cadence

### 1. Daily Meetings

#### Daily Standup (15 minutes, every morning)

**Purpose**: Quick sync on progress, blockers, plans

**Attendees**:
- **RAG Heat Team** (10 people): Standup at 10:00 AM
- **SWARMCARE Team** (12 people): Standup at 10:20 AM
- **Shared Resources** (DevOps, UX, Technical Writer): Attend both (or alternate)

**Format**:
1. Each person answers 3 questions (< 2 min per person):
   - **Yesterday**: What did I accomplish?
   - **Today**: What am I planning to do?
   - **Blockers**: Any blockers or help needed?
2. Blockers discussed briefly, detailed discussion taken offline
3. Tech Lead notes blockers, assigns help

**Async Option** (for timezone flexibility):
- Post standup updates in `#daily-standups` Slack channel before 10 AM
- Format:
  ```
  **Yesterday**: [Accomplishments]
  **Today**: [Plans]
  **Blockers**: [Any blockers or help needed]
  ```
- Tech Lead reviews async updates, follows up on blockers

### 2. Weekly Meetings

#### Tech Lead Sync (1 hour, every Monday)

**Purpose**: Cross-team coordination, architectural decisions, risk review

**Attendees**:
- Project Director
- Tech Lead - RAG Heat
- Tech Lead - SWARMCARE
- DevOps Engineer
- Research Lead (optional)

**Agenda**:
1. Sprint progress review (10 min)
   - RAG Heat velocity, completed stories
   - SWARMCARE velocity, completed stories
2. Integration points and dependencies (15 min)
   - APIs, data flows, shared components
3. Architectural decisions (15 min)
   - Technical deep dives, ADRs (Architecture Decision Records)
4. Risk review (10 min)
   - Top 5 risks, mitigation updates
5. Next week planning (10 min)
   - Priorities, blockers, resource allocation

**Outputs**:
- Meeting notes in Confluence
- Updated risk dashboard
- Action items assigned

#### Backlog Refinement (1 hour, every Wednesday)

**Purpose**: Groom backlog, refine user stories, estimate story points

**Attendees**:
- Tech Lead (RAG Heat or SWARMCARE, alternating)
- Product Owner (Project Director or designated)
- 2-3 Engineers (rotating)

**Agenda**:
1. Review upcoming user stories (30 min)
   - Clarify requirements, acceptance criteria
   - Break down large stories (epics)
2. Estimate story points (20 min)
   - Planning poker, Fibonacci scale (1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13)
3. Prioritize backlog (10 min)
   - Order stories by business value, dependencies

**Outputs**:
- Refined user stories in Jira/Linear
- Story point estimates
- Prioritized backlog

#### Research Sync (1 hour, every Thursday)

**Purpose**: Research paper progress, experiments, collaboration

**Attendees**:
- Research Lead
- Research Engineer (RAG Heat)
- Research Engineer (SWARMCARE)
- Data Engineers (optional)
- Doctor Advisor (optional, once a month)

**Agenda**:
1. Paper progress updates (20 min)
   - Paper 1-4 status, writing progress
2. Experiment results (20 min)
   - Latest experiments, findings, challenges
3. LaTeX/writing workshop (15 min)
   - Review paper sections, feedback
4. Next steps (5 min)
   - Action items, deadlines

**Outputs**:
- Research progress tracker updated
- Paper drafts in Overleaf
- Action items for next week

#### All-Hands (30 minutes, every Friday afternoon)

**Purpose**: Team alignment, wins, announcements, social connection

**Attendees**: All 22 team members + Project Director

**Agenda**:
1. Wins of the week (10 min)
   - Each team shares 1-2 wins, accomplishments
   - Recognition for top performers
2. Announcements (5 min)
   - Project Director updates (company news, stakeholder updates)
3. Learning share (10 min)
   - 1 team member presents a learning (new tech, paper, best practice)
4. Open Q&A (5 min)
   - Questions for Project Director or Tech Leads

**Format**:
- Casual, positive, celebratory tone
- Camera on, fun backgrounds encouraged
- Recorded for those who can't attend

### 3. Bi-Weekly Meetings (Sprint Cycle: 14 Days)

#### Sprint Planning (2 hours, first day of sprint)

**Purpose**: Plan sprint, commit to user stories, define sprint goal

**Attendees**:
- **RAG Heat Sprint Planning** (10 people + Project Director): Monday, 2:00-4:00 PM
- **SWARMCARE Sprint Planning** (12 people + Project Director): Tuesday, 2:00-4:00 PM

**Agenda**:
1. Sprint goal definition (15 min)
   - What is the theme/goal for this sprint?
2. Review prioritized backlog (30 min)
   - Product Owner presents top user stories
3. Team commits to stories (45 min)
   - Team pulls stories from backlog (based on velocity)
   - Discuss tasks, dependencies, risks
4. Capacity planning (15 min)
   - Account for PTO, holidays, other commitments
5. Sprint kickoff (15 min)
   - Confirm commitments, align on sprint goal

**Outputs**:
- Sprint backlog (committed user stories)
- Sprint goal
- Task breakdown in Jira/Linear

#### Sprint Review / Demo (2 hours, last day of sprint)

**Purpose**: Demo completed work, gather feedback, showcase progress

**Attendees**:
- All team members
- Project Director
- Advisory Board (optional, once a month)
- Stakeholders (Jaideep, UHG - optional, every 2 months)

**Agenda**:
1. Sprint recap (10 min)
   - Sprint goal, committed vs. completed stories, velocity
2. Demos (60 min)
   - Each team member demos their completed work (5-10 min per person)
   - Live demos preferred (not slides)
3. Feedback & Q&A (30 min)
   - Stakeholders, advisory board, team provide feedback
4. Next sprint preview (10 min)
   - Upcoming priorities, sneak peek
5. Wins & recognition (10 min)
   - Celebrate top performers, accomplishments

**Outputs**:
- Demo recording (shared with stakeholders)
- Feedback captured in sprint notes
- Updated product backlog based on feedback

#### Sprint Retrospective (1 hour, after sprint review)

**Purpose**: Reflect on sprint, identify improvements, celebrate wins

**Attendees**:
- **RAG Heat Retrospective** (10 people + Tech Lead): After RAG Heat sprint review
- **SWARMCARE Retrospective** (12 people + Tech Lead): After SWARMCARE sprint review

**Agenda**:
1. What went well? (15 min)
   - Celebrate successes, positive moments
2. What didn't go well? (15 min)
   - Identify pain points, frustrations, issues
3. What can we improve? (20 min)
   - Brainstorm actionable improvements
4. Action items (10 min)
   - Commit to 2-3 improvements for next sprint
   - Assign owners, deadlines

**Format**:
- Blameless, safe space for honest feedback
- Use retrospective techniques (Start/Stop/Continue, Mad/Sad/Glad, 4Ls)
- Rotate facilitator each sprint

**Outputs**:
- Retrospective notes in Confluence
- Action items tracked (reviewed in next retro)

### 4. Monthly Meetings

#### Advisory Board Meeting (2 hours, first Monday of month)

**Purpose**: Strategic guidance, risk review, stakeholder updates

**Attendees**:
- Advisory Board (7 members: Lawyer, Doctor, Public Health Official, Jaideep, AI Advisor, Startup Advisor, Investor)
- Project Director
- Tech Leads (optional, for technical deep dives)

**Agenda**:
1. Project updates (30 min)
   - Progress on RAG Heat and SWARMCARE
   - Milestones achieved, upcoming milestones
   - Demos (if available)
2. Risk & compliance review (20 min)
   - Top risks, mitigation status
   - HIPAA compliance updates
   - Legal issues
3. Stakeholder engagement (20 min)
   - United Health Group (Jaideep) update
   - Other partnerships, outreach
4. Research progress (15 min)
   - Paper 1-4 status, publication updates
5. Strategic decisions (30 min)
   - Major decisions needing board input (fundraising, pivots, partnerships)
6. Open discussion (5 min)
   - Questions, feedback, advice

**Outputs**:
- Board meeting notes (shared with all members)
- Decisions documented
- Action items assigned

#### Milestone Presentation (2-4 hours, end of each phase)

**Purpose**: Showcase major milestone achievements to stakeholders

**Attendees**:
- All team members
- Advisory Board
- Jaideep / United Health Group (Phases 3-5)
- External stakeholders, potential investors (as appropriate)

**Agenda**:
1. Phase recap (15 min)
   - Objectives, achievements, key metrics
2. Comprehensive demo (60-90 min)
   - RAG Heat demo (30-45 min)
   - SWARMCARE demo (30-45 min)
   - Integration demo (if applicable)
3. Technical deep dive (30 min)
   - Architecture, technology stack, innovations
   - Doctor validation (clinical accuracy)
   - HIPAA compliance (lawyer sign-off)
4. Research updates (15 min)
   - Published or submitted papers
   - Experimental results
5. Next phase preview (15 min)
   - Upcoming priorities, timeline
6. Q&A (30 min)
   - Stakeholder questions, feedback

**Format**:
- Formal presentation (slides + live demos)
- Weekend prep (Saturday/Sunday before milestone)
- Recorded for future reference

**Outputs**:
- Milestone report (PDF document)
- Demo recording
- Stakeholder feedback captured

#### One-on-One Meetings (30 min, monthly)

**Purpose**: Career development, feedback, personal issues

**Attendees**:
- Project Director ↔ Each team member (22 one-on-ones/month)
- Tech Leads ↔ Their team members (optional, for larger teams)

**Agenda**:
1. How are you doing? (5 min)
   - Personal check-in, well-being
2. Progress & performance (10 min)
   - Recent work, accomplishments, challenges
3. Feedback (5 min)
   - What's going well, what can be improved
4. Career development (5 min)
   - Learning goals, skills to develop
5. Open discussion (5 min)
   - Any issues, requests, ideas

**Format**:
- Informal, conversational
- Private, confidential
- Notes taken (shared with team member)

**Outputs**:
- Action items for career development
- Performance feedback documented
- Issues escalated if necessary

### 5. Quarterly Meetings

#### Quarterly Planning (Half-day workshop, start of quarter)

**Purpose**: Plan next quarter, set OKRs, align on priorities

**Attendees**: All team members + Project Director + Advisory Board (optional)

**Agenda**:
1. Previous quarter review (1 hour)
   - Accomplishments, lessons learned, metrics
2. Next quarter planning (2 hours)
   - Set OKRs (Objectives and Key Results)
   - Define quarterly milestones
   - Align on priorities
3. Team building (1 hour)
   - Social activity, team bonding

**Outputs**:
- Quarterly OKRs documented
- Quarterly roadmap
- Team alignment

---

## Team Collaboration Practices

### 1. Code Collaboration (GitHub Workflow)

**Branching Strategy**:
- `main` - Production-ready code (protected branch)
- `develop` - Integration branch (latest features)
- `feature/[name]` - Individual feature branches (e.g., `feature/neo4j-integration`)
- `bugfix/[name]` - Bug fixes (e.g., `bugfix/api-timeout`)
- `hotfix/[name]` - Urgent production fixes

**Workflow**:
1. **Create Branch**: Branch off `develop` for new feature
2. **Develop**: Write code, commit frequently with clear messages
3. **Pull Request**: Open PR to `develop` with description, screenshots, tests
4. **Code Review**: 2 approvals required (1 peer + 1 Tech Lead)
5. **Address Feedback**: Respond to comments, make changes
6. **Merge**: Tech Lead merges to `develop` (squash commits or merge commit)
7. **Release**: Weekly or bi-weekly merge from `develop` → `main` (Project Director approval)

**Pull Request Template**:
```markdown
## Description
[Brief description of changes]

## Type of Change
- [ ] New feature
- [ ] Bug fix
- [ ] Refactoring
- [ ] Documentation
- [ ] Other: [describe]

## Related Issues
Closes #[issue number]

## How to Test
1. [Step 1]
2. [Step 2]
3. ...

## Screenshots (if applicable)
[Add screenshots]

## Checklist
- [ ] Code follows style guide (linting passes)
- [ ] Tests added/updated (80% coverage)
- [ ] Documentation updated
- [ ] No breaking changes (or documented)
```

**Code Review Best Practices**:
- **Be Constructive**: "Consider using X instead of Y because..." (not "This is wrong")
- **Be Specific**: Point to specific lines, suggest concrete improvements
- **Be Timely**: Review within 24 hours (blockers within 2 hours)
- **Be Thorough**: Check logic, tests, performance, security
- **Approve Generously**: If no major issues, approve (don't nitpick)

### 2. Pair Programming & Mob Programming

**Pair Programming** (2 people):
- **Driver**: Writes code
- **Navigator**: Reviews, suggests, thinks ahead
- **Switch Roles**: Every 25 min (Pomodoro technique)
- **When to Pair**:
  - Complex features (architecture, algorithms)
  - Knowledge transfer (senior ↔ junior)
  - Debugging tough issues

**Mob Programming** (3+ people):
- **Driver**: Writes code (rotates every 10 min)
- **Navigator**: Leads direction
- **Rest of Mob**: Observes, suggests, learns
- **When to Mob**:
  - Critical architectural decisions
  - Onboarding new team members
  - Solving complex, cross-functional problems

**Tools**: VS Code Live Share, Tuple, Zoom screen share

### 3. Design Collaboration (Figma)

**Workflow**:
1. **UX Designer**: Creates mockups in Figma
2. **Feedback**: Share Figma link in `#frontend` channel, tag relevant engineers
3. **Iteration**: Address feedback, update designs
4. **Handoff**: Figma file ready for development (includes specs, assets)
5. **Implementation**: Frontend engineers build UI, reference Figma
6. **Review**: UX Designer reviews implementation, suggests tweaks

**Figma Best Practices**:
- Organize files by feature/module
- Use components and design systems (consistent UI)
- Comment on Figma directly for feedback
- Export assets in correct formats (SVG, PNG, etc.)

### 4. Documentation Collaboration (Confluence/Notion)

**Documentation Types**:
1. **Architectural Decision Records (ADRs)**: Why we chose X over Y
2. **Runbooks**: How to deploy, monitor, troubleshoot
3. **API Documentation**: Endpoint specs, examples
4. **User Guides**: How to use the product
5. **Onboarding Docs**: How to get started as new team member

**Collaboration**:
- **Owner**: Each doc has an owner (responsible for keeping it updated)
- **Reviews**: Quarterly doc review (remove outdated, update current)
- **Contributions**: Anyone can suggest edits, owner approves

**Templates**: See Document 7 (Research & Documentation Strategy) for templates

### 5. Research Collaboration (Overleaf for LaTeX Papers)

**Workflow**:
1. **Research Lead**: Creates Overleaf project for each paper
2. **Co-Authors**: Invited to Overleaf project
3. **Writing**: Each author writes their section (async)
4. **Comments**: Use Overleaf commenting for feedback
5. **Merge**: Research Lead merges sections, edits for consistency
6. **Review**: Doctor advisor, AI advisor review drafts
7. **Submission**: Finalize, export PDF, submit to conference/journal

**Weekly Research Writing Workshop** (see Document 7 for details)

---

## Stakeholder Communication

### 1. Stakeholder Map

| Stakeholder | Relationship | Communication Frequency | Channel | Owner |
|-------------|--------------|-------------------------|---------|-------|
| **Jaideep (United Health Group)** | Primary partner/investor | Bi-weekly email + monthly demo | Email, Zoom | Business Development Lead + Project Director |
| **United Health Group (Organization)** | Potential partner | Monthly (after Month 3) | Email, Zoom | Business Development Lead |
| **Advisory Board (7 members)** | Advisors, mentors | Monthly meeting + ad-hoc | Email, Zoom, Slack | Project Director |
| **Public Health Lawyer** | Compliance advisor | Weekly (early), bi-weekly (later) | Email, Zoom | Project Director + DevOps |
| **Doctor Advisor** | Clinical validator | Weekly (research), monthly (board) | Email, Zoom | Research Lead + Project Director |
| **Team Members (22 people)** | Employees/contractors | Daily standup, weekly all-hands | Slack, Zoom | Tech Leads + Project Director |
| **External Researchers / Universities** | Research collaborators | As needed (for papers) | Email | Research Lead |
| **Vendors (GCP, AWS, Neo4j, etc.)** | Service providers | Quarterly (contract reviews) | Email, Support Tickets | DevOps + Project Director |

### 2. Jaideep / United Health Group Communication Plan

**Phase-by-Phase Communication** (see Document 5 for full strategy):

**Phase 1: Weeks 1-7 (Foundation)**
- **Frequency**: None (internal preparation)
- **Content**: Finalize pitch deck, demo environment, HIPAA compliance

**Phase 2: Weeks 8-10 (Preparation)**
- **Frequency**: Weekly internal check (Business Dev Lead + Project Director)
- **Content**: Research UHG priorities, prepare personalized outreach

**Phase 3: Week 10 (Initial Outreach)**
- **Channel**: Personalized email to Jaideep
- **Content**: Warm intro (mutual connection if possible), brief value prop, request for 15-min call
- **Follow-up**: 2-3 follow-up emails (1 week apart) if no response

**Phase 4: Week 11 (Intro Call)**
- **Channel**: Zoom call (15-30 min)
- **Content**: Get to know each other, understand UHG pain points, offer value
- **Follow-up**: Thank you email, next steps

**Phase 5: Weeks 12-14 (First Demo)**
- **Channel**: Zoom demo (30 min)
- **Content**: RAG Heat MVP demo, UHG-specific use cases
- **Follow-up**: Email with demo recording, key takeaways, next steps

**Phase 6: Weeks 15-17 (Bi-Weekly Updates)**
- **Channel**: Email updates (every 2 weeks)
- **Content**: Progress updates, milestones achieved, sneak peeks
- **Goal**: Keep Jaideep engaged, build anticipation for next demo

**Phase 7: Weeks 17-18 (Second Demo)**
- **Channel**: Zoom demo (60 min)
- **Content**: RAG Heat + SWARMCARE integrated demo, bring doctor + lawyer
- **Follow-up**: Email with proposal draft (pilot, partnership, investment)

**Phase 8: Weeks 19-20 (Formal Proposal)**
- **Channel**: Email + Zoom call
- **Content**: Pilot program proposal, partnership agreement, investment pitch
- **Follow-up**: Negotiate terms, legal review

**Phase 9: Weeks 21-28 (Execution)**
- **Channel**: Weekly sync calls (30 min)
- **Content**: Pilot progress, integration updates, feedback
- **Goal**: Successful pilot, path to full partnership/acquisition

**Email Template for Jaideep** (Week 10 Initial Outreach):
```
Subject: AI-Powered Healthcare Insights for United Health Group

Hi Jaideep,

I hope this email finds you well. My name is [Your Name], and I'm the Project Director for [Company/Project Name], where we're building cutting-edge AI systems for healthcare.

I understand you're at United Health Group in Basking Ridge, NJ, and have a strong track record of closing healthcare companies. I'd love to get your insights on a project we're working on:

**RAG Heat & SWARMCARE**: AI-powered systems that leverage knowledge graphs, multi-agent systems, and 13+ medical ontologies to provide clinical decision support, patient triage, and care coordination.

We're currently in development with a 22-person team and are planning to present a demo in [Month/Date]. Given your expertise in healthcare innovation, I'd greatly value 15 minutes of your time to:
1. Share a brief overview of what we're building
2. Understand United Health Group's priorities and pain points
3. Explore potential collaboration opportunities

Would you be open to a quick call next week? I'm happy to work around your schedule.

Looking forward to connecting!

Best regards,
[Your Name]
[Title]
[Email]
[Phone]
```

### 3. Advisory Board Communication

**Monthly Board Meeting** (see Meeting Structure section):
- 2-hour meeting, first Monday of month
- Agenda shared 3 days in advance
- Materials (slides, reports) shared 1 day in advance
- Meeting notes shared within 24 hours after meeting

**Ad-Hoc Consultations**:
- **Lawyer**: Contract reviews, compliance questions (as needed, 24-48 hour response time)
- **Doctor**: Clinical validation, research feedback (weekly during research sprints)
- **AI Advisor**: Technical architecture, model selection (monthly or as needed)
- **Startup Advisor**: Business strategy, fundraising (bi-weekly during fundraising)

**Board Email Updates** (bi-weekly):
- Brief update (3-5 bullet points) on project progress
- Highlight wins, risks, requests for help
- No reply needed unless action required

**Example Board Update Email**:
```
Subject: [Bi-Weekly Update] RAG Heat & SWARMCARE - Sprint 4 Complete

Hi Advisory Board,

Quick update on project progress:

**Wins**:
✅ Sprint 4 completed: Neo4j ontology integration (13 ontologies loaded)
✅ RAG Heat MVP demo ready for Jaideep (scheduled for Nov 15)
✅ Paper 1 outline completed, submitted to doctor for review

**Challenges**:
⚠️ Vector DB performance issues (working on optimization, should be resolved this week)
⚠️ 1 team member attrition (backend engineer, replacement in progress)

**Upcoming**:
🚀 Sprint 5 focus: SWARMCARE multi-agent coordination
🚀 First demo to Jaideep (Nov 15) - wish us luck!

**Request**:
If anyone has contacts at United Health Group (besides Jaideep), please intro us for backup relationships.

Thanks for your continued support!

[Your Name]
```

### 4. Team Communication (Transparency)

**Weekly Progress Updates** (shared in `#announcements` every Friday):
- Project Director posts weekly summary
- Wins, challenges, upcoming priorities
- Links to sprint demos, important decisions

**Monthly Newsletters** (optional, for larger teams):
- Highlight team accomplishments
- Spotlight team member of the month
- Share learnings, articles, resources

**Open Q&A Sessions** (monthly, part of All-Hands):
- Project Director answers questions (submitted anonymously or live)
- Transparent about challenges, decisions, strategy

---

## Documentation & Knowledge Sharing

### 1. Knowledge Management Hierarchy

(See Document 7 for full details)

**Tier 1: Core Documentation** (required, always updated):
- Project plan (this document series)
- Technical architecture (ADRs, diagrams)
- HIPAA compliance docs
- User guides, API docs

**Tier 2: Operational Documentation** (important, updated regularly):
- Runbooks (deployment, monitoring, incident response)
- Sprint notes, retrospectives
- Meeting notes (board meetings, stakeholder calls)

**Tier 3: Reference Documentation** (nice-to-have, updated occasionally):
- Tutorials, onboarding guides
- Code comments, inline docs
- Research experiment notes

### 2. Knowledge Sharing Practices

**Learning Shares** (weekly All-Hands, 10 min):
- 1 team member presents a learning
- Topics: New tech, paper summary, best practice, debugging story
- Recorded and shared in `#learning` channel

**Tech Talks** (monthly, 30-60 min):
- Deep dive into technical topic
- Open to all team members
- Examples: Neo4j query optimization, RAG architectures, HIPAA compliance

**Documentation Days** (quarterly, 1 day):
- Entire team focuses on updating docs
- Clean up outdated docs, write new ones
- Review and improve documentation standards

**Onboarding Buddy System**:
- Each new hire assigned a buddy (experienced team member)
- Buddy helps with onboarding, answers questions, pairs on first tasks

---

## Async vs. Sync Communication

### 1. When to Use Async Communication

**Prefer Async** (write it down, no meeting needed):
- **Status Updates**: Use Slack, email, Loom video
- **Non-Urgent Questions**: Post in Slack channel, expect response within 24 hours
- **Code Reviews**: GitHub comments, async feedback
- **Documentation**: Write in Confluence/Notion, get feedback via comments
- **Decisions (Low Stakes)**: Propose in Slack/email, gather feedback, decide

**Benefits of Async**:
- Respect different timezones and work schedules
- Written record of decisions and discussions
- Time to think and formulate thoughtful responses
- Less meeting overhead, more productive work time

### 2. When to Use Sync Communication

**Require Sync** (real-time meeting needed):
- **Complex Discussions**: Architectural decisions, strategic pivots
- **Urgent Issues**: P0/P1 incidents, critical blockers
- **Conflict Resolution**: Interpersonal conflicts, disagreements
- **Brainstorming**: Generating ideas, creative problem-solving
- **Stakeholder Demos**: Presenting to Jaideep, advisory board, investors
- **Onboarding**: New hire training, pairing sessions

**Meeting Best Practices**:
- Agenda shared 24 hours in advance
- Start/end on time (5-min grace period)
- Action items documented and assigned
- Meeting notes shared within 24 hours

### 3. Async-First Culture

**Default Assumption**: Information is shared asynchronously
- Post in Slack channels (not DMs) for visibility
- Write decisions in Confluence/Notion (not just discussed in meetings)
- Record meetings for those who can't attend
- Encourage written updates (Loom videos, Google Docs)

**Guidelines**:
- **Response Time SLAs**:
  - Urgent (P0/P1): < 2 hours
  - Normal: < 24 hours
  - Non-urgent: < 48 hours
- **No "Always On" Expectation**: Team members not expected to respond outside work hours
- **Deep Work Time**: Block 2-4 hour chunks for focused work (no meetings, minimal Slack)

---

## Conflict Resolution

### 1. Conflict Types

**Technical Disagreements**:
- Example: Choice of vector DB (Weaviate vs. Pinecone)
- Resolution: Data-driven decision (benchmark, pilot, consult advisor)

**Interpersonal Conflicts**:
- Example: Communication style clash, personality differences
- Resolution: Mediation by Tech Lead or Project Director

**Resource Conflicts**:
- Example: Both teams want DevOps engineer's time
- Resolution: Prioritization by Project Director, capacity planning

### 2. Conflict Resolution Process

**Step 1: Direct Communication** (Try to resolve directly first)
- Team members talk to each other (1:1, private)
- Assume positive intent, seek to understand
- "I feel X when Y happens, could we try Z?"

**Step 2: Mediation** (If Step 1 doesn't work)
- Escalate to Tech Lead or Project Director
- Mediator facilitates discussion (neutral, non-judgmental)
- Find common ground, agree on path forward

**Step 3: Decision** (If Step 2 doesn't work)
- Project Director makes final decision
- Team "disagrees and commits" (move forward even if not everyone agrees)
- Document decision and reasoning

### 3. Blameless Culture

**Principles**:
- Mistakes are learning opportunities (not reasons to punish)
- Focus on systems and processes (not individuals)
- Post-mortems are blameless (root cause, not blame assignment)
- Psychological safety (safe to speak up, ask questions, admit mistakes)

**Example Blameless Incident Response**:
- ❌ "Who broke production?" (blaming)
- ✅ "What happened, and how can we prevent it?" (learning)

---

## Transparency & Reporting

### 1. Transparency Principles

**Default to Open**:
- All decisions, discussions, documents shared openly (unless confidential)
- Public Slack channels over private DMs
- Open calendars (team members can see each other's schedules)

**Exceptions (Confidential)**:
- Legal issues (contracts, lawsuits)
- HR issues (performance, terminations, personal matters)
- Competitive intelligence (trade secrets, strategic plans before announcement)

### 2. Project Reporting

**Daily**: Standup updates (progress, blockers)
**Weekly**: All-Hands summary, Risk Dashboard review
**Bi-Weekly**: Sprint Review demos, Retrospective notes
**Monthly**: Advisory Board report, Stakeholder update (Jaideep)
**Quarterly**: OKR review, Quarterly planning

**Dashboards & Metrics** (visible to all):
- Sprint velocity (story points completed per sprint)
- Burn-down charts (remaining work in sprint)
- Bug count and severity (P0/P1/P2/P3)
- Code coverage (% of code tested)
- System uptime (% availability)
- Research progress (papers submitted, accepted, published)

### 3. Decision Tracking

**Architecture Decision Records (ADRs)**:
- Document all major technical decisions
- Template:
  ```
  # ADR-### - [Decision Title]

  Date: YYYY-MM-DD
  Status: [Proposed / Accepted / Deprecated]

  ## Context
  [What is the issue we're trying to solve?]

  ## Decision
  [What did we decide?]

  ## Rationale
  [Why did we decide this? What are the trade-offs?]

  ## Consequences
  [What are the implications? Pros and cons?]

  ## Alternatives Considered
  [What other options did we evaluate? Why did we reject them?]
  ```

**Decision Log** (Confluence/Notion):
- Running log of all major decisions (product, business, technical)
- Searchable, tagged by category
- Links to ADRs, meeting notes, Slack discussions

---

## Onboarding Communication

### 1. New Hire Onboarding Checklist

**Pre-Day 1** (Project Director + Tech Lead):
- [ ] Send welcome email with Day 1 logistics
- [ ] Create company email account
- [ ] Invite to Slack/Discord workspace
- [ ] Add to GitHub organization (role-based access)
- [ ] Add to calendar invites (standups, all-hands, sprint meetings)
- [ ] Assign onboarding buddy

**Day 1** (Onboarding Buddy):
- [ ] Welcome call (30 min) - introduce team, overview of project
- [ ] Slack channel tour - explain key channels
- [ ] Share onboarding doc - checklist of tasks, resources
- [ ] Set up development environment - clone repos, install tools

**Week 1** (Tech Lead + Buddy):
- [ ] HIPAA training (2 hours)
- [ ] Codebase tour - architecture overview, key modules
- [ ] First task assigned - small, well-defined user story
- [ ] Daily check-ins with buddy (15 min)

**Week 2** (Tech Lead + Buddy):
- [ ] HIPAA technical training (1 hour)
- [ ] First PR submitted and reviewed
- [ ] Pair programming session with senior engineer
- [ ] Attend first sprint planning

**Week 3-4** (Tech Lead):
- [ ] HIPAA certification exam (pass 80%)
- [ ] Full sprint participation (commit to user stories)
- [ ] Present learning share at All-Hands (optional)
- [ ] 30-day check-in with Project Director

### 2. Onboarding Resources

**Onboarding Doc** (Confluence/Notion):
- Welcome and project overview
- Team structure and key contacts
- Communication channels and etiquette
- Development setup guide (repos, tools, access)
- HIPAA training materials
- FAQs

**Onboarding Buddy Responsibilities**:
- Daily check-ins (Week 1), then weekly (Week 2-4)
- Answer questions, provide guidance
- Introduce to team members
- Pair on first tasks
- Collect feedback on onboarding experience

---

## Cross-Team Coordination (RAG Heat ↔ SWARMCARE)

### 1. Integration Points

**Shared Components**:
- Authentication & authorization (OAuth2, JWT)
- Neo4j knowledge graph (both projects use same ontologies)
- Vector DB (shared embeddings, queries)
- Monitoring & logging (shared dashboards)

**Data Flows**:
- SWARMCARE agents may query RAG Heat for patient insights
- RAG Heat may use SWARMCARE for multi-step reasoning

### 2. Coordination Mechanisms

**Weekly Tech Lead Sync** (see Meeting Structure):
- Review integration points, dependencies
- Align on API contracts, data schemas
- Coordinate releases, deployments

**Shared Slack Channel** (`#integration`):
- Discuss integration issues, questions
- Coordinate testing, deployments

**Integration Testing** (Bi-weekly):
- End-to-end tests for integrated workflows
- Both teams participate in testing

**API Contract Reviews**:
- Any API changes reviewed by both teams
- Backward compatibility maintained (versioning)

### 3. Conflict Resolution (Between Teams)

**Resource Conflicts** (e.g., both teams want DevOps engineer):
- Escalate to Project Director
- Prioritize based on project phase, urgency
- Capacity planning to balance workload

**Technical Disagreements** (e.g., API design):
- Tech Leads discuss and align
- If no consensus, escalate to Project Director
- Data-driven decision (benchmark, pilot)

---

## Summary & Next Steps

### Key Takeaways

1. **Communication is the Foundation**: Clear, frequent, transparent communication is critical for 22-person team success
2. **Async-First**: Default to async communication (Slack, email, docs) to respect time and timezones
3. **Structured Meetings**: Clear agendas, timely execution, documented outcomes
4. **Stakeholder Engagement**: Regular, thoughtful communication with Jaideep, UHG, advisory board
5. **Documentation**: Write everything down, make it searchable, keep it updated
6. **Blameless Culture**: Mistakes are learning opportunities, psychological safety is paramount

### Immediate Actions (Week 1-2)

**Week 1**:
- [ ] Set up communication tools (Slack/Discord, Zoom, Confluence/Notion)
- [ ] Create Slack channels (see Channel Structure)
- [ ] Schedule recurring meetings (standups, Tech Lead sync, All-Hands)
- [ ] Send welcome email to all team members with communication guidelines
- [ ] Create onboarding doc in Confluence/Notion

**Week 2**:
- [ ] First daily standups (RAG Heat and SWARMCARE)
- [ ] First All-Hands (introduce team, align on communication principles)
- [ ] First advisory board meeting prep (schedule for Week 3-4)
- [ ] Set up GitHub repo with PR template and code review guidelines
- [ ] First Jaideep outreach email (if timeline appropriate)

### Ongoing Communication Practices

- **Daily**: Standups (async or sync)
- **Weekly**: Tech Lead sync, Backlog refinement, All-Hands
- **Bi-Weekly**: Sprint planning, Sprint review, Retrospective
- **Monthly**: Advisory board meeting, 1:1s with all team members
- **Quarterly**: Quarterly planning, Documentation day

---

**This Communication & Collaboration Framework is a living document. Update based on team feedback and evolving needs.**

**Document Owner**: Project Director
**Review Cycle**: Quarterly (or after major team/project changes)
**Next Review Date**: 2026-01-23

---

*End of Document 9: Communication & Collaboration Framework*
