Workplace Culture

How we work together to build FactHarbor.

1. Our Inspiration

FactHarbor's workplace culture draws from three complementary sources:
Best Workplace Blueprint (Schaub Group):

• User-centered collaboration
• Empowered, self-organizing teams
• Iterative improvement
• Enabling leadership
• Experimentation and learning
• Transparency and trust
  Sociocracy 3.0:
• Consent-based decisions
• Clear domains
• Empirical approach
• Continuous improvement
• Equivalence
• Accountability
  AI-First Philosophy:
• Automation over bureaucracy
• Systems thinking
• Metrics-driven improvement
• Scale through code
  Together: A collaborative, transparent, learning culture that enables both humans and AI to thrive.

2. We Engage with Our Users

From BWB: "We connect with users and empathize with them, listen to their needs, and learn from their insights."

2.1 FactHarbor Application

Our users:

• Internal: Contributors, moderators, team members
• External: Claim submitters, information seekers, researchers, journalists
  How we engage:
• ✅ User feedback continuously monitored (helpful/unhelpful ratings)
• ✅ Community forums for discussion
• ✅ Regular user surveys
• ✅ Feedback loops inform system improvements
• ✅ Transparent communication about changes
• ✅ Public roadmap
  User journey consideration:
• Claim submission → AKEL processing → Verdict → Evidence exploration
• Every step designed for clarity and trust
• User privacy prioritized
• Accessibility important
  User-driven improvement:
• User feedback patterns → System improvements (not ad-hoc fixes)
• Example: "Users find evidence unclear" → Improve evidence presentation algorithm
• Example: "Users confused by confidence scores" → Better explanation system

2.2 Internal Users (Contributors)

We support contributors:

• Clear onboarding documentation
• Welcoming community
• Responsive to questions
• Recognize contributions
• Safe to experiment and learn
  We learn from contributors:
• RFC feedback shapes decisions
• Community insights improve processes
• Diverse perspectives strengthen the system

3. We Build Networks of Empowered Teams

From BWB: "Teams self-organize and wield decision-making power... Networks of teams align around shared strategic goals with agreed priorities."

3.1 FactHarbor Application

Self-organizing within domains:

• Technical Coordinator: Autonomous over AKEL performance
• Community Coordinator: Autonomous over community processes
• Moderators: Autonomous in handling flagged items
  Decision-making power (see Consent-Based Decision Making):
• Consent-based decisions for system changes
• No hierarchy - decisions by domain expertise
• Clear escalation for cross-domain issues
  Empowerment through:
• Clear domain boundaries (S3 pattern)
• Authority to make decisions within domain
• Support and resources to succeed
• Trust by default
  Networks alignment:
• Shared goal: Make FactHarbor's claim evaluation excellent
• Regular coordination meetings
• Cross-domain collaboration on complex issues
• Transparent decision documentation

3.2 Ownership and Accountability

Team members own outcomes:

• Technical Coordinator accountable for AKEL performance metrics
• Community Coordinator accountable for contributor satisfaction
• Moderators accountable for healthy community
  Recognition for achievements:
• Public recognition of contributions
• Performance metrics show impact
• Success celebrated as team achievement

3.3 Small, Focused Team

By design: full-timeE + part-time moderators
Why small?

• Automation does most work
• Less coordination overhead
• Clearer communication
• Each person's impact visible
  Scaling through:
• Better algorithms (not more people)
• Improved processes
• Community contributions

4. We Work in Iterations

From BWB: "We operate in iterative cycles, allowing us to make early adjustments and minimize the risk and impact of errors."

4.1 FactHarbor Application

Sprint cycles (2 weeks):

• Select improvement priorities
• Implement and test
• Review and retrospect
• Adjust and iterate
  Feedback loops (see Continuous Improvement):
• Daily: Monitor metrics
• Weekly: Review trends
• Monthly: Comprehensive analysis
• Quarterly: Strategic review
  Early adjustments:
• Canary deployments (1% → 5% → 25% → 100%)
• Quick rollback if issues
• A/B testing for validation
• Frequent small changes > big releases
  Quality embedded in every increment:
• Automated testing
• Code review
• Performance validation
• Metrics monitoring

4.2 Learning from Errors

Errors are learning opportunities:

• Blameless retrospectives
• Document what went wrong
• Identify systematic causes
• Improve to prevent recurrence
  Safe to fail:
• Test environments for experimentation
• Rollback plans for all changes
• Low-risk experimentation encouraged
• Failures documented and shared

5. We Are Visionary Leaders and Enablers

From BWB: "Leaders create an enabling environment, removing impediments and empowering individuals and teams to self-organize... viewing failure and mistakes as opportunities for continuous growth and learning."

5.1 FactHarbor Application

Enabling environment:

• Clear documentation and onboarding
• Tools and infrastructure provided
• Support readily available
• Resources allocated appropriately
  Removing impediments:
• Technical Coordinator: Removes technical blockers
• Community Coordinator: Removes process blockers
• Governing Team: Removes strategic/policy blockers
  Empowerment through clarity:
• Clear domains (S3 pattern)
• Clear decision processes
• Clear success metrics
• Clear escalation paths
  Psychological safety:
• ✅ Safe to ask questions
• ✅ Safe to admit mistakes
• ✅ Safe to disagree (with data)
• ✅ Safe to experiment
• ✅ Safe to fail (and learn)
  Not safe:
• ❌ Harassment or discrimination
• ❌ Ignoring feedback
• ❌ Circumventing processes for convenience
• ❌ Hiding problems

5.2 Leadership Philosophy

Leadership is service:

• Leaders serve the team
• Leaders remove obstacles
• Leaders enable success
• Leaders develop people
  Not command-and-control:
• No "my way or highway"
• No hoarding information
• No blame culture
• No micromanagement
  "Go to Gemba" (BWB principle):
• Leaders actively observe work
• Understand challenges firsthand
• Learn from doing
• Coach and support

5.3 Continuous Growth and Learning

Individual growth:

• Learn new technologies
• Develop new skills
• Expand domain knowledge
• Take on stretch challenges
  Team learning:
• Retrospectives
• Knowledge sharing
• Documentation
• Mentoring
  Organizational learning:
• System improvements documented
• Failures analyzed
• Successes replicated
• Knowledge base maintained

6. We Foster Change

From BWB: "We create environments that encourage experimentation and hypothesis exploration. We embrace changes grounded in evidence and tested hypotheses."

6.1 FactHarbor Application

Experimentation encouraged:

• RFC process enables anyone to propose
• Test environments available
• A/B testing supported
• "Good enough for now, safe enough to try"
  Evidence-based change:
• Measure before and after
• Data drives decisions
• Hypotheses tested, not assumed
• Metrics validate success
  Change process:

1. Identify issue (data-driven)
   2. Hypothesize solution
   3. Design experiment
   4. Test thoroughly
   5. Deploy gradually
   6. Measure impact
   7. Learn and iterate
   Not change for change's sake:

• Clear problem being solved
• Expected improvement defined
• Success measurable
• Rollback if unsuccessful

6.2 Innovation Culture

Encourage:

• ✅ Trying new approaches
• ✅ Challenging assumptions
• ✅ Learning from other domains
• ✅ Cross-pollinating ideas
  But maintain:
• ✅ Testing before deployment
• ✅ Measuring impact
• ✅ Documentation
• ✅ Code quality

6.3 Adaptation

System adapts to:

• New domains (medical, legal, etc.)
• New evidence types
• New attack vectors
• User needs
• Scale requirements
  Culture of adaptation:
• Nothing is sacred (except principles)
• Processes evolve
• Tools change
• Structures adapt

7. We Practice Transparency and Build Trust

From BWB: "We actively share information... We proactively communicate about the fulfillment of our promises and commitments... We recognize our limitations and mistakes and persistently strive for improvement."

7.1 FactHarbor Application

Transparency in decisions:

• Decision records documented
• Rationale explained
• Trade-offs acknowledged
• Open to questions
  Transparency in metrics (see System Performance Metrics):
• Performance dashboards public
• Success/failure metrics visible
• Improvement progress tracked
• Problems acknowledged
  Transparency in code:
• Open source (where possible)
• Algorithm parameters documented
• Changes tracked in git
• Auditable by anyone
  Transparency in governance:
• Governance structure documented
• Meeting minutes published
• Policies openly accessible
• Decision processes clear

7.2 Communication

Proactive communication:

• Regular updates on progress
• Advance notice of changes
• Explanation of decisions
• Status of commitments
  Honest communication:
• Acknowledge limitations
• Admit mistakes openly
• Share both successes and failures
• Don't hide problems
  Responsive communication:
• Answer questions promptly
• Engage with feedback
• Clarify misunderstandings
• Address concerns

7.3 Trust Building

Trust through:

• ✅ Consistent behavior
• ✅ Keeping commitments
• ✅ Admitting mistakes
• ✅ Sharing information
• ✅ Including people in decisions
• ✅ Demonstrating competence
  Trust eroded by:
• ❌ Hiding information
• ❌ Breaking commitments
• ❌ Blaming others
• ❌ Inconsistent decisions
• ❌ Ignoring feedback

8. Integrating All Three Frameworks

8.1 How They Complement

Best Workplace Blueprint provides:

• Human-centered values
• Leadership principles
• Cultural practices
  Sociocracy 3.0 provides:
• Decision-making patterns
• Organizational structures
• Governance frameworks
  AI-First Philosophy provides:
• Automation principles
• Scalability approach
• Systems thinking
  Together: Culture + Patterns + Technology = Effective Organization

8.2 Practical Example

Scenario: AKEL processing time increasing
BWB perspective:

• Engage users: Check if users experiencing delays
• Work iteratively: Quick fixes first, then systematic
• Transparency: Communicate problem and progress
• Learning: What can we learn from this?
  S3 perspective:
• Domain clarity: Technical Coordinator owns this
• Consent decision: Proposed solution needs team consent
• Empiricism: Test solutions, measure impact
• Continuous improvement: Part of ongoing cycle
  AI-First perspective:
• Fix the system: Optimize algorithm, not override
• Metrics-driven: What metrics show the problem?
• Automation: Solution must scale
• Monitor: Watch metrics after fix
  Result: Comprehensive, principled approach to problem-solving.

9. Working Remotely (Future)

FactHarbor may operate as remote-first or hybrid organization.
BWB principles applied remotely:

• Engagement: Video calls, async communication
• Empowerment: Trust-based work
• Iterations: Sprint structure works remotely
• Transparency: Even more important when distributed
• Change: Remote tools and processes
  Best practices (to be developed as team grows):
• Documented communication preferred
• Overlap hours for collaboration
• Async-first with sync as needed
• Regular video check-ins
• Virtual retrospectives

10. Living Document

This culture page evolves:

• Quarterly review: Does this reflect reality?
• Feedback welcome: Suggest improvements
• Updated as we learn: Culture grows with us
  Culture is practiced, not proclaimed:
• These aren't just words
• Actions matter more than statements
• Everyone accountable for culture
• Leaders exemplify these values

11. For New Team Members

If you're new to FactHarbor:
Expect:

• Transparency in decisions and metrics
• Autonomy within your domain
• Support and resources
• Learning opportunities
• Safe environment for experimentation
• Data-driven decisions
• Iterative improvement
  Contribute by:
• Asking questions
• Proposing improvements (RFCs)
• Supporting team decisions
• Sharing knowledge
• Taking ownership
• Learning continuously
• Upholding these values

12. Related Pages

• Automation Philosophy - Why we automate
• Governance - How we govern
• Continuous Improvement - How we improve
• Consent-Based Decision Making - How we decide
• Contributor Processes - How to contribute