When faced with a request from his VP to fire one of his direct reports without explanation, the engineering manager negotiated a plan to collect evidence, learn the engineer's job, and design a hiring plan for replacing him. Through biweekly conversations, he learned the engineer was suffering from burnout and had a passion for music. The engineer eventually resigned, avoiding litigation and saving the company money. The manager learned it is ok to push back when asked to do something wrong, and that listening with an open mind can help resolve conflicts.

Plato

Ashish Agrawal

Entrepreneur - building a new venture at

How To Create a Successful Onboarding Plan for New Hires

When the author joined their company, they saw the onboarding process as an opportunity to make new hires effective contributors to the engineering organization. They developed a structured onboarding plan, which included sections on business strategy, competition, financial analysis, marketecture, technical architecture, project management, software management, and support. The plan was iterative and the author collected feedback from peers, HR, and their boss. The plan was eventually adopted as a standard and a new role was created to upkeep the document. The author learned to be iterative, take on tasks independently, and not take feedback personally.

Plato

Phillip Derosa

Global Director of QA at OneSpan

How to Wear a Lot of Hats

This case study outlines the process of reducing the release cycle of a game from three months to two weeks. Executive buy-in was key to making this change, and automation of end-to-end tests, smoke tests, and assigning owners to each step of the process were all important steps in the process. The author also learned lessons about going above and beyond in their role, being a systems-thinker, and the value of filling gaps in the team.

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KIRSTEN ZVERINA

Senior Product Manager at Google

Simpler Product Visions and Strategy, Create Clarity to Empower Teams

A product leader found themselves in a difficult situation with teams disagreeing on the proactive path forward. To solve this, they simplified the product vision into a sound byte, presented it through PowerPoint, and refined the product strategy from 10 pages to 1 page. This helped the teams unite and focus on the product vision and strategy, and empowered them to better serve customers and the business. The lesson learned was that less is more when it comes to strategies.

Plato

Neelima Annam

Vice President, Engineering and Planning

Overcoming Constraints Through Creative Thinking

When faced with budgetary constraints and aggressive timelines, an Engineering Manager created a Fun Learning Challenge for their team to revamp the customer-facing application UI using AJAX and JQuery. The team was given books, free resources, and a skeleton website to work on for two weeks, with user experience and performance as the main evaluation criteria. The challenge was successful and the team was able to acquire the necessary skills and deliver on the objective much better than anticipated. This experience highlighted the importance of investing in upskilling current teams and finding alternatives for training when budgets get cut.

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Sowmiya Chocka Narayanan

CTO at Lily App

How to Engage Offshore Engineers

This article discusses the challenges of hiring offshore engineers for an early stage startup with limited funding. The author suggests that by investing time into building the offshore team, and providing them with enough context to understand the product, it is possible to achieve the same quality of work as engineers based in the US.

Plato

Henry Hsu

Head of Engineering at Trade Coffee

Evaluating Your Success as a New Manager

The transition to becoming a manager was difficult for the author, who struggled to evaluate how well they were doing. After a two-year process, they developed a framework for evaluating their performance, focusing on how they were helping the team solve problems and the development and growth of their direct reports. They learned to observe the people, process, and environment to understand their scope of helping and improving their team, and not to evaluate their performance based on team productivity.

Plato

Adam Kanouse

CTO at Evive

Understanding Your Role as a CTO When Scaling

Technology leaders need to relinquish control, hire and train smart people to make decisions, create boundaries with guiding principles, and embrace their role as a leader in order to move into a CTO role or continue to run the technology organization at a fast scaling company.

Plato

Who to follow

Dom Perez

Professional Software Engineer | MSIT - BSCS

Ricardo Aravena

Infrastructure Engineering Leader, Technologist, Nerd

Jeffrey Wescott

Technologist, Founder, Dad

Milos Stojanovic

Senior Staff Software Engineer

Jose Pettoruti

Payments API Leader, Mentor, Tech Expert

Avinash Palayadi

Tech Leader

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Hakim Hanif

Sr Software Engineer at Amazon Web Services

Top 7 software bloggers to follow

This blog highlights the top 7 bloggers in the field of software engineering and product development. These bloggers provide valuable insights and ideas on software design, processes, and methodologies. The list includes Martin Fowler, known for his expertise in software patterns; Kent Beck, the creator of Extreme Programming and Test Driven Development; Paul Graham, co-founder of Y Combinator and an expert on startups and entrepreneurship; Jeff Atwood, co-founder of Stack Overflow; Andy Hunt, founder of the Pragmatic Programmer series; Joel Spolsky, a blogger who offers both sensible and surprising perspectives; and Steve Yegge, known for his entertaining content. Following these bloggers can help software engineers improve their skills and gain knowledge from the best in the field.

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Bertrand Deriot

ex VP of Engineering & VP Products at Veepee

Building High-Performing Engineering Teams: Lessons from a Manager

This article discusses the insights and lessons learned from a top-tier engineer on building and leading successful engineering teams. It emphasizes the importance of team dynamics, workload management, performance evaluation, minimizing context switching, and leveraging diverse expertise. By prioritizing these factors, managers can create an environment that fosters collaboration, productivity, and success, ultimately leading to exceptional results.

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David García

Head of Engineering at Cense AG

Challenges Faced by Engineering Leaders in Scaling Teams

Engineering leaders face several challenges when scaling their teams. One key area of focus is providing effective feedback and recognition to team members, which fosters growth and improvement. Building strong relationships and collaboration between engineering and product teams is also crucial. Remote work presents unique challenges, such as lack of trust and engagement, which can be addressed through proactive communication and trust-building. Hiring qualified senior engineers is another challenge, but implementing a rigorous hiring process can help overcome this. By addressing these challenges, engineering leaders can create successful and high-performing teams and a positive work environment.

Plato

David García

Head of Engineering at Cense AG

Effective Strategies for Providing Feedback to Managers

This article discusses effective strategies for providing feedback to managers in the engineering field. It emphasizes the importance of constructive feedback for personal and professional growth. The article provides insights from top-tier engineers, including tips on framing feedback objectively and addressing the manager's impact. It also highlights the significance of promoting junior team members and offers strategies for providing feedback, such as asking for permission and being solution-oriented. Overall, the article emphasizes the value of effective feedback in fostering a positive and productive work environment.

Plato

Deekshita Amaravadi

Engineering Leader at Justworks

Transitioning from Technical Roles to Leadership

Transitioning from a technical role to a leadership position requires embracing change, seeking mentorship, and taking initiative. Engineers must let go of old identities and adapt to new opportunities. Overcoming fear and communicating openly with managers about career goals and aspirations is crucial. By doing so, engineers can navigate this transition successfully and continue to grow in their careers.

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