Knowledge shared by our community

Bridging the Gaps in Your Knowledge Base

This article is about the experience of transitioning from a lawyer to an engineering leader. The author faced many hurdles due to their lack of a computer science background. To bridge the gaps in their knowledge, they wrote down their gaps, compared them to people who had done this before, networked with engineers and technical product managers, and took classes offered by third-party organizations. The author learned that networking is difficult, taking classes is important to show initiative, and staying on top of learning is vital to progress.

Building Diverse and Inclusive Teams

Diversity and inclusion are essential for individual and organizational success, but how do we build a diverse and inclusive team? A holistic approach is needed, from defining and implementing culture to employee lifecycle, hiring, onboarding, fair compensation, feedback, and measuring progress. Additionally, intersectionality should be taken into account, and everyone should be better allies for underrepresented groups.

Retaining Women In Tech

After leaving her engineering manager position at Apple due to burnout and lack of supportive leadership, the author started her own small business helping other small business owners with their technological needs. Through this experience, she realized the importance of resilience, an inclusive environment, and strong leadership for women in the tech industry. She encourages women to network outside of their own organization, and to stay in and influence the industry in order to shape the future.

An Outsourcing Success Story

This article discusses a problem faced by a team that was working at full capacity but had the opportunity to bring in a big return on investment. The solution was to outsource the project to a developer who had expertise in the domain and platform, and to bring him onsite to build a connection and trust between him, the team, and the company. The lessons learned from this experience were that it is important to find a good outsource provider, prioritize quality over time and cost, and that bringing an outsourced provider onsite is not always necessary.

Scaling a New Product Area

This article outlines the process of scaling out an organization from three full-time employees to three cross-functional teams. The author details the four-step design process of defining team missions, allocating head count, and finding the right individuals. The author also shares lessons learned from the experience, such as setting the bar high when evaluating potential hires, nailing down the technique of behavioral interviewing, and trusting one's intuition.

Developing Culture Through Gratitude

To create a highly collaborative environment, a chat bot was modified to allow people to thank each other and track 'karma' points. This humorous interaction encourages collaboration and appreciation for people's work, and is more popular among engineers than business people. It should not replace in-person connection or public praise, but it allows introverted people to receive and give recognition.

Navigating a Crisis Situation

In this story, the author recounts a major PR problem they faced when a custom client implementation they were working on failed spectacularly due to lack of load testing. The author was given an opportunity to lead the team out of the mess and formed a blueprint for handling crisis situations. This included delivering the news, accepting responsibility, increasing communications, aligning internally, forming a solid plan, and working the plan while keeping communicating. The author also learned lessons such as relying on mentors, accepting mistakes, avoiding surprises, identifying and communicating risks, trusting their gut, and being willing to deliver bad news.

The Advantageous Way to Push a New Project or Tool

When testers in a company wanted to use different devices, the manager initially said no. The testers then took it upon themselves to tag two or three of their own devices and start using them in their free time, inviting friends to join in. After showing the manager how it worked, they asked if they could continue doing it, and the manager agreed. The lesson learned is that it is easier to say yes to something that people are already using, and to frame it as an experiment rather than introducing a new process or tool.

Tracking Task Estimation

This article discusses the importance of tracking ticket estimation and completion within sprints. It outlines the steps taken to ensure that tickets are estimated and completed within sprints, such as setting a total number of points per person, estimating for QA and ticket closure, and keeping things balanced. It also highlights the importance of tracking progress quarterly and making it open to engineers to ensure that tasks are completed.

Scaling from Startup CTO and Entertaining the Idea of Hiring a VP of Engineering

When a company is scaling, the CTO may need to consider hiring a VP of Engineering to manage the engineering organization. There are various options for the reporting structure, such as having the VP report to the CTO, being peers, or having the CTO report to the VP. Ultimately, the CTO should consider what is best for the company and not be trapped by their ego when making decisions. They may need help with this process and should consider an executive coach or other mentors.

Estimation Spreadsheets That Map Resources

This company had a lot of ambitious redesign projects at the start of the year, but they over-committed themselves and had to put in place a new process. This process involves product and engineering teams breaking down components for each platform, creating estimation spreadsheets, and replanning 2-3 weeks before starting work. The company also learned to take a high-level goal approach when constructing product due dates and milestones, and to start with a design of the ideal state and then consider the resources available to achieve it.

Enabling Your Team to Scale

When transitioning from a lead technical role to a Vice President position, it is important to understand how to scale for the growing organization. This includes leveraging the unique set of capabilities on the team, asking the right questions, providing a vision for the team, and understanding how to convert the vision of the business into something meaningful for the team. It is also important to remember to empower the team to make better decisions and to provide the necessary resources and support needed to succeed.

The Activity of Analysis

This article discusses the tools and techniques used by a cross-functional engineering manager to combat uncertain situations. These include being proactive instead of reactive, risk analysis, SWOT analysis, and the five whys. The key concept is strategic thinking, and the activity of doing these analyses is more important than the artifacts.

A Simple Tool to Create Product Roadmaps

This article discusses the use of Google spreadsheets for product roadmaps. It explains how to use the tool to create a roadmap, and the benefits of doing so. It also mentions other tools that are available, such as ProdPad, Aha!, ProductPlan, Airtable, and Asana. The article concludes by noting that the necessity and function of the roadmap depend on the expectations of the team, and that if communicating the roadmap to the board, a different level of communication should be used. It also cautions against adding a new tool to the deck, as it can be difficult to get everyone in the company on board with it.

Splitting Your Team Into Two

The author was managing a team responsible for sending out hundreds of millions of emails per day. As the team grew, they decided to split into two teams, one for the product and one for the platform. The author had to justify the split to their manager and product director, and eventually hired a separate engineering manager. After the split, the company had a broader reorganization and the two teams were able to transition smoothly. The author learned that it is important to take a look at the team to gauge whether splitting is the right decision, to confirm the right people are in place, and to have separate metrics for success.

Growing Your Career Horizontally

A manager at a previous company was managing multiple teams and had a clear path to grow, but felt like he was lacking in business strategy. He decided to switch to a different company and team to gain more exposure to business strategy and how to build a business from the ground up. He learned that you don't have to purely grow upward, and that there is a lot to learn horizontally. He also learned to identify opportunities and lean into them.

Managing a Team You Have No Technical Familiarity With

This article discusses the unique opportunity of transitioning from an individual contributor (IC) role to a management role. The author took two different approaches to gain a better understanding of the projects they were managing: scheduling meetings with engineers and attending technical meetings. As a result, the author was able to build trust with the ICs and give the team a sense of autonomy. The article also provides lessons learned, such as using past experiences to guide people and understanding that the role of a manager is to enable the team to function without them.

Changing Companies to Reconnect with Tech

After switching from engineering to project management in 2011, the author felt disconnected from the technical side of their work and began to lose confidence in their job. To reconnect with technology and regain confidence, the author changed companies and became CEO of Topscore, a small company where they could spend most of their time coding. After two and a half years, the author returned to a director of engineering role with renewed confidence. The author's experience shows that it is possible to regain lost confidence and that technical skills are not easily lost.

Is CS Training Essential to Be a Successful Engineering Leader?

This article discusses whether or not CS training is necessary for engineering leaders to be successful. It suggests that the decision should be approached on a case by case basis, and that strength and warmth should be balanced. It also suggests that CS training may not be necessary right away, but may be beneficial for job interviews. Ultimately, success is determined by what is done outside of the 8 hours spent at work.

Scrum Master and Software Manager: Distinct Roles Working Collaboratively

The roles of a scrum master and a software manager are not clearly defined, making it difficult to answer questions about the separation of responsibilities during the hiring process. As an example, when a scrum team is underperforming, it is the scrum master's job to challenge the team to overcome it and the manager's job to get data points from other places and have one on one's with the scrum master. Management should also attend scrum ceremonies and ping people on the team to get their opinion on how things are going. Ultimately, it is a collaborative effort between the scrum master and the software manager to ensure the team is open and honest with one another and with management.

Bridging the Gaps in Your Knowledge Base

This article is about the experience of transitioning from a lawyer to an engineering leader. The author faced many hurdles due to their lack of a computer science background. To bridge the gaps in their knowledge, they wrote down their gaps, compared them to people who had done this before, networked with engineers and technical product managers, and took classes offered by third-party organizations. The author learned that networking is difficult, taking classes is important to show initiative, and staying on top of learning is vital to progress.

Building Diverse and Inclusive Teams

Diversity and inclusion are essential for individual and organizational success, but how do we build a diverse and inclusive team? A holistic approach is needed, from defining and implementing culture to employee lifecycle, hiring, onboarding, fair compensation, feedback, and measuring progress. Additionally, intersectionality should be taken into account, and everyone should be better allies for underrepresented groups.

Retaining Women In Tech

After leaving her engineering manager position at Apple due to burnout and lack of supportive leadership, the author started her own small business helping other small business owners with their technological needs. Through this experience, she realized the importance of resilience, an inclusive environment, and strong leadership for women in the tech industry. She encourages women to network outside of their own organization, and to stay in and influence the industry in order to shape the future.

An Outsourcing Success Story

This article discusses a problem faced by a team that was working at full capacity but had the opportunity to bring in a big return on investment. The solution was to outsource the project to a developer who had expertise in the domain and platform, and to bring him onsite to build a connection and trust between him, the team, and the company. The lessons learned from this experience were that it is important to find a good outsource provider, prioritize quality over time and cost, and that bringing an outsourced provider onsite is not always necessary.

Scaling a New Product Area

This article outlines the process of scaling out an organization from three full-time employees to three cross-functional teams. The author details the four-step design process of defining team missions, allocating head count, and finding the right individuals. The author also shares lessons learned from the experience, such as setting the bar high when evaluating potential hires, nailing down the technique of behavioral interviewing, and trusting one's intuition.

Developing Culture Through Gratitude

To create a highly collaborative environment, a chat bot was modified to allow people to thank each other and track 'karma' points. This humorous interaction encourages collaboration and appreciation for people's work, and is more popular among engineers than business people. It should not replace in-person connection or public praise, but it allows introverted people to receive and give recognition.

Navigating a Crisis Situation

In this story, the author recounts a major PR problem they faced when a custom client implementation they were working on failed spectacularly due to lack of load testing. The author was given an opportunity to lead the team out of the mess and formed a blueprint for handling crisis situations. This included delivering the news, accepting responsibility, increasing communications, aligning internally, forming a solid plan, and working the plan while keeping communicating. The author also learned lessons such as relying on mentors, accepting mistakes, avoiding surprises, identifying and communicating risks, trusting their gut, and being willing to deliver bad news.

The Advantageous Way to Push a New Project or Tool

When testers in a company wanted to use different devices, the manager initially said no. The testers then took it upon themselves to tag two or three of their own devices and start using them in their free time, inviting friends to join in. After showing the manager how it worked, they asked if they could continue doing it, and the manager agreed. The lesson learned is that it is easier to say yes to something that people are already using, and to frame it as an experiment rather than introducing a new process or tool.

Tracking Task Estimation

This article discusses the importance of tracking ticket estimation and completion within sprints. It outlines the steps taken to ensure that tickets are estimated and completed within sprints, such as setting a total number of points per person, estimating for QA and ticket closure, and keeping things balanced. It also highlights the importance of tracking progress quarterly and making it open to engineers to ensure that tasks are completed.

Scaling from Startup CTO and Entertaining the Idea of Hiring a VP of Engineering

When a company is scaling, the CTO may need to consider hiring a VP of Engineering to manage the engineering organization. There are various options for the reporting structure, such as having the VP report to the CTO, being peers, or having the CTO report to the VP. Ultimately, the CTO should consider what is best for the company and not be trapped by their ego when making decisions. They may need help with this process and should consider an executive coach or other mentors.

Estimation Spreadsheets That Map Resources

This company had a lot of ambitious redesign projects at the start of the year, but they over-committed themselves and had to put in place a new process. This process involves product and engineering teams breaking down components for each platform, creating estimation spreadsheets, and replanning 2-3 weeks before starting work. The company also learned to take a high-level goal approach when constructing product due dates and milestones, and to start with a design of the ideal state and then consider the resources available to achieve it.

Enabling Your Team to Scale

When transitioning from a lead technical role to a Vice President position, it is important to understand how to scale for the growing organization. This includes leveraging the unique set of capabilities on the team, asking the right questions, providing a vision for the team, and understanding how to convert the vision of the business into something meaningful for the team. It is also important to remember to empower the team to make better decisions and to provide the necessary resources and support needed to succeed.

The Activity of Analysis

This article discusses the tools and techniques used by a cross-functional engineering manager to combat uncertain situations. These include being proactive instead of reactive, risk analysis, SWOT analysis, and the five whys. The key concept is strategic thinking, and the activity of doing these analyses is more important than the artifacts.

A Simple Tool to Create Product Roadmaps

This article discusses the use of Google spreadsheets for product roadmaps. It explains how to use the tool to create a roadmap, and the benefits of doing so. It also mentions other tools that are available, such as ProdPad, Aha!, ProductPlan, Airtable, and Asana. The article concludes by noting that the necessity and function of the roadmap depend on the expectations of the team, and that if communicating the roadmap to the board, a different level of communication should be used. It also cautions against adding a new tool to the deck, as it can be difficult to get everyone in the company on board with it.

Splitting Your Team Into Two

The author was managing a team responsible for sending out hundreds of millions of emails per day. As the team grew, they decided to split into two teams, one for the product and one for the platform. The author had to justify the split to their manager and product director, and eventually hired a separate engineering manager. After the split, the company had a broader reorganization and the two teams were able to transition smoothly. The author learned that it is important to take a look at the team to gauge whether splitting is the right decision, to confirm the right people are in place, and to have separate metrics for success.

Growing Your Career Horizontally

A manager at a previous company was managing multiple teams and had a clear path to grow, but felt like he was lacking in business strategy. He decided to switch to a different company and team to gain more exposure to business strategy and how to build a business from the ground up. He learned that you don't have to purely grow upward, and that there is a lot to learn horizontally. He also learned to identify opportunities and lean into them.

Managing a Team You Have No Technical Familiarity With

This article discusses the unique opportunity of transitioning from an individual contributor (IC) role to a management role. The author took two different approaches to gain a better understanding of the projects they were managing: scheduling meetings with engineers and attending technical meetings. As a result, the author was able to build trust with the ICs and give the team a sense of autonomy. The article also provides lessons learned, such as using past experiences to guide people and understanding that the role of a manager is to enable the team to function without them.

Changing Companies to Reconnect with Tech

After switching from engineering to project management in 2011, the author felt disconnected from the technical side of their work and began to lose confidence in their job. To reconnect with technology and regain confidence, the author changed companies and became CEO of Topscore, a small company where they could spend most of their time coding. After two and a half years, the author returned to a director of engineering role with renewed confidence. The author's experience shows that it is possible to regain lost confidence and that technical skills are not easily lost.

Is CS Training Essential to Be a Successful Engineering Leader?

This article discusses whether or not CS training is necessary for engineering leaders to be successful. It suggests that the decision should be approached on a case by case basis, and that strength and warmth should be balanced. It also suggests that CS training may not be necessary right away, but may be beneficial for job interviews. Ultimately, success is determined by what is done outside of the 8 hours spent at work.

Scrum Master and Software Manager: Distinct Roles Working Collaboratively

The roles of a scrum master and a software manager are not clearly defined, making it difficult to answer questions about the separation of responsibilities during the hiring process. As an example, when a scrum team is underperforming, it is the scrum master's job to challenge the team to overcome it and the manager's job to get data points from other places and have one on one's with the scrum master. Management should also attend scrum ceremonies and ping people on the team to get their opinion on how things are going. Ultimately, it is a collaborative effort between the scrum master and the software manager to ensure the team is open and honest with one another and with management.

Bridging the Gaps in Your Knowledge Base

This article is about the experience of transitioning from a lawyer to an engineering leader. The author faced many hurdles due to their lack of a computer science background. To bridge the gaps in their knowledge, they wrote down their gaps, compared them to people who had done this before, networked with engineers and technical product managers, and took classes offered by third-party organizations. The author learned that networking is difficult, taking classes is important to show initiative, and staying on top of learning is vital to progress.

Building Diverse and Inclusive Teams

Diversity and inclusion are essential for individual and organizational success, but how do we build a diverse and inclusive team? A holistic approach is needed, from defining and implementing culture to employee lifecycle, hiring, onboarding, fair compensation, feedback, and measuring progress. Additionally, intersectionality should be taken into account, and everyone should be better allies for underrepresented groups.

Retaining Women In Tech

After leaving her engineering manager position at Apple due to burnout and lack of supportive leadership, the author started her own small business helping other small business owners with their technological needs. Through this experience, she realized the importance of resilience, an inclusive environment, and strong leadership for women in the tech industry. She encourages women to network outside of their own organization, and to stay in and influence the industry in order to shape the future.

An Outsourcing Success Story

This article discusses a problem faced by a team that was working at full capacity but had the opportunity to bring in a big return on investment. The solution was to outsource the project to a developer who had expertise in the domain and platform, and to bring him onsite to build a connection and trust between him, the team, and the company. The lessons learned from this experience were that it is important to find a good outsource provider, prioritize quality over time and cost, and that bringing an outsourced provider onsite is not always necessary.

Scaling a New Product Area

This article outlines the process of scaling out an organization from three full-time employees to three cross-functional teams. The author details the four-step design process of defining team missions, allocating head count, and finding the right individuals. The author also shares lessons learned from the experience, such as setting the bar high when evaluating potential hires, nailing down the technique of behavioral interviewing, and trusting one's intuition.

Developing Culture Through Gratitude

To create a highly collaborative environment, a chat bot was modified to allow people to thank each other and track 'karma' points. This humorous interaction encourages collaboration and appreciation for people's work, and is more popular among engineers than business people. It should not replace in-person connection or public praise, but it allows introverted people to receive and give recognition.

Navigating a Crisis Situation

In this story, the author recounts a major PR problem they faced when a custom client implementation they were working on failed spectacularly due to lack of load testing. The author was given an opportunity to lead the team out of the mess and formed a blueprint for handling crisis situations. This included delivering the news, accepting responsibility, increasing communications, aligning internally, forming a solid plan, and working the plan while keeping communicating. The author also learned lessons such as relying on mentors, accepting mistakes, avoiding surprises, identifying and communicating risks, trusting their gut, and being willing to deliver bad news.

The Advantageous Way to Push a New Project or Tool

When testers in a company wanted to use different devices, the manager initially said no. The testers then took it upon themselves to tag two or three of their own devices and start using them in their free time, inviting friends to join in. After showing the manager how it worked, they asked if they could continue doing it, and the manager agreed. The lesson learned is that it is easier to say yes to something that people are already using, and to frame it as an experiment rather than introducing a new process or tool.

Tracking Task Estimation

This article discusses the importance of tracking ticket estimation and completion within sprints. It outlines the steps taken to ensure that tickets are estimated and completed within sprints, such as setting a total number of points per person, estimating for QA and ticket closure, and keeping things balanced. It also highlights the importance of tracking progress quarterly and making it open to engineers to ensure that tasks are completed.

Scaling from Startup CTO and Entertaining the Idea of Hiring a VP of Engineering

When a company is scaling, the CTO may need to consider hiring a VP of Engineering to manage the engineering organization. There are various options for the reporting structure, such as having the VP report to the CTO, being peers, or having the CTO report to the VP. Ultimately, the CTO should consider what is best for the company and not be trapped by their ego when making decisions. They may need help with this process and should consider an executive coach or other mentors.

Estimation Spreadsheets That Map Resources

This company had a lot of ambitious redesign projects at the start of the year, but they over-committed themselves and had to put in place a new process. This process involves product and engineering teams breaking down components for each platform, creating estimation spreadsheets, and replanning 2-3 weeks before starting work. The company also learned to take a high-level goal approach when constructing product due dates and milestones, and to start with a design of the ideal state and then consider the resources available to achieve it.

Enabling Your Team to Scale

When transitioning from a lead technical role to a Vice President position, it is important to understand how to scale for the growing organization. This includes leveraging the unique set of capabilities on the team, asking the right questions, providing a vision for the team, and understanding how to convert the vision of the business into something meaningful for the team. It is also important to remember to empower the team to make better decisions and to provide the necessary resources and support needed to succeed.

The Activity of Analysis

This article discusses the tools and techniques used by a cross-functional engineering manager to combat uncertain situations. These include being proactive instead of reactive, risk analysis, SWOT analysis, and the five whys. The key concept is strategic thinking, and the activity of doing these analyses is more important than the artifacts.

A Simple Tool to Create Product Roadmaps

This article discusses the use of Google spreadsheets for product roadmaps. It explains how to use the tool to create a roadmap, and the benefits of doing so. It also mentions other tools that are available, such as ProdPad, Aha!, ProductPlan, Airtable, and Asana. The article concludes by noting that the necessity and function of the roadmap depend on the expectations of the team, and that if communicating the roadmap to the board, a different level of communication should be used. It also cautions against adding a new tool to the deck, as it can be difficult to get everyone in the company on board with it.

Splitting Your Team Into Two

The author was managing a team responsible for sending out hundreds of millions of emails per day. As the team grew, they decided to split into two teams, one for the product and one for the platform. The author had to justify the split to their manager and product director, and eventually hired a separate engineering manager. After the split, the company had a broader reorganization and the two teams were able to transition smoothly. The author learned that it is important to take a look at the team to gauge whether splitting is the right decision, to confirm the right people are in place, and to have separate metrics for success.

Growing Your Career Horizontally

A manager at a previous company was managing multiple teams and had a clear path to grow, but felt like he was lacking in business strategy. He decided to switch to a different company and team to gain more exposure to business strategy and how to build a business from the ground up. He learned that you don't have to purely grow upward, and that there is a lot to learn horizontally. He also learned to identify opportunities and lean into them.

Managing a Team You Have No Technical Familiarity With

This article discusses the unique opportunity of transitioning from an individual contributor (IC) role to a management role. The author took two different approaches to gain a better understanding of the projects they were managing: scheduling meetings with engineers and attending technical meetings. As a result, the author was able to build trust with the ICs and give the team a sense of autonomy. The article also provides lessons learned, such as using past experiences to guide people and understanding that the role of a manager is to enable the team to function without them.

Changing Companies to Reconnect with Tech

After switching from engineering to project management in 2011, the author felt disconnected from the technical side of their work and began to lose confidence in their job. To reconnect with technology and regain confidence, the author changed companies and became CEO of Topscore, a small company where they could spend most of their time coding. After two and a half years, the author returned to a director of engineering role with renewed confidence. The author's experience shows that it is possible to regain lost confidence and that technical skills are not easily lost.

Is CS Training Essential to Be a Successful Engineering Leader?

This article discusses whether or not CS training is necessary for engineering leaders to be successful. It suggests that the decision should be approached on a case by case basis, and that strength and warmth should be balanced. It also suggests that CS training may not be necessary right away, but may be beneficial for job interviews. Ultimately, success is determined by what is done outside of the 8 hours spent at work.

Scrum Master and Software Manager: Distinct Roles Working Collaboratively

The roles of a scrum master and a software manager are not clearly defined, making it difficult to answer questions about the separation of responsibilities during the hiring process. As an example, when a scrum team is underperforming, it is the scrum master's job to challenge the team to overcome it and the manager's job to get data points from other places and have one on one's with the scrum master. Management should also attend scrum ceremonies and ping people on the team to get their opinion on how things are going. Ultimately, it is a collaborative effort between the scrum master and the software manager to ensure the team is open and honest with one another and with management.

Bridging the Gaps in Your Knowledge Base

This article is about the experience of transitioning from a lawyer to an engineering leader. The author faced many hurdles due to their lack of a computer science background. To bridge the gaps in their knowledge, they wrote down their gaps, compared them to people who had done this before, networked with engineers and technical product managers, and took classes offered by third-party organizations. The author learned that networking is difficult, taking classes is important to show initiative, and staying on top of learning is vital to progress.

Building Diverse and Inclusive Teams

Diversity and inclusion are essential for individual and organizational success, but how do we build a diverse and inclusive team? A holistic approach is needed, from defining and implementing culture to employee lifecycle, hiring, onboarding, fair compensation, feedback, and measuring progress. Additionally, intersectionality should be taken into account, and everyone should be better allies for underrepresented groups.

Retaining Women In Tech

After leaving her engineering manager position at Apple due to burnout and lack of supportive leadership, the author started her own small business helping other small business owners with their technological needs. Through this experience, she realized the importance of resilience, an inclusive environment, and strong leadership for women in the tech industry. She encourages women to network outside of their own organization, and to stay in and influence the industry in order to shape the future.

An Outsourcing Success Story

This article discusses a problem faced by a team that was working at full capacity but had the opportunity to bring in a big return on investment. The solution was to outsource the project to a developer who had expertise in the domain and platform, and to bring him onsite to build a connection and trust between him, the team, and the company. The lessons learned from this experience were that it is important to find a good outsource provider, prioritize quality over time and cost, and that bringing an outsourced provider onsite is not always necessary.

Scaling a New Product Area

This article outlines the process of scaling out an organization from three full-time employees to three cross-functional teams. The author details the four-step design process of defining team missions, allocating head count, and finding the right individuals. The author also shares lessons learned from the experience, such as setting the bar high when evaluating potential hires, nailing down the technique of behavioral interviewing, and trusting one's intuition.

Developing Culture Through Gratitude

To create a highly collaborative environment, a chat bot was modified to allow people to thank each other and track 'karma' points. This humorous interaction encourages collaboration and appreciation for people's work, and is more popular among engineers than business people. It should not replace in-person connection or public praise, but it allows introverted people to receive and give recognition.

Navigating a Crisis Situation

In this story, the author recounts a major PR problem they faced when a custom client implementation they were working on failed spectacularly due to lack of load testing. The author was given an opportunity to lead the team out of the mess and formed a blueprint for handling crisis situations. This included delivering the news, accepting responsibility, increasing communications, aligning internally, forming a solid plan, and working the plan while keeping communicating. The author also learned lessons such as relying on mentors, accepting mistakes, avoiding surprises, identifying and communicating risks, trusting their gut, and being willing to deliver bad news.

The Advantageous Way to Push a New Project or Tool

When testers in a company wanted to use different devices, the manager initially said no. The testers then took it upon themselves to tag two or three of their own devices and start using them in their free time, inviting friends to join in. After showing the manager how it worked, they asked if they could continue doing it, and the manager agreed. The lesson learned is that it is easier to say yes to something that people are already using, and to frame it as an experiment rather than introducing a new process or tool.

Tracking Task Estimation

This article discusses the importance of tracking ticket estimation and completion within sprints. It outlines the steps taken to ensure that tickets are estimated and completed within sprints, such as setting a total number of points per person, estimating for QA and ticket closure, and keeping things balanced. It also highlights the importance of tracking progress quarterly and making it open to engineers to ensure that tasks are completed.

Scaling from Startup CTO and Entertaining the Idea of Hiring a VP of Engineering

When a company is scaling, the CTO may need to consider hiring a VP of Engineering to manage the engineering organization. There are various options for the reporting structure, such as having the VP report to the CTO, being peers, or having the CTO report to the VP. Ultimately, the CTO should consider what is best for the company and not be trapped by their ego when making decisions. They may need help with this process and should consider an executive coach or other mentors.

Estimation Spreadsheets That Map Resources

This company had a lot of ambitious redesign projects at the start of the year, but they over-committed themselves and had to put in place a new process. This process involves product and engineering teams breaking down components for each platform, creating estimation spreadsheets, and replanning 2-3 weeks before starting work. The company also learned to take a high-level goal approach when constructing product due dates and milestones, and to start with a design of the ideal state and then consider the resources available to achieve it.

Enabling Your Team to Scale

When transitioning from a lead technical role to a Vice President position, it is important to understand how to scale for the growing organization. This includes leveraging the unique set of capabilities on the team, asking the right questions, providing a vision for the team, and understanding how to convert the vision of the business into something meaningful for the team. It is also important to remember to empower the team to make better decisions and to provide the necessary resources and support needed to succeed.

The Activity of Analysis

This article discusses the tools and techniques used by a cross-functional engineering manager to combat uncertain situations. These include being proactive instead of reactive, risk analysis, SWOT analysis, and the five whys. The key concept is strategic thinking, and the activity of doing these analyses is more important than the artifacts.

A Simple Tool to Create Product Roadmaps

This article discusses the use of Google spreadsheets for product roadmaps. It explains how to use the tool to create a roadmap, and the benefits of doing so. It also mentions other tools that are available, such as ProdPad, Aha!, ProductPlan, Airtable, and Asana. The article concludes by noting that the necessity and function of the roadmap depend on the expectations of the team, and that if communicating the roadmap to the board, a different level of communication should be used. It also cautions against adding a new tool to the deck, as it can be difficult to get everyone in the company on board with it.

Splitting Your Team Into Two

The author was managing a team responsible for sending out hundreds of millions of emails per day. As the team grew, they decided to split into two teams, one for the product and one for the platform. The author had to justify the split to their manager and product director, and eventually hired a separate engineering manager. After the split, the company had a broader reorganization and the two teams were able to transition smoothly. The author learned that it is important to take a look at the team to gauge whether splitting is the right decision, to confirm the right people are in place, and to have separate metrics for success.

Growing Your Career Horizontally

A manager at a previous company was managing multiple teams and had a clear path to grow, but felt like he was lacking in business strategy. He decided to switch to a different company and team to gain more exposure to business strategy and how to build a business from the ground up. He learned that you don't have to purely grow upward, and that there is a lot to learn horizontally. He also learned to identify opportunities and lean into them.

Managing a Team You Have No Technical Familiarity With

This article discusses the unique opportunity of transitioning from an individual contributor (IC) role to a management role. The author took two different approaches to gain a better understanding of the projects they were managing: scheduling meetings with engineers and attending technical meetings. As a result, the author was able to build trust with the ICs and give the team a sense of autonomy. The article also provides lessons learned, such as using past experiences to guide people and understanding that the role of a manager is to enable the team to function without them.

Changing Companies to Reconnect with Tech

After switching from engineering to project management in 2011, the author felt disconnected from the technical side of their work and began to lose confidence in their job. To reconnect with technology and regain confidence, the author changed companies and became CEO of Topscore, a small company where they could spend most of their time coding. After two and a half years, the author returned to a director of engineering role with renewed confidence. The author's experience shows that it is possible to regain lost confidence and that technical skills are not easily lost.

Is CS Training Essential to Be a Successful Engineering Leader?

This article discusses whether or not CS training is necessary for engineering leaders to be successful. It suggests that the decision should be approached on a case by case basis, and that strength and warmth should be balanced. It also suggests that CS training may not be necessary right away, but may be beneficial for job interviews. Ultimately, success is determined by what is done outside of the 8 hours spent at work.

Scrum Master and Software Manager: Distinct Roles Working Collaboratively

The roles of a scrum master and a software manager are not clearly defined, making it difficult to answer questions about the separation of responsibilities during the hiring process. As an example, when a scrum team is underperforming, it is the scrum master's job to challenge the team to overcome it and the manager's job to get data points from other places and have one on one's with the scrum master. Management should also attend scrum ceremonies and ping people on the team to get their opinion on how things are going. Ultimately, it is a collaborative effort between the scrum master and the software manager to ensure the team is open and honest with one another and with management.

Bridging the Gaps in Your Knowledge Base

This article is about the experience of transitioning from a lawyer to an engineering leader. The author faced many hurdles due to their lack of a computer science background. To bridge the gaps in their knowledge, they wrote down their gaps, compared them to people who had done this before, networked with engineers and technical product managers, and took classes offered by third-party organizations. The author learned that networking is difficult, taking classes is important to show initiative, and staying on top of learning is vital to progress.

Building Diverse and Inclusive Teams

Diversity and inclusion are essential for individual and organizational success, but how do we build a diverse and inclusive team? A holistic approach is needed, from defining and implementing culture to employee lifecycle, hiring, onboarding, fair compensation, feedback, and measuring progress. Additionally, intersectionality should be taken into account, and everyone should be better allies for underrepresented groups.

Retaining Women In Tech

After leaving her engineering manager position at Apple due to burnout and lack of supportive leadership, the author started her own small business helping other small business owners with their technological needs. Through this experience, she realized the importance of resilience, an inclusive environment, and strong leadership for women in the tech industry. She encourages women to network outside of their own organization, and to stay in and influence the industry in order to shape the future.

An Outsourcing Success Story

This article discusses a problem faced by a team that was working at full capacity but had the opportunity to bring in a big return on investment. The solution was to outsource the project to a developer who had expertise in the domain and platform, and to bring him onsite to build a connection and trust between him, the team, and the company. The lessons learned from this experience were that it is important to find a good outsource provider, prioritize quality over time and cost, and that bringing an outsourced provider onsite is not always necessary.

Scaling a New Product Area

This article outlines the process of scaling out an organization from three full-time employees to three cross-functional teams. The author details the four-step design process of defining team missions, allocating head count, and finding the right individuals. The author also shares lessons learned from the experience, such as setting the bar high when evaluating potential hires, nailing down the technique of behavioral interviewing, and trusting one's intuition.

Developing Culture Through Gratitude

To create a highly collaborative environment, a chat bot was modified to allow people to thank each other and track 'karma' points. This humorous interaction encourages collaboration and appreciation for people's work, and is more popular among engineers than business people. It should not replace in-person connection or public praise, but it allows introverted people to receive and give recognition.

Navigating a Crisis Situation

In this story, the author recounts a major PR problem they faced when a custom client implementation they were working on failed spectacularly due to lack of load testing. The author was given an opportunity to lead the team out of the mess and formed a blueprint for handling crisis situations. This included delivering the news, accepting responsibility, increasing communications, aligning internally, forming a solid plan, and working the plan while keeping communicating. The author also learned lessons such as relying on mentors, accepting mistakes, avoiding surprises, identifying and communicating risks, trusting their gut, and being willing to deliver bad news.

The Advantageous Way to Push a New Project or Tool

When testers in a company wanted to use different devices, the manager initially said no. The testers then took it upon themselves to tag two or three of their own devices and start using them in their free time, inviting friends to join in. After showing the manager how it worked, they asked if they could continue doing it, and the manager agreed. The lesson learned is that it is easier to say yes to something that people are already using, and to frame it as an experiment rather than introducing a new process or tool.

Tracking Task Estimation

This article discusses the importance of tracking ticket estimation and completion within sprints. It outlines the steps taken to ensure that tickets are estimated and completed within sprints, such as setting a total number of points per person, estimating for QA and ticket closure, and keeping things balanced. It also highlights the importance of tracking progress quarterly and making it open to engineers to ensure that tasks are completed.

Scaling from Startup CTO and Entertaining the Idea of Hiring a VP of Engineering

When a company is scaling, the CTO may need to consider hiring a VP of Engineering to manage the engineering organization. There are various options for the reporting structure, such as having the VP report to the CTO, being peers, or having the CTO report to the VP. Ultimately, the CTO should consider what is best for the company and not be trapped by their ego when making decisions. They may need help with this process and should consider an executive coach or other mentors.

Estimation Spreadsheets That Map Resources

This company had a lot of ambitious redesign projects at the start of the year, but they over-committed themselves and had to put in place a new process. This process involves product and engineering teams breaking down components for each platform, creating estimation spreadsheets, and replanning 2-3 weeks before starting work. The company also learned to take a high-level goal approach when constructing product due dates and milestones, and to start with a design of the ideal state and then consider the resources available to achieve it.

Enabling Your Team to Scale

When transitioning from a lead technical role to a Vice President position, it is important to understand how to scale for the growing organization. This includes leveraging the unique set of capabilities on the team, asking the right questions, providing a vision for the team, and understanding how to convert the vision of the business into something meaningful for the team. It is also important to remember to empower the team to make better decisions and to provide the necessary resources and support needed to succeed.

The Activity of Analysis

This article discusses the tools and techniques used by a cross-functional engineering manager to combat uncertain situations. These include being proactive instead of reactive, risk analysis, SWOT analysis, and the five whys. The key concept is strategic thinking, and the activity of doing these analyses is more important than the artifacts.

A Simple Tool to Create Product Roadmaps

This article discusses the use of Google spreadsheets for product roadmaps. It explains how to use the tool to create a roadmap, and the benefits of doing so. It also mentions other tools that are available, such as ProdPad, Aha!, ProductPlan, Airtable, and Asana. The article concludes by noting that the necessity and function of the roadmap depend on the expectations of the team, and that if communicating the roadmap to the board, a different level of communication should be used. It also cautions against adding a new tool to the deck, as it can be difficult to get everyone in the company on board with it.

Splitting Your Team Into Two

The author was managing a team responsible for sending out hundreds of millions of emails per day. As the team grew, they decided to split into two teams, one for the product and one for the platform. The author had to justify the split to their manager and product director, and eventually hired a separate engineering manager. After the split, the company had a broader reorganization and the two teams were able to transition smoothly. The author learned that it is important to take a look at the team to gauge whether splitting is the right decision, to confirm the right people are in place, and to have separate metrics for success.

Growing Your Career Horizontally

A manager at a previous company was managing multiple teams and had a clear path to grow, but felt like he was lacking in business strategy. He decided to switch to a different company and team to gain more exposure to business strategy and how to build a business from the ground up. He learned that you don't have to purely grow upward, and that there is a lot to learn horizontally. He also learned to identify opportunities and lean into them.

Managing a Team You Have No Technical Familiarity With

This article discusses the unique opportunity of transitioning from an individual contributor (IC) role to a management role. The author took two different approaches to gain a better understanding of the projects they were managing: scheduling meetings with engineers and attending technical meetings. As a result, the author was able to build trust with the ICs and give the team a sense of autonomy. The article also provides lessons learned, such as using past experiences to guide people and understanding that the role of a manager is to enable the team to function without them.

Changing Companies to Reconnect with Tech

After switching from engineering to project management in 2011, the author felt disconnected from the technical side of their work and began to lose confidence in their job. To reconnect with technology and regain confidence, the author changed companies and became CEO of Topscore, a small company where they could spend most of their time coding. After two and a half years, the author returned to a director of engineering role with renewed confidence. The author's experience shows that it is possible to regain lost confidence and that technical skills are not easily lost.

Is CS Training Essential to Be a Successful Engineering Leader?

This article discusses whether or not CS training is necessary for engineering leaders to be successful. It suggests that the decision should be approached on a case by case basis, and that strength and warmth should be balanced. It also suggests that CS training may not be necessary right away, but may be beneficial for job interviews. Ultimately, success is determined by what is done outside of the 8 hours spent at work.

Scrum Master and Software Manager: Distinct Roles Working Collaboratively

The roles of a scrum master and a software manager are not clearly defined, making it difficult to answer questions about the separation of responsibilities during the hiring process. As an example, when a scrum team is underperforming, it is the scrum master's job to challenge the team to overcome it and the manager's job to get data points from other places and have one on one's with the scrum master. Management should also attend scrum ceremonies and ping people on the team to get their opinion on how things are going. Ultimately, it is a collaborative effort between the scrum master and the software manager to ensure the team is open and honest with one another and with management.

Bridging the Gaps in Your Knowledge Base

This article is about the experience of transitioning from a lawyer to an engineering leader. The author faced many hurdles due to their lack of a computer science background. To bridge the gaps in their knowledge, they wrote down their gaps, compared them to people who had done this before, networked with engineers and technical product managers, and took classes offered by third-party organizations. The author learned that networking is difficult, taking classes is important to show initiative, and staying on top of learning is vital to progress.

Building Diverse and Inclusive Teams

Diversity and inclusion are essential for individual and organizational success, but how do we build a diverse and inclusive team? A holistic approach is needed, from defining and implementing culture to employee lifecycle, hiring, onboarding, fair compensation, feedback, and measuring progress. Additionally, intersectionality should be taken into account, and everyone should be better allies for underrepresented groups.

Retaining Women In Tech

After leaving her engineering manager position at Apple due to burnout and lack of supportive leadership, the author started her own small business helping other small business owners with their technological needs. Through this experience, she realized the importance of resilience, an inclusive environment, and strong leadership for women in the tech industry. She encourages women to network outside of their own organization, and to stay in and influence the industry in order to shape the future.

An Outsourcing Success Story

This article discusses a problem faced by a team that was working at full capacity but had the opportunity to bring in a big return on investment. The solution was to outsource the project to a developer who had expertise in the domain and platform, and to bring him onsite to build a connection and trust between him, the team, and the company. The lessons learned from this experience were that it is important to find a good outsource provider, prioritize quality over time and cost, and that bringing an outsourced provider onsite is not always necessary.

Scaling a New Product Area

This article outlines the process of scaling out an organization from three full-time employees to three cross-functional teams. The author details the four-step design process of defining team missions, allocating head count, and finding the right individuals. The author also shares lessons learned from the experience, such as setting the bar high when evaluating potential hires, nailing down the technique of behavioral interviewing, and trusting one's intuition.

Developing Culture Through Gratitude

To create a highly collaborative environment, a chat bot was modified to allow people to thank each other and track 'karma' points. This humorous interaction encourages collaboration and appreciation for people's work, and is more popular among engineers than business people. It should not replace in-person connection or public praise, but it allows introverted people to receive and give recognition.

Navigating a Crisis Situation

In this story, the author recounts a major PR problem they faced when a custom client implementation they were working on failed spectacularly due to lack of load testing. The author was given an opportunity to lead the team out of the mess and formed a blueprint for handling crisis situations. This included delivering the news, accepting responsibility, increasing communications, aligning internally, forming a solid plan, and working the plan while keeping communicating. The author also learned lessons such as relying on mentors, accepting mistakes, avoiding surprises, identifying and communicating risks, trusting their gut, and being willing to deliver bad news.

The Advantageous Way to Push a New Project or Tool

When testers in a company wanted to use different devices, the manager initially said no. The testers then took it upon themselves to tag two or three of their own devices and start using them in their free time, inviting friends to join in. After showing the manager how it worked, they asked if they could continue doing it, and the manager agreed. The lesson learned is that it is easier to say yes to something that people are already using, and to frame it as an experiment rather than introducing a new process or tool.

Tracking Task Estimation

This article discusses the importance of tracking ticket estimation and completion within sprints. It outlines the steps taken to ensure that tickets are estimated and completed within sprints, such as setting a total number of points per person, estimating for QA and ticket closure, and keeping things balanced. It also highlights the importance of tracking progress quarterly and making it open to engineers to ensure that tasks are completed.

Scaling from Startup CTO and Entertaining the Idea of Hiring a VP of Engineering

When a company is scaling, the CTO may need to consider hiring a VP of Engineering to manage the engineering organization. There are various options for the reporting structure, such as having the VP report to the CTO, being peers, or having the CTO report to the VP. Ultimately, the CTO should consider what is best for the company and not be trapped by their ego when making decisions. They may need help with this process and should consider an executive coach or other mentors.

Estimation Spreadsheets That Map Resources

This company had a lot of ambitious redesign projects at the start of the year, but they over-committed themselves and had to put in place a new process. This process involves product and engineering teams breaking down components for each platform, creating estimation spreadsheets, and replanning 2-3 weeks before starting work. The company also learned to take a high-level goal approach when constructing product due dates and milestones, and to start with a design of the ideal state and then consider the resources available to achieve it.

Enabling Your Team to Scale

When transitioning from a lead technical role to a Vice President position, it is important to understand how to scale for the growing organization. This includes leveraging the unique set of capabilities on the team, asking the right questions, providing a vision for the team, and understanding how to convert the vision of the business into something meaningful for the team. It is also important to remember to empower the team to make better decisions and to provide the necessary resources and support needed to succeed.

The Activity of Analysis

This article discusses the tools and techniques used by a cross-functional engineering manager to combat uncertain situations. These include being proactive instead of reactive, risk analysis, SWOT analysis, and the five whys. The key concept is strategic thinking, and the activity of doing these analyses is more important than the artifacts.

A Simple Tool to Create Product Roadmaps

This article discusses the use of Google spreadsheets for product roadmaps. It explains how to use the tool to create a roadmap, and the benefits of doing so. It also mentions other tools that are available, such as ProdPad, Aha!, ProductPlan, Airtable, and Asana. The article concludes by noting that the necessity and function of the roadmap depend on the expectations of the team, and that if communicating the roadmap to the board, a different level of communication should be used. It also cautions against adding a new tool to the deck, as it can be difficult to get everyone in the company on board with it.

Splitting Your Team Into Two

The author was managing a team responsible for sending out hundreds of millions of emails per day. As the team grew, they decided to split into two teams, one for the product and one for the platform. The author had to justify the split to their manager and product director, and eventually hired a separate engineering manager. After the split, the company had a broader reorganization and the two teams were able to transition smoothly. The author learned that it is important to take a look at the team to gauge whether splitting is the right decision, to confirm the right people are in place, and to have separate metrics for success.

Growing Your Career Horizontally

A manager at a previous company was managing multiple teams and had a clear path to grow, but felt like he was lacking in business strategy. He decided to switch to a different company and team to gain more exposure to business strategy and how to build a business from the ground up. He learned that you don't have to purely grow upward, and that there is a lot to learn horizontally. He also learned to identify opportunities and lean into them.

Managing a Team You Have No Technical Familiarity With

This article discusses the unique opportunity of transitioning from an individual contributor (IC) role to a management role. The author took two different approaches to gain a better understanding of the projects they were managing: scheduling meetings with engineers and attending technical meetings. As a result, the author was able to build trust with the ICs and give the team a sense of autonomy. The article also provides lessons learned, such as using past experiences to guide people and understanding that the role of a manager is to enable the team to function without them.

Changing Companies to Reconnect with Tech

After switching from engineering to project management in 2011, the author felt disconnected from the technical side of their work and began to lose confidence in their job. To reconnect with technology and regain confidence, the author changed companies and became CEO of Topscore, a small company where they could spend most of their time coding. After two and a half years, the author returned to a director of engineering role with renewed confidence. The author's experience shows that it is possible to regain lost confidence and that technical skills are not easily lost.

Is CS Training Essential to Be a Successful Engineering Leader?

This article discusses whether or not CS training is necessary for engineering leaders to be successful. It suggests that the decision should be approached on a case by case basis, and that strength and warmth should be balanced. It also suggests that CS training may not be necessary right away, but may be beneficial for job interviews. Ultimately, success is determined by what is done outside of the 8 hours spent at work.

Scrum Master and Software Manager: Distinct Roles Working Collaboratively

The roles of a scrum master and a software manager are not clearly defined, making it difficult to answer questions about the separation of responsibilities during the hiring process. As an example, when a scrum team is underperforming, it is the scrum master's job to challenge the team to overcome it and the manager's job to get data points from other places and have one on one's with the scrum master. Management should also attend scrum ceremonies and ping people on the team to get their opinion on how things are going. Ultimately, it is a collaborative effort between the scrum master and the software manager to ensure the team is open and honest with one another and with management.