Staff Engineer

The Importance Of A Proof Of Concept

Huawei was trying to build a 4G network casting tool, but realized that none of the available technologies could handle the 30,000 requests per second needed. They identified Adaline as a potential solution, but had to build their own competencies and knowledge from scratch. After seven months, a team of 11 people delivered code consisting of 20,000 lines. This experience taught them the importance of having an early proof of concept and technical validation strategies to prevent working off of assumptions.

Managing and Engaging a Temporary Team

In this case study, the engineering manager faced the challenge of managing a cross-functional team of engineers on loan from other projects. To address this, the manager implemented an agile process, held weekly meetings with the individual managers, and sent out regular company-wide updates. Ultimately, the team was able to ship the MVP of the project and the engineers were able to return to their regular teams. The lesson learned was to be proactive in recognizing potential challenges and to put in place solid processes to increase engagement and productivity.

Gaining credibility with internal teams and end users

Product managers need to strike a balance between staying strategic and getting their hands dirty. To do this, they should take time to understand the roles of their internal and external partners, shadow them to understand their functions, and build relationships with them. Doing so will help them gain a better understanding of their end users and make them more credible product managers.

Don’t Hire One Woman. Hire Three.

When the author was leading an all-male DevOps team at Square, they were trying to close a female candidate. To ensure she would thrive in the team, the author decided to hire three women - the candidate, an intern, and a bootcamp graduate. This changed the team's culture dramatically, making it more enjoyable to work in and more open and less defensive. The author learned that inclusion and diversity can help everyone, not just certain minorities.

Helping Your Reports Grow in Their Careers

This article discusses a management philosophy that focuses on building upon people's strengths and helping them become the best version of themselves. It also emphasizes the importance of understanding what the individual wants and what the company needs in order to create the best path for them. The article also provides lessons learned, such as not having a template to follow for guiding someone on their career path and getting comfortable with the fact that neither the manager nor the direct report knows the definitive answer on the best way to develop and grow.

The Importance Of Relationship-Building

The author faced a challenge when they were promoted to engineering manager and had to manage a team of engineers based in Ukraine. They overcame the language barrier and cultural differences by getting to know the team personally, setting up English classes, and using video calls. Through building relationships and trust, the author was able to grow their team and see junior engineers develop into Architects and Engineering Managers.