Fixing “too much WIP”
Yassine Kachchani
I publish Exec Engineering, a weekly digest on Engineering + Talent | Co-founder & CEO at Gemography
Thanks for reading Exec. Eng. a weekly newsletter for the busy tech executive.
If it’s your first time stopping by — Hi, I’m Yassine. I spend a big chunk of my time digging into Engineering Management and Talent Acquisition, especially where the two overlap. I share the most interesting resources I come across in this newsletter, all curated by hand.
Hope the insights bring value.
Hiring Engineers
?? Building successful analytics engineering teams (Gopal Erinjippurath / LevelUp Engineering Podcast)
Gopal Erinjippurath, CTO and Head of Product at Sust Global, shares valuable insights on how to build and manage analytics engineering teams. He talks about the versatile aspects of analytics engineering, the characteristics he’s looking for when hiring, and the everyday processes and common pitfalls of such teams.
?? The startup founder’s guide to hiring a data scientist (Mengying Li / First Round Review)
This article by?Mengying Li, growth data science team lead at Notion, provides tangible advice to early-stage companies on how to build their data science team, choose third-party data tools, and develop early data science prototypes.
?? Finding talent in new places (Jonathan Romley / Forbes)
Jonathan Romley, CEO of?Lundi, advises companies of all sizes on how to attract, retain, and develop top international talent. This read explores the idea of finding talent in new places and how startups can take advantage of a shift in the talent marketplace.
?? The most memorable hiring stories (Jennifer Kim / Inside Lever)
Competition for talent in Silicon Valley is tough, and sometimes recruiters have to get a little creative to convince the right people to join the company. This article shares some of Lever’s most memorable?hiring stories across different teams, including engineering.
Managing Engineers
?? The alternative to performance reviews for software engineers (Mario Caropreso / Better Programming)
The article highlights the shortcomings of performance measurement systems in software engineering teams, which can introduce dysfunctions and fail to translate improvements into customer value. The author suggests an alternative system based on intrinsic motivation to replace traditional performance measurement systems.
?? Fixing “Too much WIP” (Jason Yip)
"Too much WIP" means that there are too many things being worked on simultaneously, which can result in lower engagement, mistakes, and longer completion times due to overburdening and multitasking. This issue can arise from a lack of strategy or an excessive focus on utilization. Possible solutions include developing a coherent strategy, altering delivery performance metrics, and limiting WIP by using timeboxes, fixed allocation, or per-process-step WIP limits.
?? Coaching IT pros for leadership roles (Christina Wood / CIO)
领英推荐
In this article, IT executives and leadership coaches advise how to develop the leaders on your team. They recommend stopping teaching and starting coaching and making sure you choose the right person for the role. Additionally, making career paths clear is essential as it avoids losing valuable employees.
?? Announcing organizational change in your first 90 days (Lara Hogan)
This article provides a guide for new leaders to wrap up their first 2 months on the job. It suggests taking the time to evaluate the success of any changes made during this period, documenting the results of any experiments, and deciding on any lasting changes to implement. The article also emphasizes the importance of communicating the experiment results to the team and being prepared for pushback or resistance to change.
Remote Trend
?? Remote work and sick days (Jean Hsu / Jean's Newsletter)
The blog post discusses the challenges of working remotely when it comes to managing illnesses. With the current winter “triple-demic” of flu, RSV, and COVID, the writer has noticed that people are getting sick back-to-back, especially parents. Unlike when working in an office, where taking a full sick day seems more acceptable, remote work has blurred the lines between work and home life, making it harder to take even a single full sick day. The article recommends being intentional about taking time to recover, communicating well with the team, and encouraging sick coworkers to take a sick day.
?? Remote work and mental health concerns (Laurel Kalser / HRDive)
Remote work is becoming a common practice among companies as it helps to attract and retain talent. Many U.S. hiring managers plan to continue remote work because of the talent retention and attraction benefits. Remote work has opened up job opportunities and maintained a work-life balance for many employees, including individuals with disabilities and caregivers. While remote work can save companies money and allow for broader hiring, concerns about employee engagement and well-being remain, with a reported decrease in a sense of belonging and mental health levels. Companies will have to make adjustments to preserve workplace culture when employees are spread out across a region or the world.
Misc
Top posts of the week
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I also share my own personal insights and thoughts on Engineering Leadership and Talent Acquisition every other day, let’s connect.