Engineering Strategies

In this article?Why Engineers Should Have a Seat at the Product Strategy Table, guest post by Wayne Chen, Principal Product Manager at Instacart, highlights that in the world of product development, the most innovative, scalable, and successful products come from teams that prioritise early collaboration.

While this may seem intuitive, many companies still bring engineers into the discussion only after major decisions have been made, often to the detriment of the product’s scalability and sustainability. This practice not only limits technical insights which engineers bring but, more importantly, misses the business opportunity to use their input on how best to develop solutions which are cheaper to maintain and operate (or, indeed, their input on how feasible?any?solution would be).

1. Engineers Create Scalable Solutions from the Start

Engineers apply long-term thinking and, in so doing, foresee potential technical challenges and bottlenecks before they manifest, offering insight that can help steer the product design in the direction away from those pitfalls. Early collaboration with engineers makes it possible to build sustainable flexibility into the foundation of a product design, saving the team later headaches.

2. Building Ownership and Accountability

When engineers are actively involved in shaping product strategy, they gain a sense of ownership over the product. It’s no longer just another project to execute; it’s a vision they helped create. This ownership boosts engagement and accountability, as engineers feel responsible not only for the technical solution but for the product’s success as a whole. For early or junior engineers, this involvement can be especially motivating. It builds confidence, encourages proactive problem-solving, and aligns everyone around a common vision.

3. Engineers Offer a Fresh Perspective

Product managers focus heavily on understanding user needs and aligning products with business goals. Engineers, however, bring a technical lens to these discussions, focusing on feasibility and efficiency. This cross-functional approach often leads to creative solutions and adds layers of strategic insight that might otherwise go unnoticed.

Yet, despite these clear advantages, many organizations don’t include engineers early in strategic discussions. Let’s explore why and address how to overcome these barriers.

Why Engineers Are Often Excluded from Strategy

1. Company Culture In some companies, engineers are still viewed as “doers” rather than strategic partners. They’re looped in to execute a plan, not to shape it. This culture often misses out on the value engineers can add, limiting their involvement to tactical problem-solving.
2. Team Dynamics When team culture doesn’t promote ownership, engineers may assume strategy rests solely with PMs. They’re less likely to push for early technical input, leading to missed opportunities that would improve the product.
3. Perceived Overhead PMs sometimes worry that involving engineers early will slow down the decision-making process, thinking, “They don’t need the full context yet,” or “It’s going to be too much overhead.” However, this mindset can lead to delays later on when issues arise that could have been addressed earlier.
4. Engineers’ Reluctance Not all engineers are eager to participate in strategic discussions, sometimes viewing it as an added responsibility outside their traditional role.

This where things get... tricky. It's fine to ask an engineer into a strategy session. But that engineer cannot be busy with anything else during their participation in that session.

Too many business stakeholders have seen "engineers" sit in meetings and not contribute anything at all, never mind anything of value. So businesses need to take this cultural phenomenon into account and ensure ... somehow that their engineering culture has valuable engineers and not just "doers" who have 'Jr/Snr [insert subject matter] Engineer' in their email footers next to their names (because of reasons involving salary structure and longevity playing a part along with job market conditions).

Be all this as it may - engineers need to come to this party and business needs to bring the refreshments because sitting in one hour of meeting drains me twice as much as two hours of 'coding'. I would love to participate in your 1hr strategy session that runs over by another hour and I will dutifully put my remaining working hours to whatever it is I was doing before I got pulled into that session 5 minutes before it was scheduled to kick off - but what I will not do is sit in that session and then put in an extra 2 hours of 'coding' because that is my job and I was in the session as a freebie favour to you. Hey buddy - it ain't show friends, it's show business. Figure out how your business is going to pay for your engineers sitting in strategy sessions before you invite them to join (hint: if you are going to recover sunken costs as an investment, invite them to help with the agenda beforehand).

And to the engineers: grow up. Nobody likes meetings. Get over it and start contributing.

Or, IDK... read an article on how business should invite you?

How to Encourage Engineers’ Involvement in Strategy

1. Share the Big Picture Help engineers understand the broader context of the product and how their work fits into the company’s vision. Knowing the “why” behind their work encourages them to think beyond just execution and fosters a sense of purpose and pride.
2. Show What’s in It for Them When engineers see the benefits of early involvement—such as fewer surprises, less backtracking, and reduced frustration—they’re more likely to join the conversation. Make it clear that their insights will prevent issues down the road and lead to smoother, more rewarding projects.
3. Lean on Project Managers PMs play a crucial role in bridging the gap between product strategy and technical implementation. Work closely with them to gauge the right time to bring engineers into discussions and identify high-impact projects where their input can make the biggest difference.
4. Be Selective Engineers don’t need to be involved in every strategic decision. Prioritize high-ROI projects where their input will be most valuable. For less critical initiatives, bringing engineers in later may be sufficient.