DEV·2yAm I a Senior or an Obsolete Architect?
Being an architect involves harmonizing diverse elements like a conductor in an orchestra. Key behaviors for success include active listening and clear communication, thinking holistically, ensuring coherence and alignment, being a catalyst for change, and constantly raising the bar. Effective architects understand and align technical and business needs, drive transformation, and foster continuous improvement and innovation.
habr·1yFrom Idea to Release: The Product Owner’s Role in Feature Development at Exante
The post examines the journey of feature development at Exante, highlighting the critical role of the product owner in managing communication and documentation challenges. It outlines the processes of basic and full discovery, including aligning feature requests with business goals, user analysis, design feasibility, and technical specifications. Detailed planning and collaboration are emphasized to minimize discrepancies and ensure consistent implementation across projects.
Hacker News·2yHow to Delegate Effectively as Your Responsibility Grows
Delegation can be difficult as your responsibility grows. Successful delegation involves assigning both tasks and accountability at various levels within the organizational structure. Although detailed, task-specific delegation (IC-style) has its place, it often leads to micromanagement, inefficiency, and team frustration. Managers should instead focus on supervisor-style delegation, defining clear goals and allowing flexibility in task execution. Creating safe zones for failure, differentiating training from standing instructions, and empowering team members can lead to more scalable and effective delegation.
The Developing Dev·2yRevealing My Passion Project
Ryan Peterman shares his journey of building an ergonomic keyboard, driven by wrist problems from his younger years playing tennis. The project underscores key staff-level behaviors such as setting direction, getting alignment, and executing the roadmap. Ryan highlights the importance of writing clear direction documents, staffing the right expertise, and embracing a hands-on leadership approach. The project demonstrates how skills learned in big tech can be applied to personal endeavors, and Ryan invites readers to follow his progress.
Stay SaaSy·2yA Practical Guide to Executive Presence: Earning Respect
Executive presence is defined by behaviors that earn respect and make others listen closely. Key behaviors include demonstrating deep expertise, avoiding uncontrolled lateness, working hard, not taking things too literally, and having a life outside of work. These traits prevent resentment and build strong relationships with other executives.
Hacker News·2yPlease just stop saying "just"
Using the word 'just' in technical conversations can imply simplicity, reinforce imposter syndrome, and reduce ideation among engineers. The author suggests that eliminating this qualifier can lead to better responses, clearer thinking, and healthier team debates.
Hacker News·1yHow to give a senior leader feedback (without getting fired)
Giving feedback to senior leaders requires a careful approach to ensure it's received positively. Start by reflecting on your own actions, adopt techniques like the 'even more' method, use diplomatic language, bring data and examples, and avoid making blunt statements. The newsletter provides practical guidance for managing up and improving executive communication.
Tech Lead Digest·2yHow hard can it be to buy software?
Jessica Kerr discusses the complexities involved in implementing a SaaS product within an organization. She highlights challenges such as budget approvals, security reviews, GDPR compliance, data integration with pre-existing systems, and the importance of ensuring employees utilize the new software.
The Developing Dev·2y"How I Ship Projects at Big Tech Companies"
In large tech companies, such as those in the FAANG group, career advancement is primarily driven by the impact of your work rather than just perception. Metrics and data are crucial, and focusing on impactful work simplifies marketing efforts while boosting credibility. Engineers should collaborate with management to steer project direction towards meaningful results. Prioritizing pleasing leadership over impact can hinder career growth and is less fulfilling.
Community Picks·2y“I don’t believe in work-life balance,” says Narayana Murthy: Is life-work equilibrium an elusive ideal or essential for productivity?
Narayana Murthy, co-founder of Infosys, stirred controversy at the CNBC Global Leadership Summit by dismissing work-life balance as an 'indulgent myth' and advocating for 14-hour workdays to drive economic progress. His stance reflects India's deep-rooted culture of overwork, where a significant portion of the workforce clocks excessive hours, often leading to high burnout rates. Critics argue that such relentless work schedules are neither ethical nor sustainable, pointing to research that suggests employee well-being is crucial for long-term productivity. The debate continues on whether true productivity stems from well-balanced work environments or grueling work hours.
Hacker News·2yMethodology is bullshit: principles for product velocity
Achieving fast product development often involves cutting unnecessary processes, limiting project scope, and focusing on what truly matters. Key principles include doing less to maintain quality, embracing simple solutions, ignoring non-essential problems, avoiding rigid development processes, accepting the need for occasional rewrites, utilizing vendors for certain tasks, and maintaining a small, efficient team. Understanding customer needs and having a strong team are crucial for maintaining product velocity.
Community Picks·1yManaging Impostor Syndrome as a New Engineering Manager
The shift to engineering management often triggers impostor syndrome, characterized by doubt and fear of being exposed as a fraud. Common triggers include leading more technically experienced engineers, transitioning from peer to manager, and cross-functional responsibilities. Instead of viewing self-doubt negatively, it can be harnessed to gather more context and improve managerial skills. Building a support system with managers, peers, and HR is vital for new engineering managers. Recognize and reframe self-doubt, maintain transparency, and focus on growth to manage these feelings effectively.
Hacker News·2yHow I ship projects at big tech companies
Shipping projects in big tech companies requires prioritizing the shipping process itself above all else. It involves understanding that shipping is about satisfying leadership and maintaining their trust through clear communication, problem anticipation, and fallback plans. Successful project shipment hinges on having someone with end-to-end understanding and deploying changes early to mitigate risks.
swizec.com·1yWhy even care about code structure
Code structure is crucial not just for making software work today, but for ensuring it remains maintainable and scalable in the future. While overly rigid structures can slow you down, zero structure can create a tangled mess that's hard for teams to manage. Best practices include using idempotent functions, avoiding unnecessary dependencies, declaring types, defining clear interfaces, and letting your domain guide design decisions.
gitconnected·2yMy System for Managing 1:1's and How AI Makes It Better
Learn how to optimize 1:1 meetings with team members using Notion and AI. This guide covers the importance of regular 1:1s, setting structured agendas, and maintaining detailed records in Notion. Discover how AI can enhance feedback quality, personalize interactions, and improve meeting preparation, ultimately leading to more meaningful and productive team management.
Jason Fried·2yMaking it happen vs. Letting it happen
Achieving progress often isn't about forcefully pushing things to happen but rather creating an effective environment that allows things to happen naturally. This involves building a strong team, establishing trust, and fostering a smooth process that promotes momentum with less effort, leading to more efficient and easier accomplishment of goals.