Managing a software engineering team isn't just about pushing code to production or meeting deadlines. At the core, it's a balancing act among three pivotal elements—Purpose, Process, and People.
Purpose: The North Star
The Case of the 'Lost' Team
I recall a situation where a backend team was cranking out microservices without knowing the impact of their work. It wasn't until we aligned them with the company's mission and showed how their microservices helped scale our application for peak user traffic, availability, and deployment dependency that directly improved their productivity.
Improvement Strategies
- Clearly communicate the challenge, and possible blockers and be transparent about what we don't know about the current situation.
- Create together the roadmap, design, and abstraction of each microservice.
Validation Strategies
Regular Check-ins: Validate that the team's ongoing tasks are synced with this purpose.
Process: The Engine Room
The Transformation from Chaos to Agile
One team I managed was initially like the Wild West—everyone doing their thing. We transitioned to Scrum, then fine-tuned it to our own flavor of Agile. The transformation was night and day: deadlines were met, code quality improved, and the apps had fewer bugs.
Improvement Strategies
- It's not about Scrum or Kanban, the main thing is to have a structured approach to work and validate and monitor and progress.
- To succeed, it's important to be flexible and receptive to change. We can't afford to have a closed-minded approach.
Validation Strategies
Continuously review and adapt your process based on what's working and what's not.
People: The Heart and Soul
The Tale of Two DevOps Engineers
Had two engineers—let's call them Alice and Bob. Alice a senior, always get her task done but slowly. Bob was a junior. less skilled than Alice but eager to learn and a team player. At first, we decided to invest in Alice's growth. Fast forward several months, and our expectation Alice as a senior can improve his speed. but we are wrong. We decided to switch our plan, instead of investing in Alice, we grew Bob and made him aware of his potential.
Improvement Strategies
- Invest in Growth: Identify potential and invest in upskilling and mentorship.
- Culture Fit: Sometimes the right attitude trumps skill. Make sure to cultivate a supportive and inclusive environment.
Validation Strategies
Always keep track of your expectations and be open to change. Don't wait too long to adjust your strategy.
The three pillars of Purpose, Process, and People isn't a one-off exercise; it's an ongoing balancing act. Attending to these three pillars doesn't just make your life easier as a manager, By utilizing this, you gain valuable insight into your team's potential, allowing for efficient prioritization. And avoid missing out on the opportunity to optimize your team's productivity.
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