1 + 2 Engineering Team Priorities

Are great teams “just doing the work”?

Published on November 14, 2024, filed under Management.

Everyone Can Set You Up for Failure, Not Everyone Sets You Up for Success

On a conscious choice that we can make, and that we best make sure others make.

Published on November 2, 2024, filed under Philosophy and Management.

Results = ƒ(Competence × Time)

On a model that can tell us something about how we work, and how we could work.

Published on October 23, 2024, filed under Management.

Untrained Engineering Managers

Web development has always had a developer training issue, but it also has one on the management and leadership side. On a challenge we’re all familiar with but rarely talk and do something about.

Published on September 27, 2024, filed under Development and Management.

On Ticket Management

Issue tracking tools like Jira, GitHub Issues, or Bugzilla are essential for managing bugs and tasks (that is, issues). However, not everyone finds ticket management convenient or convincing. A perspective on why tickets matter, and how they can be used well.

Published on September 17, 2024, filed under Development and Management.

The Assessment Paradox

For any individual or group we may think that it can assess itself best because it knows itself best. Yet this is not reliable. We may then think it’s other individuals or groups interacting with that first individual or group who may be able to assess it. This is not so, either.

Published on September 14, 2024, filed under Philosophy and Management.

AI Paradox

Have you outrun your headlights yet?

Published on August 18, 2024, filed under Development and Management.

Death by Experience

It’s possible to hire too much experience, and it costs diversity and culture.

Published on June 4, 2024, filed under Management.

The Great Tech and People Hypocrisy

When we value people so much that we “rif” them even with cash in the bank, maybe we don’t value them as much as we say we do. On a two-faced industry that needs firing standards as much as it needs hiring standards.

Published on May 14, 2024, filed under Management.

Critical Feedback: Four Approaches and One Twist

Feedback is important so that we can learn and improve. Critical feedback is important to expose, validate, and address areas of growth and development. I believe that fundamentally, there are four approaches to critical feedback.

Published on May 2, 2024, filed under Everything Else and Management.

On the Gift of OKR for Company Culture

“OKR,” short for aspiration, candor, and accountability.

Published on March 21, 2024, filed under Management.

Why I Like Scrumban

Over the past years, I’ve become a fan of Scrumban, a mix of Scrum and Kanban. But what is Scrumban here, and what is there to like about Scrumban?

Published on February 13, 2024, filed under Management.

Performance and Stay Questions in 1:1s

On a set of questions that are useful to ask every few weeks, for close alignment and connection, as well as well-being.

Published on January 15, 2024, filed under Management.

Incident, Mitigate, Learn

We can’t just pick two.

Published on December 28, 2023, filed under Development and Management.

On Working on Vacation

Working while on vacation can be a sign of extraordinary commitment and initiative. But—it can also be a sign of disorganization and poor prioritization. A few thoughts.

Published on June 15, 2023, filed under Everything Else and Management.

Website Issues: On the Relevance of Audience Size and Impact

Website issues—relating to conformance, security, accessibility, performance, content, others—are usually treated with a particular priority, but that priority may not always be understandable, and may also be off. On the perspective we obtain when we consider and chart audience size and impact.

Published on May 19, 2023, filed under Development and Management.

Two Underused Arguments for Writing Documentation

Validating our thinking and allowing to scale may not get enough attention.

Published on April 30, 2023, filed under Development and Management.

Speed Up Your Org: When to Require Approval

Organizations can be slow. One thing that makes them slow is process. One part of process consists of approvals. But approvals aren’t always needed. On default answers, and the severity and probability of failure.

Published on February 22, 2023, filed under Management.

Reduce the Pressure on Young and Inexperienced Developers

Lower the expectations on young and inexperienced developers, and raise the expectations on their mentoring and coaching: on running gags, unrealistic expectations, and healthier hiring.

Published on January 6, 2022, filed under Development and Management.

Not Releasing Late on Fridays, a Matter of Courtesy

Why don’t we, in engineering departments, prefer not to release late on Fridays—or late on others days? Occasionally, developers and stakeholders believe that’s because of a lack of confidence in our code and our systems. The true reason is not that:—

Published on September 24, 2021, filed under Development and Management.

Thoughts for the Aging Web Developer

There may come a time when you feel “too old” for web development. When you begin to feel that, here are a few thoughts. They might not be all you need but—maybe they are of use.

Published on May 31, 2021, filed under Development and Management.

Engineering Management ×12

Ideas and principles for managing engineering teams: From “googliness” and “competence, caring, conviction” to systems and processes to communication and delegation to team focus and health to trust and humility.

Published on May 11, 2021, filed under Management.

5 Tips for Your Next Promotion or Salary Raise

How do you approach promotions and salary raises? Are these tied to a cyclical event or do they depend on your initiative? Do you invest into building your case, or do you wing it? Here are a few ideas on what can improve your position and chances.

Published on February 3, 2021, filed under Management.

Professional Agile Leadership (PAL) Reminders and Resources

Notes, refreshers, as well as an alternative overview over Scrum.org resources for PAL certification.

Published on January 29, 2020, filed under Management.

On Leadership

Leadership is important, and it can be learned.

Published on December 2, 2019, filed under Management.