What Distinguishes Great Software Engineers?
- Abi Noda tl;dr: Based on a research paper by Microsoft, Abi discusses the five traits: (1) Being a competent coder - paying attention to details, capable of handling complexity. (2) Maximizing current value of their work - anticipating future needs, intentional about trade-offs. (3) Practicing informed decision-making - gathering information to make informed decisions, open-minded. (4) Enabling others to make decisions efficiently - creates shared understanding with others. (5) Continuous learning - capacity to learn.featured in #349
Technical Evaluation Of A Startup
- Ian Langworth tl;dr: "In February 2021 I was asked to do a technical evaluation of a startup. The team had 7-10 engineers but lacked senior technical leadership, and the investment team and CEO wanted to make sure they were on track. I’ve sent this to a few other fractional CTOs who found it helpful, and maybe you will, too."featured in #349
Real-World Engineering Challenges #5
- Gergely Orosz tl;dr: "A series in which I interpret interesting software engineering or engineering management case studies from tech companies. You might learn something new in these articles, as we dive into the concepts they contain." Includes: (1) Resilient payments systems learnings from Shopify. (2) Designing a solution to store and access millions of records by Grab. (3) The challenges of the analytics infrastructure platform team at Yelp. And more.featured in #348
Bar Raisers, Hiring Committees, And Other Complex Ways To Improve Hiring Quality
- Will Larson tl;dr: Will discusses pros and cons of each. His "default advice" on the topic of increasing quality of organizational hiring is: (1) Introduce structured approval when you introduce your second hiring manager in a function. (2) Wait until organization trust grows sufficiently weak that there’s significant skepticism about hiring quality across teams, then introduce a hiring committee. (3) Avoid introducing bar raising unless you have a clear thesis on why the other approaches won’t work out.featured in #348
How to Optimize the Remote Employee Experience in 2022
tl;dr: (1) Invest in Tools for Easier Team Collaboration. (2) Improve Internal Communication. (3) Establish a Meeting Protocol. (4) Allocate Time for Team Bonding. (5) Introduce Company Culture from the Start, so new employees feel integrated. And more.featured in #348
An Engineering Manager's Bill Of Rights (And Responsibilities)
- Emily Nakashima tl;dr: The bill is designed to further support engineering managers at Honeycomb, with the following guidelines: (1) Create a culture of respect for both management and IC work, due to the increasing "disdain" managers are facing. (2) Provide a career path within management with multiple ways to advance. (3) Be straight with teams about what managers are there to do. (4) Cultivate the flow of feedback in both directions, between managers and IC. (5) Allow manager & IC compensation to move independently with the market.featured in #347
featured in #347
Why Automation Is Crucial For Security And Compliance
tl;dr: "Good security not only minimizes downside, but also enables faster growth. Learn how an automated security and compliance platform improves security posture, stands up to security audits, and can get you compliant in just weeks."featured in #347
Be Good-Argument-Driven, Not Data-Driven
- Richard Marmorstein tl;dr: "The trouble begins when you begin to favor bad arguments that involve data over good arguments that don’t, or insist that metrics be introduced in realms where data can’t realistically be the foundation of a good argument." An over-reliance on data can lead to introducing metrics where they don't belong and focussing only on what can be measured.featured in #347
featured in #346