Vidmantas Kabošis' blog about engineering leadership
Software estimation has always been hard - a running joke in the industry for so long the joke stopped being funny. And yet, with enough discipline, decomposition, and calibration, we got into a vicinity of truth. Close enough to plan a quarter, set a customer expectation, or make a reasonable staffing decision. The underlying assumption in all our tools - story points, t-shirt sizes, velocity…
Engineering talent market has shifted in recent years, and then shifted again due to the booming popularity of AI-powered tools. Where does a Junior Engineer fit into this new picture? New Competition Landscape Not long ago, a junior engineer was competing mainly against their fellow juniors and mid-level engineers. To make yourself hireable as a junior, you could gain an edge by studying the…
Last time we covered the first 4 out of 6 principles I recommend considering when dealing with any kind of difficult conversations. Check them out before reading this follow-up. #5. Have an Action Plan Whenever you have a chance to sense a difficult conversation coming up, make up your mind with at least a crude action plan moving forward. What should be the exact steps you would recommend taking…
Many great books have been written about difficult conversations, but I’d like to revisit this topic with you, my readers. With a twist of my own experience, I hope you’ll leave with actionable advice to handle these conversations better — without needing to read a stack of books. What’s Difficult About It? First, let’s clarify what I mean by a “difficult conversation.” It’s any discussion where…
Software is not a physical object, so the concept of decomposition is quite unnatural to consider in such a context. However, this doesn’t mean there’s no decay over time. How It Happens Every engineer faces software decay once they try to work on a project that has been abandoned for longer than a year. In some cases, it’s just about getting the proper updates in, but more seriously, forgotten…
There’s a lot of hype around these days about the new inevitable - the arrival of entirely independent AI developer. With a risk of this getting terribly outdated terribly fast – so please check the date of this post before reading – let me share a few thoughts on why I’m not holding my breath just yet. The Promise Industry has been looking for ways to replace expensive and “slow” software…
2023 is behind us, but the waters in the IT industry are still wavy. January had quite a handful of announcements about reducing the workforce left and right. Truth be told, layoffs are probably one of those few could-be traumatic events for managers. Managers who fully invested themselves in the teams they need to reduce now. Everyone’s situation is certainly unique, but I’d like to share a few…
Why are they doing this? The best way to deal with it is so obvious! - did you ever think something along those lines? The chance is, the more experienced you are, the more often a similar phrase crosses your mind over the course of any day. The Problem Once, in a conversation with my peers, I used the term “bus factor” multiple times and noticed my colleague didn’t quite get what it references. I…
So you are sailing along in your role successfully, projects are passing by with flying colors, and the team has its ups and downs, but overall doing great. Then your manager, on a regular 1-1, asks what about your succession plan? What? Is this a risk to your position? And why even bother? Risks First, it is a way to handle risks related to… you. Even when life and a job is going on extremely…
In Lithuania, we have this proverb (rough translation): the deeper into the forest, the more trees. Well, it’s exactly this regarding the number of meetings once you start climbing the career ladder. It can get swamped and very overwhelming fast. So how to keep your head above the water? Let me share with you today my way of operating through jam-packed days. Mind you, it works for me, but it…