A great developer experience isn't just an outcome of using AI tools well. DevEx is also a prerequisite to higher efficiency gains. Good documentation, robust observability, fast test execution, frictionless local dev experience -- these aren't just nice-to-haves in the world of AI-assisted engineering. They're essential. Companies that have already invested in devex are seeing that investment pay…
Ignoring intuition for the sake of “being logical,” data-driven theater, ignoring my role as a business leader, and more.
I get asked a lot about various developer productivity metrics frameworks, so I’ve written a detailed whitepaper about each framework, what their goals are, and when you might consider using them. It’s long and just looks nicer as a PDF, so the link is below. Download the whitepaper.
We know it when we see it, but are you sure that everyone on your team is thinking about it in the same way?
How can you give your team enough information to be successful without feeling micromanage-y?
That meeting probably could have been an email.
Staying out of “solution mode” is often one of the harder things to master when you’re coaching your team. Using coaching questions can help you resist the urge to inject your own solutions, and help give the other person space to come to the solution on their own. Good coaching questions have two criteria: They can’t be answered with “yes” or “no” They don’t have an answer embedded in the…
Look beyond activity data from GitHub and JIRA and take a look at a practical example of how I use data and evidence to measure individual performance.
Two strategies when a democratic decision seems out of reach.
What should you consider when rolling out the SPACE framework to your whole engineering organisation?
We follow The Rule of No Surprises to avoid unexpected emotional reactions during performance review conversations. Still, they can happen. Here’s what to do.
What’s the right number of goals, and how should your goal-setting strategy differ for low, mid, and high performers?
Templates, examples, and a schedule for a lightweight performance review process.
Painless and Productive Performance Reviews, Part 1
Why I don’t trust free salary benchmarking data, and where I look instead.
Anonymous or not? How often should I send them? Who should take them? And what do I do with the results?
How can your tiny startup compete with a Big Corp for developer talent?
If you ask this question to a group of engineering leaders, you will probably get answers that are different, but aligned.
It’s tricky to navigate relationships after a move to management, or any situation where a former peer now reports to you. Can you still have lunch together?
Engineering leaders seldom talk about letting people go. But, it’s a part of the job. Learn how I make the decision to retain, invest, or terminate.