In our first Labs episode of the year, LinearB COO and Co-founder Dan Lines is joined by CTO Yishai Beeri to explore how elite engineering organizations set and report on their engineering goals.

Modern engineering leaders face a dual mandate of achieving operational excellence while aligning their work with business priorities. To achieve this, you need to deliver software predictably—projects need to be delivered on time, within scope, and as promised so the rest of the business can drive ROI. Dan and Yishai highlight goal-setting methodologies to achieve predictable delivery and key metrics to focus on, ranging from planning accuracy and capacity accuracy to cycle time.

Along with goal setting, we cover how to effectively report on your goals and progress to business stakeholders. Plus, you can download LinearB’s CTO Board Deck Template to leverage in your next board meeting.

Episode Highlights:

01:24 Key terms to know when setting goals
02:17 Engineering leaders’ dual mandate: operational excellence and business alignment
08:18 How can engineering leaders set goals to achieve both sides of this mandate?
11:37 Why engineering organizations need to deliver predictably
19:37 How to set goals around resource allocation
27:30 Reporting on your goals to business stakeholders
32:56 The LinearB CTO Board Deck Template

Show Notes:

• Gartner SEI Platform Market Guide
• CTO Board Slides
• Engineering Leader Guide to Goals and Reporting
• LinkedIn: Yishai Beeri
• Twitter: Yishai Beeri

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This week, I sat down with Neha Batra, VP of Engineering for Core Productivity at GitHub. Our conversation is about the value of taking calculated risks in engineering leadership, using a “risk budget," and how you can leverage your social capital to take risks that help your career.

Neha also shares her insights on senior engineering leaders' challenges when aligning business needs with talent and product execution. She discusses her framework for strengthening company alignment and engineering efficiency using established communication paths.

Episode Highlights:
00:26 Frameworks that strengthen company alignment
03:11 How should you channel frustration into creation?
05:58 Conceptualizing your risk budget
12:53 Strategies for building communication pathways
16:04 Conducting AMA's with your team
21:47 How do you get team members to take accountability?
25:27 How do you gather signals from your team?
29:13 Mistakes leaders make you can learn from
36:32 Building curiosity into mundane experiences like dating

Show Notes:

• Starting Your Engineering Metrics Program
• nerdneha (Neha Batra) · GitHub
• Neha Batra
• Neha (@nerdneha) / X
• GitHub: Let’s build from here · GitHub

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In the last few years, disengagement at work has become a massive issue. We learned from Dr. Andre Martin’s episode that 53% of managers are burnt out and 1 in 3 employees leave their jobs in the first 90 days.

This week, we sat down with Chuck Lafferty, VP of CRM at ADP, to discuss ADP’s approach to employee engagement and innovation. Chuck dives into building trust within teams, innovative techniques like ‘Survey Roulette’ to incorporate user feedback into development, and the critical role of understanding and caring for individuals.

When employees feel valued, heard, and engaged in meaningful work, you see improved productivity and increased job satisfaction. The episode concludes with actionable steps to improve employee engagement through personalized interactions and empathetic leadership.

Episode Highlights:

• 01:51 How does Chuck define employee engagement?
• 04:06 Can you measure employee engagement?
• 12:05 How can managers engage individual developers?
• 17:16 Survey Roulette and how it helps engage engineering teams.
• 22:31 Winning in the workplace
• 23:45 The importance of separating the problem from the person
• 25:30 How can you improve employee engagement?

Show Notes:

• Starting Your Engineering Metrics Program Workshop
• Chuck Lafferty
• Payroll, HR and Tax Services | ADP Official Site
• Confident Coder
• ChuckLafferty (@ChuckLafferty) / X

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Offers:

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This week, our host Dan Lines sits down with Tara Hernandez, VP of Developer Productivity at MongoDB. Together, they explore the nuances of developer productivity and the impact of AI in engineering environments.

Tara emphasizes that achieving developer productivity requires a focus on outcomes, reduced noise for developers, and a healthy balance between technology, processes, and communication. She also touches on the strategic framework of the 'three horizons' for conceptualizing your investment breakdown across different projects and how to maintain focused on meaningful development work.

Episode Highlights:

01:43 How should you think about developer productivity?
09:09 Three pillars to improve developer productivity
16:07 Automated does not equal autonomous
24:46 Making the golden path the easy path for developers
27:51 What’s exciting in developer productivity and AI?
29:57 The three horizons
38:34 Developer performance vs productivity data
40:23 What is the right way to think about goal setting for noise reduction?

Show Notes:

• Starting Your Engineering Metrics Program Workshop
• Tara Hernandez
• MongoDB
• GitHub
• CloudBees
• CircleCI
• Atlassian
• Evergreen CI in GitHub

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Offers:

• Learn about Continuous Merge with gitStream
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In the past year, ransomware attacks have been up almost 300%, with over 50% targeting small businesses. To help mitigate this increase, Microsoft is launching their new Security Copilot, and we sat down with their SMB Security Strategy Head, Binil Pillai, to learn more.

We dive into the importance of SMBs assessing their security posture, how to leverage AI for efficient threat detection and response, and the role of Microsoft's partner ecosystem in providing comprehensive security solutions. The episode concludes with advice for SMB leaders on starting their security assessments and the benefits of integrating AI into their cybersecurity strategies.

Episode Highlights:

01:39 Why is SMB security a priority for Microsoft?
07:34 Key security challenges for SMBs
09:26 How can SMBs leverage AI within security?
16:28 How VPs of Engineering can use new tech to deal with threats
20:25 Microsoft Security Copilot
24:30 Where is the best place to learn about Microsoft's security strategy?

Show Notes:

• Microsoft Copilot for Security is generally available on April 1, 2024 | Microsoft Security Blog
• Microsoft Copilot for Security: General Availability details - Microsoft Community Hub
• Microsoft 365 Business Premium | Microsoft 365
• Microsoft Defender for Business | Microsoft Security
• Automatic attack disruption in Microsoft 365 Defender | Microsoft Learn
• Microsoft Defender for Cloud | Microsoft Security
• What is Microsoft Defender for Cloud? - Microsoft Defender for Cloud | Microsoft Learn
• Solution Assessment Program (microsoft.com)

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Offers:

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In this episode, host Conor Bronsdon talks with Melissa DePuydt, Sr. Director of Engineering at Upstatement. Melissa discusses how her background in journalism has uniquely positioned her to excel in engineering leadership roles. She highlights how thinking like a journalist has enhanced her ability to lead engineering teams effectively, particularly in planning, risk management, and decision-making.

The conversation covers the importance of preparing for disruptions, conducting pre-mortems to anticipate challenges, and incorporating broad perspectives for effective problem solving. Melissa also shares insights on continuously learning and adapting by embracing one's unique background and experiences.

Episode Highlights:
00:20 Why do engineering leaders need to think like journalists?
04:46 Preparing for disruptions as an engineering leader
08:44 How pre-mortems work in practice: an example from the Atlantic
12:47 How to get buy in from other leaders when changing processes
17:59 Eliciting buy-in from team members on pre-mortems
22:15 How do we train engineers to think in a team sport mentality?
26:51 Why is career switching a superpower?

Show Notes:

• Melissa DePuydt
• Upstatement | A digital brand and product design studio

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On this week’s episode, host Conor Bronsdon sits down with Emily Nakashima, VP of Engineering at Honeycomb.io, to discuss how you can prepare to be a VP of Engineering, and how the role differs among companies. Being a VPE varies based on company size, culture, and the existing team's makeup, and Emily provides valuable advice for engineers aspiring to leadership positions.

Emily also discusses using personality tests for better team dynamics and the need for regular self-evaluation as an integral part of career advancement. The conversation closes by talking about the impact of AI on the workforce, the importance of aligning engineering and business goals, and the potential of AI to enhance rather than replace human skills.

Episode Highlights:

01:27 Why does Emily think there isn't a standard VP of Engineering role?
06:29 The archetypes of the VPE role
10:15 How does the VPE role change as an organization grows?
14:46 Preparing to become a VP of Engineering before you get the role
20:11 How you can use personality tests in organizational design
26:00 How is the VP of Engineering role changing in 2024?
30:53 Teams are having to accept realities about production software with regards to AI

Show Notes:

• Modern Practices for Goal Setting in Software Engineering
• Emily Nakashima
• Emily Nakashima (@eanakashima.bsky.social) — Bluesky
• Observability for Distributed Services | Honeycomb
• StrengthsFinder 2.0 | EN - Gall

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This week, host Conor Bronsdon welcomes back Kelly Vaughn, Director of Engineering at Spot AI, to talk about building influence as an engineering leader. Kelly shares insights on the importance of leadership skills for both individual contributor and managerial roles and outlines her three pillars of trust, communication, and empowerment.

Conor and Kelly discuss strategies for staying technically fresh despite moving up in management, exploring the balance between staying close to product development and avoiding micromanagement. Lastly, they touch on the potential of AR/VR technology, with a focus on the business implications of Apple's Vision Pro and the future of immersive experiences.

Episode Highlights:

01:09 How should engineering leaders think about building influence?
03:53 The impact of changing roles or companies on your performance
08:07 Why you lose important context when making assumptions
09:32 How ICs can help manage their team
10:49 Key ways to build influence and trust
16:00 How important is trust when giving or recieving feedback?
22:27 How do leaders stay close to their product as their org grows?
28:58 Our thoughts on Apple Vision Pro and AR VR in general

Show Notes:

• Kelly Vaughn
• Lessons in Engineering Leadership | Kelly Vaughn | Substack
• Spot AI: Video Intelligence for Better Decision-Making
• Radical Candor | Feedback Training, Coaching & Consulting

Support the show:

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