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

Pitfalls of retaining talent

Retaining talent on your team is not universally desirable. While it is generally a good thing to do, there are limitations and drawbacks to keep in mind. In your efforts to retain talent on your team, take care to avoid scenarios where turnover is too low or you put too much emphasis on engineer satisfaction.

Can turnover be too low?

When the engineers on your team are happy and productive, it is a good thing. You want your engineers to grow and develop over time and make great contributions to your code bases and products. Part of growing and developing is eventually growing into new responsibilities and roles. Your team members might do so within your company or they might not, but either way, growth is important. Most (but not all) of your engineers should progress from their roles eventually. As an engineering manager, it is your goal for them to do so in a gradual way such that you hold on to the same levels of knowledge and expertise within...