Book Image

Engineering Manager's Handbook

By : Morgan Evans
Book Image

Engineering Manager's Handbook

By: Morgan Evans

Overview of this book

Delightful and customer-centric digital products have become an expectation in the world of business. Engineering managers are uniquely positioned to impact the success of these products and the software systems that power them. Skillful managers guide their teams and companies to develop functional and maintainable systems. This book helps you find your footing as an engineering manager, develop your leadership style, balance your time between engineering and managing, build successful engineering teams in different settings, and work within constraints without sacrificing technical standards or team empathy. You’ll learn practical techniques for establishing trust, developing beneficial habits, and creating a cohesive and high-performing engineering team. You’ll discover effective strategies to guide and contribute to your team’s efforts, facilitating productivity and collaboration. By the end of this book, you’ll have the tools and knowledge necessary to thrive as an engineering manager. Whether you’re just starting out in your role or seeking to enhance your leadership capabilities, this handbook will empower you to make a lasting impact and drive success in your organization.
Table of Contents (24 chapters)
1
Part 1: The Case for Engineering Management
5
Part 2: Engineering
9
Part 3: Managing
15
Part 4: Transitioning
19
Part 5: Long-Term Strategies

Working Cross-Functionally

Engineering work often involves working closely with people who are not engineers. Cross-functional teams, where contributors from several different departments or skillsets collaborate on a shared effort, have become the primary configuration for software development work. These teams are arranged to have the right expertise to complete meaningful and impactful work together.

Engineers may work on cross-functional teams with a wide range of members. Contributors might include those from other engineering disciplines or those from design, data, operations, analytics, product management, project management, or business backgrounds. Many others may be a part of your cross-functional teams, each with their own skillsets, priorities, and perspectives.

Companies take different approaches to cross-functional teams. They may set up a functionally aligned reporting structure with matrixed cross-functional teams or they might have cross-functional roles report...