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I've never been an engineering manager so this is my perspective as a software engineer: My attention is my ability to concentrate on what I need to do right n

by biztos 9y ago

I've never been an engineering manager so this is my perspective as a software engineer: My attention is my ability to concentrate on what I need to do right now -- not what the company needs in a broad strategic sense, not what the stock is doing, not what might be on the horizon in a few weeks. All of those things are important to me but my attention can only be on one at a time. And I think the reality of serious software engineering is that sometimes you need to concentrate on the code and not on the other things. Protecting my attention means knowing when I need to be in the "zone" (asking if you aren't sure); giving me plenty of warning if I'm going to be involved in things like requirements meetings; totally insulating me from any corporate politics except where I've asked to be informed or it directly affects me; and escalating appropriately (HELO phone?) if I'm too busy to answer e-mails/chats. I absolutely think you want engineers in requirements meetings, but I also think that if you have an engineer who should be in the requirements meeting and she's super busy implementing that autonomous social-graph API then hey, move the meeting.

jt2190 9y ago
That's what I thought you were getting at. Thanks for elaborating.
pionar 9y ago
I am an engineering manager, formerly a dev, so I know what you mean. I have a rule that I'm the gatekeeper to my group's time. My people know that if someone tries to contact them directly (unless as part of an ongoing project/conversation), they're to direct that person to me, where I can set expectations appropriately. It doesn't happen much anymore. I see part of my role as a liaison between my group and the rest of the company. My people don't fight fires, there's a team for that. I'm sorry that you don't feel like your issue gets the attention it deserves over there. Those guys are swamped. Pinging my team directly is not the appropriate resolution. Usually, what happens is someone from some other group (sales, support, services) will come to me to ask a question. If I don't directly know the answer, I'll throw the question in a Slack channel. My ask of my team is that they check that before they head out to lunch, head home, etc., because it's usually a 5-minute investigation.

by biztos 9y ago

jt2190 9y ago

That's what I thought you were getting at. Thanks for elaborating.

pionar 9y ago

I am an engineering manager, formerly a dev, so I know what you mean. I have a rule that I'm the gatekeeper to my group's time. My people know that if someone tries to contact them directly (unless as part of an ongoing project/conversation), they're to direct that person to me, where I can set expectations appropriately. It doesn't happen much anymore. I see part of my role as a liaison between my group and the rest of the company. My people don't fight fires, there's a team for that. I'm sorry that you don't feel like your issue gets the attention it deserves over there. Those guys are swamped. Pinging my team directly is not the appropriate resolution. Usually, what happens is someone from some other group (sales, support, services) will come to me to ask a question. If I don't directly know the answer, I'll throw the question in a Slack channel. My ask of my team is that they check that before they head out to lunch, head home, etc., because it's usually a 5-minute investigation.