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How Loom Engineering Team Utilizes Loom for Communication

Introduction

This guide will explore the practical ways in which the Loom engineering team incorporates Loom into their daily workflows. From incident management to knowledge sharing and code reviews, you'll learn how asynchronous video communication can streamline complex technical dialogues and enhance team collaboration. By the end of this guide, you'll have insights into how to leverage Loom for various engineering processes.

Step-by-Step Instructions

Incident Management with Loom

During an incident where latency spikes or server graphs show abnormalities, the team quickly communicates using Loom. This replaces long chains of text messages and provides clear, visual context to the problem.
Spike in latency incident communication

Back-and-Forth Conversations

Engineers like Cheyenne send a Loom to provide updates or findings, which others like Olga can respond to with their own Looms. This reduces the time spent waiting for responses and accelerates the investigation process.
Engineer sending a Loom update

Show and Tell Channel

A dedicated channel is used to share new technologies, work on prototypes, and display in-progress builds. This keeps the entire team informed about ongoing developments and fosters a culture of knowledge sharing.
Sharing in the show and tell channel

Work on Prototypes

Discussing prototypes is made simpler with Loom. Instead of lengthy written explanations, visual demonstrations can convey the nuances of a prototype more effectively.
Discussing prototypes

Bug Reporting with Loom

Technical support engineers include Looms in their bug reports to provide a clear picture of the issues to the engineering team. This visual context helps engineers understand and resolve issues more efficiently.
Bug reporting with Loom

Code Reviews Using Loom

For code reviews, Looms are attached to demonstrate UI changes or to guide reviewers through the codebase. This method is quicker and more informative than written descriptions.
Code review UI demonstration

Documentation and Onboarding

Looms are also used to create documentation and to onboard new team members. The visual and auditory aspects of Loom make understanding complex systems and processes more accessible for everyone.
Using Loom for documentation

Conclusion

Loom serves as a versatile communication tool for the engineering team, akin to Slack, Microsoft Teams, Google Docs, or Notion. The guide demonstrates how integrating Loom into various facets of engineering work can boost productivity, reduce miscommunication, and foster a collaborative environment. By following these steps, teams can enhance their communication strategies with high-fidelity, asynchronous video interactions.