A large part of a manager’s role is to make decisions and be responsible for their outcomes. While there is ample advice on how to be successful in many other managerial core areas, such as growing your people, the domain of high-quality decision-making seems less crowded. In this post, I summarize what I have found during my 20+ years as a manager to be a simple and effective way to approach decision-making.
In software engineering, most ideas can be implemented without writing any design document at all. This is particularly prominent in open source communities. For example, the Linux kernel has 35 million lines of code that have been written and rewritten many times over alongside 30 years of mailing list discussions. Linux wasn’t created as a result of a grandiose design document by Linus Torvalds, but it evolved organically in small increments of actual running code.
For a software engineering organization to be efficient, it is key that everyone is an efficient communicator. Everybody needs to be calibrated in what to communicate, to whom and how to ensure information spreads properly in the organization. Having smart people with a lot of knowledge results in progress only if information flows well in the veins of the organization.
People usually associate advanced software engineering with gray-bearded experts with vast knowledge of how computers and things like compiler internals work. However, having technical knowledge is just the base requirement to work in the field. In my experience, the greatest minds in the field are not just experts in knowledge, but also extremely efficient communicators, particularly in writing.
When people learn programming they – for completely obvious and natural reasons – initially focus on learning the syntax of programming languages and libraries. However, these are just tools. The essence of software engineering is about automating thought, applying algorithmic thinking and anticipation of the known and unknown. The code might be succinct, but the reasoning behind it can be extensive, and it needs to show in the communication around the code. The more senior a programmer is, the more their success depends on their communication skills.
In software development, the code review process stands as a crucial checkpoint for ensuring code quality, fostering collaboration, and promoting knowledge sharing among team members. Despite the importance, many engineers lack a clear mental map of how effective reviews work. This is my attempt to help code reviews and reviewers improve.
While large organisations scale best by emphasizing asynchronous communications, in-person or video meetings also have their place. As a manager who is involved in a lot of planning and coordination work I’ve noticed that I’ve spent the majority of my working time in meetings in past years. These are my 5 tips to make meetings as efficient as possible.
As a software developer, your core skill is how to improve an existing code base to make the software better iteratively, patch by patch. To be a good software developer you need to: understand the concept of a code patch, know how do code improvements in well sized and properly documented patches, and skillfully use git version control software to manage patches.
