3. vii viii
How To Use This Playbook
This book is not about how to gain extra mana or gemstones, nor
will it tell you how to properly decorate your desk with toys. This book
holds greater power, dear A99er, because it will be your survival guide to
mastering the game. Our industry is tough and competitive, and we need
all our guild members to be geared up and ready to charge.
Once you have selected your “character” or role in this company,
you are ready to start playing this game. This book has been properly (and
easily) outlined to ensure your safe passage through the Novice phase
and earn your XP within the A99 guild by showing you some cheat sheets
through the programs we use daily. This playbook will also give you the
tips & tricks of the trade, and more importantly, teach you how to be a
more responsible and independent member of this clan. If you ask us, that
is by far, the best achievement any character can unlock!
4. 6
A99Essentials
7
is a group of players where each member hones a specific set of skills that
contributes to achieving the common goal of the entire group such as
completing a quest or defeating a big boss.
Why do we call ourselves a guild? Because each and every member
of August 99 has their own set of skills that contribute to the well-being and
overall goal of success in the business. Each A99er is unique in their own
abilities, as they individually improve their crafts to become better members
for our clan. Plus, it’s a game! Why not call ourselves a guild?
The Adventure Party
Within every guild you will find a band of sworn swords that we call,
“Adventure Parties”. An Adventure Party is composed of several characters
with specific sets of skills who help each other throughout adventures and
quests — web projects the Council assigns.
Here in August 99, we want to consider your team as your Adventure
Party because one cannot simply walk through the fires of Mordor alone.
The Adventure Party is strategically formed by the Guildmasters and
Loremasters — our Council — to make sure that each and every member’s
contribution to the party benefits the group and one another.
What’s The Game?
Welcome to the web design game. It is a fast-paced, interactive
game, as innovations occur ‘round-the-clock. Cutting-edge code, design
standards, and the hottest gadgets emerge just a few months at a time, so
we need our guild members to be constantly informed about all these tech
updates. Don’t let it stress you out, though! The constant and rapid flow of
innovation just proves that this industry works and will continue to work for
years and years to come.
The reason why we call this a “game” is because you will be part of the
non-stop evolution of information and technology, which in turn, will allow
you to constantly learn and adapt new and improved skills in order for you
to level up dramatically and rapidly. In no time, you’ll be a Superior (S-Class)
player with Novices by your side ready to play this game with you. And of
course, we call it a game because regardless of this being a business, in the
end, we all are having fun in this industry and we want to show you that you
can enjoy it too!
What Is A Guild?
A guild in medieval times is what you call an association comprised of
people with specific set of skills (merchants, craftsmen, etc.) that enable the
clan to be sustainable.In modern times,a guild is similarly a group of people
sharing the same interests in the pursuit of a common goal. More popularly
used in massive multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPG), a guild
5. 9
Okay, What’s A Lore?
Remember when you picked out your character from the very
beginning? Well, you just pretty much found yourself in a lore at that point.
Lores exist to group together the characters that share the same skill sets
and knowledge. If you are a Designer, for example, then you fall under the
Design lore.
Each lore is lead by a Loremaster who looks after you and your fellow
characters to make sure that you level up properly and feel right at home
from the get-go. A Loremaster, as the name suggests, is one who has clearly
mastered their skills within the game. They have gone through years of
quests and adventures, level after level, until they have generated enough
badges and armory to be a part of The Council.
With their knowledge, wisdom, and expertise from their crafts, they
now serve as the teachers to their respective lores in order to guide the guild
members to grow in the best way possible. Do not hesitate to approach
your Loremaster for any advice or insight on how things work around the
guild, as well as any tips they can give you to help you with your journey
with us.
GuildAccountability
How We Work
All adventures, game or otherwise, begin with a quest. Here at our
guild, we band together with our respective Adventure Parties to accept
quests assigned to us by The Council. From there, we set off on our journey
with our Adventure Parties to battle the orcs, gain some XP, and deliver the
goods.
6. 10
Product + Activity = Productivity
A99 is all about making things awesome, and nothing says it better
than a very successful Adventure Party. Aside from understanding how your
party works in terms of team interaction, each A99er must also always make
sure that their quests are completed and the clients are happy.The best way
to do this is to begin the day checking through your staple programs for
emails and tasks so that everything gets planned out before work officially
starts. Below are some of the tools that will be needed to ensure that every
angle has been scouted and checked.
All the magic happens here. Basecamp is like A99’s Guild HQ Online
as this is our ultimate tasking platform where we manage all our quests while
directly communicating with our clients and Guild mates via Discussion
Boards and To-Do lists. Each A99er must make it a point to ensure that the
flow of activities on Basecamp are constantly ongoing at their end and the
clients’ end.
Novice Needs:
•
•
11
TimeDoctor is the time-tracking application that our A99 guild uses to
ensure that every minute of productivity counts.This program is so important
to the A99er that you can consider it as your second mother. Remember to
ALWAYS log your every activity on TimeDoctor so everyone is in the loop
with your daily tasks. If you don’t, it will send you clingy messages on what
you’re up to. We don’t need your mother to tell you what to do.
Novice Needs:
•
•
•
Slack is the A99 Guild’s online chatting system. All real-time activity
happens here, so every A99er has to be on Slack to keep the party and the
shenanigans going. You can post your Guild announcements here, discuss
projects with your Adventure Parties, and even go crazy with Slackbot,
Giphys, and all the !
Cheat Sheet
If the client is unresponsive, call them
out! Nicely, of course. You can use
the discussion board on Basecamp
for any quick announcements.
Avoid marking a To-Do, “completed”
unless it was made by you or your
Guild mates. This allows you to
remind your client about the tasks to
keep the activity going.
Take advantage of the Events feature
for extra reminders. You can even
place the holidays on the Events
Project Calendar so you and your
clients are automatically reminded.
Cheat Sheet
Use the Basecamp integration in
TimeDoctor Pro for easy access
to tasks and monitoring of time
use. Use the synch button on your
app and watch all the To-Dos
assigned to you appear on the
screen.
When on a break, turn on the
“Break” button so TimeDoctor
doesn’t constantly send you
back-to-work notifications. Just
remember to turn it off when
you’re done!
Baseccamp pretty much has all the
videos you need right here.
It is available on iOS and Android
devices.
An inside look at TimeDoctor.
TimeDoctor is available on all
OS types both desktop and mobile,
in case you’re feeling extra clingy.
Always log your TimeDoctor tasks
in this order:
CLIENT - PROJECT NAME - SPECIFIC TASK
ex 1. Internal - Forge99 - Contact Form
ex 2. John Smith - Company Website -
Homepage Design Revisions
7. 12
Novice Needs:
•
•
In case you have been living under a rock, you should have heard the
name, “Skype” across the lands by now. This is by far the most effective way
to have cross-platform video conferencing in all the realm. If you’re feeling
extra proactive with your clients and just want to give them a call instead of
typing up an email, Skype is your man (or woman.)
Novice Needs:
•
•
13
Consider this as A99’s bookkeeper. Salesforce is one of the
powerhouses of Customer Relationship tools out there in the market.
Remember that in this game we’re in, there’s no auto-save. That means that
all important information on all of the accounts are stored in here, and all
client-facing A99ers should have access to Salesforce. For non client-facing
A99ers who need information about their existing accounts, do not hesitate
to approach your Loremasters for any data that need extracting.
Novice Needs:
•
•
Clearly, we’re all aware that Google pretty much rules the world. Each
A99erhastheirownGmailaccountwhich,inessence,istheaccountforpretty
much everything Google. In case it isn’t protocol enough as a professional,
email correspondences are very important and documentation is key. Gmail
Cheat Sheet
Slack lets you create public
and private chatrooms and
channels to cater to your
projects and other crazy
antics.
Cheat Sheet
Having trouble discussing
browser issues with your
clients?
Use the screen-sharing
feature so you can see exactly
what they’re looking at in an
instant.
Cheat Sheet
LOG EVERYTHING.
Even if your client simply
replies, “K.” log it anyway.
If you want all of your client’s
information in one page, go
to the ACCOUNT level in their
Salesforce.
This tutorial page will give you an
intro to Slack
Download the program in any
platform and any operating system
to have on-the-go shenanigans.
Tutorials on all things Skype can be
found here.
Pick your platform/s and Skype
away! Just make sure to put a nice
shirt on before you go on a video
call!
Seriously, these guys are so big they
have tutorial videos for everything
Salesforce.
Clearly, they have cross-platform
apps available on mobile as well.
Is there something Salesforce can’t
do? Maybe your laundry… maybe.
8. Scrum
TheScrumframeworkispopularlyusedinanyITdevelopmentprojects
where requirements rapidly change and turnaround times are deemed
emergent. This process recommends each day to begin with a brief huddle
with your Loremasters to plan the day’s quests and concludes with a review
of the overall estimation of each task load and its timelines within the days/
week.
14
and all other Google Apps are equipped with everything the A99er needs
to get themselves and their files organized and documented properly.
Novice Needs:
•
•
Keeping the quality of our work at its best is the reason why A99 is still
at the top of its game. One of the programs that the guild uses to ensure
that our sites are above 80% is through the website analysis tool, WooRank.
Novice Needs:
•
•
15
Cheat Sheet
The one Google to rule them all! Aside
from everthing in the Google App-verse,
downloading some Gmail Extensions
and Add-ons will also help improve your
life and make the productively lazy in you
shine!
Try out the following for starters:
Hellosign - Sign documents without ever
leaving Gmail... ever.
Boomerang - Your time-travelling email
companion.
Avast - Does your Chrome need the
doctor?
Rapportive - See if your clients have
social media too!
Streak - Need everything CRM in Gmail?
Streak is it!
Cheat Sheet
Make sure to check out this
interactive video of Scrum intro in
under 10 minutes to understand how
it works in a jiffy.
Make preparations by listing down
the tasks before scrum begins
to maximize the time spent in
discussion.
Adding more details to tasks
presented during scrum allows the
team leader to quickly grasp the
scope of work of the team member
and can easily manage the overall
bandwidth of the team (e.g. specific
task items, estimated time spent on
task, type of work, etc.)
Cheat Sheet
Use this quick tool for
your sales pitch or for an
easy-peasy QA breezy
time.
Go Chrome or go home.
There is not much else to say,
really.
Actually, even better! Get
yourself the Chrome App
Launcher and access every
Google Doc, Sheet, orm, and
other Google-things straight
from your Desktop!
All production A99 guild members
must gather every morning to go through
the Scrum process with their respective
lores so each task and workload is allocated
and ironed out accordingly. Scrum is very
important for each lore, as it builds the
camaraderie among its guild members
and allows for teamwork to come into play
when some of their guild mates are out for
the day.
Need to see how a website is ranked?
You can go straight to their website.
Or you can always just install another
GoogleAdd-On if you’re feeling Google-
clingy.
9. 16
Client Relationships
Perform + Enhance = Performance
Each and every A99er is a star player in their own right. Honing your
current expertise as well as learning new XP are key items to levelling
yourself up. With this said, your skills and performance do not go unnoticed
within the August 99 guild.
17
Cheat Sheet
Practice the idea of putting oneself in the
client’s shoes. This allows the A99er to
communicate and approach the client in
any situation with respect, integrity, and
equality.
Once you understand how the client
thinks, you’ll have an equal and mutual
respect others’ skills and business goals.
When in doubt, Salesforce. All
correspondences must be logged
in Salesforce for documentation and
safekeeping.
Reading up on ways to build lasting
relationships with clients will also help
in the growth and levelling up of the
A99er’s skills in communication and
confidence.
Building relationships with the clients
is the key to a successful business. August
99’s goal is to extend the clan not only to
people who are highly skilled at their craft,
but to the clients we want to share our
15+ years of experience in the game with.
Remember, the client looks to the A99er for
knowledge and expertise. As such, it is now
the responsibility of the guild to give the
best service to the client to ensure that they
keep coming back for more!
10. 18
18
Skill Levels
Just like in any game, the more quests you do with your Adventure
Party,the moreXP you gain until you finally level up to the next stage.Not just
in games but also in real life, levelling up your skills will also mean rewards,
perks, as well as responsibility level-ups. Big steps and big changes await
the A99er ready to play the game!
Form99
Just like in a game where all guild members need to check the status
of their XP and items, August 99 will also hold evaluations for each guild
member. Crucial information about the A99er’s improved performance,
rankings, and other XP details will be listed down and presented to the
guild member in written format called the Form99.
This form will be handed to the A99er as a guide for them to see
the improvements and growth that their Loremasters and Guildmasters
have noticed throughout their time with the guild. The A99er will have the
chance to have a sit down with their masters to go over their Form99s in
great detail.
Consequently, just as there are rewards for developing your skills for
your character, there are also equivalent sanctions for misconduct that can
be considered unacceptable within the A99 guild.
The Form99 can also indicate the list of misconducts that have been
observed and that will be subject to discussion between the Loremasters
and the Guildmasters.
Categories to be discussed with the guild member, Loremasters, and
Guildmasters are — but not limited to — the following items:
• Overall Performance
• Attendance
• Teamwork
• Character
• Discipline
• Personal Growth
Pre-Requisites
By now you’re probably curious how you get from one level to another.
Worry not,fellow A99er! We’ve got that covered for you just as well.We have
listed down a set of pre-requisites per level to ensure that all your quests for
every stage in the game is taken into consideration for your overall growth
and levelling up. These pre-requisites will not only set some goals for your
character to achieve, but also in the long run will aid you with all the XP you
will need if or when you decide to move to another game altogether to
venture out into the yonder.
11. 20 21
Retrospective
Every last workday of the week, the A99 guild members will meet with
their respective Loremembers to engage in Retrospective. During this time,
each A99er will reflect on what they see were pros and cons throughout
the week. Once all the characters within the lore has given their individual
pros and cons, they will now collectively come up with solutions and
recommendations as a means to constantly improve and grow the overall
productivity of the guild.
After going through Retrospective with the lore members, the
Loremasters will then present the notes during The Council meetings. The
Loremasters and the Guildmasters will then discuss how to implement and
further put into action the solutions that were brought up throughout all the
Retrospectives for the duration of the week, and so on.
Awards & Recognitions
The Guildmasters will also be issuing awards & recognitions
throughout the year for the A99ers who have proved themselves highly
skilled at honing their crafts. Aside from Form99s, prizes and privileges will
also be awarded to A99 guild members that have been taken notice by
their masters.
Prizes will solely depend on the Guildmasters’ discretion. As for the
privileges, these can range from the following; but may apply only to others.
• Designer & Developer Awards
Every quarter, the A99 Guildmasters will be holding awards for
the best design and development work submitted by each A99
guild member.
• Work From Home (WFH) Program
Also considered as Work Remotely, the A99er will have the
privilege of working outside of the office, given that all three
programs are switched on: TimeDoctor, HipChat, and Basecamp.
This perk is granted to adventurers who have proven they can
work independently and finish projects just as well as they would
from the office. Upon council approval, team members can WFH
up to 3 days a week.
• Offsetting Work Hours
Considering that overtime has a long process — going through
the client’s approval before passing through the Loremasters
then to the Guildmasters — we feel that this diminishes the
productivity and creativity of the A99er. The idea behind
Offsetting Work Hours is that if a guild member decides to work
beyond the 8 hours within the day, they are allowed to offset
those additional hours to another day (i.e. Coming to work on
another day at a later time) with approval from their Loremaster
and Guildmasters.
12. 22 23
Go Forth & Freelance
Here at August 99, we wholeheartedly believe in character growth
and leveling up of our guild members’ skill sets. We highly encourage you
to be your best in performance, as well as adapt to the rapid changes in
the industry, allowing you to learn new skills on the fly. With this said, if you
feel the need to do some side quests outside your guild, you are more than
welcome to do so! But before you take that journey outside the guild hours,
we have a couple of safety guidelines in tow for you.
Protecting A99 Knowledge
Intellectual Property in the real world is serious business, especially in this
industry where everything can be Google-able within the game. Consider
these safety guidelines as our force field to you as we protect our guild
from outside invasions. While you sharpen your skills and increase your XP,
we will provide the tools and the means for your growth. However, honor
the guild with respect in terms of what you can do and cannot do during
your side quests.
Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA)
Tips & Tricks
Be proud of your work! Check with
your COO for any A99 quest you want
to showcase on your portfolio to see
if we have any NDA with them. If we
don’t, then request for permission to
post (under the name of August 99,
Inc. of course) and showcase your
talent to the world!
Some A99 quests that we do are
“white label” quests or ninja quests.
This means that our clients take credit
for our work. Double-check with the
COO to make sure we don’t post any
of that stuff.
When showcasing work done for
clients, make sure that you don’t give
specific information that connect
us to the client when Googled.
This compromises our integrity as
ninjas working behind the scenes
as contractors. For example, if our
client was Apple, you can always say,
“Software Company X”.
Be creative! You may not be able to
bring the secret spells out of the guild,
but with all the cool things you’ve
learned, we’re sure you can come up
with your own magic.
You’re probably wondering what all those
heavy words in your contract are, right? Don’t
worry, we’ve been there and lucky for you, we’re
breaking it down into A99 lingo to make all our
lives easier! If you need the specifics or the ac-
tual words from The Law, you can always refer
back to your official contract.
You might familiarize yourself more to
the NDA with its other name: Confidentiality
Agreement (CA). Basically this means that our
A99 quests hold secret information with binding
magic to our guild and the clients. Other than
holding confidential information from clients,
another angle of the NDA is when you learn
all the confidential information from your guild
and use this material outside of our guild. These
items hold great power, and must not — under
any circumstance — be revealed to the outside
forces lest we face the wrath of The Law.
Do’s and Don’ts:
• Don’t advertise your A99 projects
you’ve completed on LinkedIn,
Behance, Twitter or any other social platform without the Guild-
masters’ permission.
• If you are given permission, do remember to acknowledge the
work as done ‘on behalf of August 99 Inc.’.
• Don’t use or share confidential information with anyone outside
the company including our pricing, workflow, tools, customer
lists and other information in your employment contract.
• Don’t discuss your salary with anyone in the company.
13. Tips & Tricks
Own time, own dime! Just
as half the word suggests,
work on your side quests
on your FREE time using
your own resources and
your own tools.
24 25
Non-Solicitation
This means you cannot offer your freelance services to clients of A99
during or after your employment. Obtaining clients that hand over these
quests to our guild undergo a relatively meticulous process. The time,
mana, and coins that are spent earning thereputation our guild has in the
industry has proven the hard work, dedication, and awesome superpowers
each and every member has put on the table. We all respect each other as
individuals highly skilled with their crafts, and we
all respect our relationship with the guild.
Freelancing
Freelancing is okay. What we want to make sure is that you’re doing
it the safe way, because as mentioned throughout this playbook, we know
how the game works and how competitive this industry is. The power of
The Law is great and could get you in all sorts of trouble if you are caught
unawares. Better to have your guild guide you, teach you, and
look out for you as you get master the game.
Tips & Tricks
Stay golden, pony boy! If your
clients are happy with you and
your relationships turn long-
term, Account Managers and
Web Strategists are more than
welcome to upsell anything.
Rewards, incentives and/or
comissions await those who
make our quest givers happy!
OverallAttendance
Guild Hours
Clock-In
Although time varies depending on your Lore, all members of the
A99 Guild must allot 8 hours of their day going on adventures through
their assigned quests. Each Lore is given a one-hour grace period from
their original clock-in time for stepping into the A99 Realms. Below are the
assigned time-stamps for each Lore:
Overtime or Hypertime?
Here at A99, we firmly believe that overtime is overrated. First of all, it
is an extreme pain to avail of it as the Guild members need to get approval
from their Clients before they file an official request to their Lore Masters
and Guild Masters. Second, working beyond 8 hours will burn the Guild
member out and we do not want our team burned out.
Fear not, however, dear A99er! Because if any Guild member needs to
extend their 8 hours to finish any work, the Loremasters and Guildmasters
still do grant overtime for approved cases. For other cases, offset hours will
be granted, subject to the Loremasters’ and the Guildmasters’ approval.
Understand that we are in this realm together;
we spent our energies building this home and we
want to preserve the integrity of this guild. With this
said, seeking side quests from the resources and
clientele the guild has worked diligently to earn the
trust from is a big no-no. Just as such, reaching out
to the resources and clientele of the guild needs
to be avoided unless we want to challenge the big
boss, The Law.
So, yes! Be proud of your work! You’ve earned
it and you leveled up amazingly to get there! Just
remember that if your best works, your awesomest
quests, and your finest trophies, were achieved with
the help of yourAdventure Parties,your Loremasters,
your Guildmasters, heck, the whole A99 guild; then
all the more reason to say that YOU MADE IT, and
you did it together with your clan!
• Production: 6:30am - 7:30am
Production Guild members consists of
Designers and Developers
• Client Facers: 8:30am - 9:30am
Client Facers Guild members consists of
Sales, Account Managers, and members of
the Administration
14. 26 27
On The Dot
Chow Fund
The A99 Guild firmly believes in positive activities to keep the energy
of the team members going throughout the day. In order to keep ourselves
and our fellow team members in check with regards to punctuality, the A99
Loremasters and Guildmasters have created the Chow Fund. This activity
has been opted by the entire clan and is meant to be beneficial for everyone
in the guild. You can always opt out of the Chow Fund program by letting a
council member know.
• Mechanics
Every A99er is required to come in within a grace time period
daily.
Failure to arrive at the A99 Realms during their designated cut-
off times will have to put down Php50.00 to our Chow Fund Jar.
Failure to arrive at the office for THREE consecutive days will
receive The Early Bird status for the week.
Failure to arrive at the office for FIVE consecutive days will
receive a sanction and a Form99 evaluation.
• Rewards
Every month, the Chow Fund Jar will be used to treat the entire
A99 guild to munchies of their choice, or they can decide to
keep the remaining funds to accumulate for a bigger plan in
the future.
For every clean bi-weekly sheet (everyone’s on time), free
munchies c/o the Guildmasters.
For every three consecutive lates for any A99er, a free bag of
munchies (candies) c/o The Early Bird.
• Special Characters
The Early Bird - This status is given to any A99er who
accumulates THREE consecutive lates.
The Jar Bearer - This guild member holds the One True Jar
where the Chow Fund money pool goes into.
The Collectors - These guild members will be in charge of
collecting the Chow Fund from their respective teams for the
day.
The Ninjas - These Guild members will be the ones secretly
monitoring the ins and outs of the door
• Considerations & Other Notes
For events such as calamities, if 50% of
the Guild Members are late within the
day, the rules are excused.
Special Characters are still part of the
Chow Fund activity.
15. 28
29
Sick Leave (SL)
Each A99er is granted twelve (12) pro-rated Sick Leaves throughout
the year to accommodate for any health issues that the A99er experiences.
For a Sick Leave to be considered valid, it must be filed before 7:30am of
the the day of leave.
For any instance that the A99er needs to file two or more consecutive
Sick Leaves, the guild member must present a Medical Certificate to their
Guildmasters for validation and approval.
Emergency Leave (EL)
Emergency Leaves are limited to unusual circumstances that require a
guild member’s immediate absence.Consider the ELas your reserved mana
for moments of dire emergencies, and must not be used to replace VLs or
SLs at any given time. The following below are considered — but not limited
to — Emergency Leaves and will be subject to The Council’s approval:
• Bereavement Leave
• Maternity Leave
• Paternity Leave
• Solo Parent Act Leave
• If you are disabled (accident, etc.)
• If you know you will be disabled (scheduled surgery,
pregnancy, etc.)
Personal Obligation Day (POD)
Non-Regularized guild members are granted 2 PODs at the beginning
of their game, and are not granted the twelve VLs and SLs until they have
completed their 6-month probationary period.
Personal Time-Off (PTO) Request Form
For any guild member wanting to file for any leave, they must fill
out the official PTO Request Form and email this form to their respective
Loremasters. The Loremasters will then take note of these forms and send
Leaves
There are three types of leaves within the guild which any A99er can
file and avail of throughout their time with us. Below are the kinds of leaves
granted to the A99ers:
Vacation Leave (VL)
Each regular A99 guild member is given twelve (12) pro-rated
Vacation Leaves each year. In order for the Vacation Leave/s to be granted
by the Guildmasters, the A99er must file for the leave/s at least 2 weeks
before the desired date/s. The Loremasters and Guildmasters will attempt
to accommodate each A99er’s leaves of choice, but must reserve the right
to schedule VL requests in such a way as to meet its business needs. As
such, only 25% of each A99 Lore shall be granted the VL at any given time.
16. them over to the Guildmasters for final approval. Once your Guildmasters
have sent you a signed copy of your PTO Request Form, consider this as
officially approved, signed, and documented. This also allows you to have
a formal copy of your leave forms for future references. PTO requests need
to be submitted before 7:30am of the work day.
Sanctions
Filing for leaves is extremely important within the A99 guild as it affects
the overall outcome of productivity among the Lores and Adventure Parties
for the day. This also allows the teams to prepare for any contingencies in
advance. It is imperative that the A99er follows the protocol in filing their
leaves by submitting PTO request forms. Every Guild member must also be
vigilant in using their leaves responsibly as failure to do so may result in a
Form99 evaluation.
30 31
RealmResponsibilities
Cleanliness & Order
It is important to note that one of the main influences in a person’s
mood is their environment. With this said, it is every A99 Guild member’s
responsibility to make sure that the Realm is squeaky
clean at all times.
Practicing the Clean - As - You - Go (CLAYGO)
mentality will result in a clutter-free and happy work
environment. Speaking of which, there’s still that one
bottle of beer in the fridge!
After Guild Hours
In order to converve energy, the A99 guild
will routinely do a lights-out by 5:00pm daily. Guild
members are allowed to play video games on ther Macs
after they have allotted their 8 hours for the day, however, once 5:00pm
hits, all A99ers must turn off all their gear, the AC, and the lights before
closing shop.
Times when the 5:00pm lights out will not be observed:
• Scheduled cleaners
• A99ers availing their Offset Hours
• A99ers working on overtime or flex time.
17. 32
Jargon99
Think of this as the Glossary, or secret codes if you want to sound
cooler.
Game — An activity for entertainment or competition. Also known as, “life”
and “work”. Also called the action of toying with your heart. We’re just sayin’.
XP — Short for “experience” in most Role Playing Games (RPG). Also the
best Windows OS before Vista showed up in town.
Level Up — When a player acquires enough XP to move to the next level in
terms of skills and expertise.
Guild — In gaming terms, it’s the group of people with varying sets of skilled
characters who collectively contribute to achieve the ultimate goal in the
game. It’s usually defeating the big boss or getting the most XP.
Adventure Party — Usually coined as a band of sworn swords, it is a select
group of skilled individuals that journey together through quests. Think
Gandalf and the rest of the gang from the Fellowship of the Ring.
Sworn Swords — Knights who have sworn to put their skills to service a
group or a cause.
Lore — Where all the people with the same skill sets are at.
Neophytes — Noobs or fresh meat. In the real world, they’re called OJTs and
Interns.
Novices — The CEO also refers to them as Apprentices, but Novice sounds
way cooler. These guys are basically the rookies of the game.
Knights — Aside from the very common definition, these guys are the bread
and butter of the guild. They’ve passed the level of Novice and they just
keep getting better at their skills.
33
Jargon99 (cont.)
Heroes — Also known as the Seniors. These people have pretty much gone
through all the difficult to impossible levelled quests that they have become
incredibly skilled at their crafts. So skilled, in fact, that you can now bug
them for any help and they can’t refuse you... ever.
Loremasters — As the name suggests, they are the masters of the Lores in
which you have been placed in. Think of them as the Elders in their Lores
and are very wise and knowledgeable.You can even treat them like Gandalf,
just don’t ask them for their actual age.
Guildmasters — The ones who rule the lands. The Alpha and the Omega.
Father Sky and Mother Earth. Yin and Yang. Good Cop and Bad Cop. Oh,
you know the drill — they’re the Chiefs.
Quests — These are what we call the projects, tasks, and accounts you’ll be
assigned to. Because all those three sound so mundane, we’ve decided
that quests make everything feel like an adventure!
Side Quests — Any freelance work or projects you do outside of the guild.
Just make sure not to take on too much or you’ll forget about your main
quest!
The Council — A group consisting of Loremasters, Guildmasters, and
other guild members that convene twice a week to discuss game matters,
strategies, and all the other serious business things.
Realms — Formerly known as, “The Woods”, or Eastwood.
The Law — Pretty much the legit legal stuff. Also referred to as, “The Man”, or
every video game’s big boss.
TDP — Short for The Design People, Inc. The guild’s sister company that’s
about 15 years old... or older. We lost track.
18. 34
SoundOff
We have finally reached the last page of the playbook, fellow A99er.At
this point in time, we trust that you have placed some mental notes on items
that will help you grow as a member of this guild, and more importantly, as
an individual set out to achieving your dream career in the future.
This Sound Off serves as your acknowledgement page to having read
the entire playbook as well as your agreement to abide by the rules of the
playbook, and join the A99 guild as we quest through the adventures to
awesomeness.
Join us in officially sounding-off by placing your autograph below
along with your August 99 Guildmasters:
TIGER BITANGA
Chief Executive Officer
Please see your email for your official Sound Off
