Thoughts on leadership, software development, productivity, and other random things
On development teams, balancing priorities while keeping focus is hard. Without an intentional approach you can quickly find your team submerged in a lot of different work, hurting progress on your most important goals. But the real world is messy. Prioritization is hard. Work comes in many shapes and sizes. Unplanned work pops up at [ ] The post Prioritization, multiple work streams, unplanned…
All computer systems have technical risks. It’s impractical to design risk completely out of a system. Since we don’t have unlimited time or resources, it’s important that we be methodical about how we prioritize investments to mitigate that risk. As engineers we go to great lengths to measure many aspects of our systems; latency, error [ ] The post What is the risk matrix? appeared first on Leeor…
When it comes to professional development, many engineers struggle to put concrete plans into action to achieve their goals. They know what they want; they just can t get started. When you think about it, this isn’t surprising. Many professional development goals are intangible. “Improve communication” or “become expert in technology X” have no real endpoint. [ ] The post I can’t get started! try…
There’s a thing writers call the middle slump. It’s that period in the middle of writing something when the author has lost initial momentum, feels stuck and has difficulty making forward progress. A post in the writing subreddit frames it well: “The beginning of your story is so far behind you and yet the end [ ] The post The middle slump: the power of weekly project goals appeared first on Leeor…
As engineering managers our time is always in short supply. Most managers I know complain about never having enough time. We are busy people! At some point in your management career you realize you just can’t get more accomplished by working more hours. When it comes to time management, there is no panacea; but there [ ] The post Time management wins for the busy engineering manager appeared first…
Have you heard of zombie standup? If not, there’s a good chance you’ve been part of one at some point. Zombie standup is just what it sounds like a lifeless meeting where people go around a room and talk about what they are working on but nothing much useful happens as a result. When [ ] The post The work-centric standup appeared first on Leeor Engel .
Is your team scared to change their process? Are they endlessly evaluating or arguing over different options and their pros and cons? As an industry, we practice fast experimentation with new products and technologies; frequently releasing, getting feedback, iterating, and learning. So why do we resist doing this with our processes? Process is not something [ ] The post Process evolved: the…
In a previous post, I talked about what makes a good goal. Once you’ve done the hard work of setting the right goal, it’s time to start thinking about execution. A goal without a completion date is a wish [1]. Now if you want to actually accomplish that goal, you are going to need a [ ] The post Deadlines are a good thing. appeared first on Leeor Engel .
John Allspaw has a great tweet on problem discovery: Reminder that it takes just as much effort (time, money, staff, etc.) to build the wrong thing as it does the right thing. Problem discovery is under appreciated as a practice in software engineering, especially when compared to problem solving. — John Allspaw (@allspaw) April 27, [ ] The post What makes a good goal? appeared first on Leeor…
Does the above sound familiar? If you have worked in an engineering department for any length of time, you have probably had this experience. So what is going on here? The problem is that there is a fundamental disconnect between the two people about what they are actually talking about. The product person thinks [ ] The post Estimated time != Calendar time appeared first on Leeor Engel .