Why the Best Developers Are Obsessed with Vertical Slices
Want to know how you can deliver value to your end users rapidly? Let's dive into vertical slices and see what high performing engineering teams are using!
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August 31, 2023
Perspective and insights into different aspects of leadership and management, especially as it pertains to building teams around software engineering.
Hands-On Management: How to Lead Engineers to Success
This article is in response to an answer I wrote on Quora. As an engineering leader, does it make sense to approach things as hands-on management and writing code? Let's see when it makes sense, and when it doesn't.
March 13, 2023
OKRs: First Steps for Crushing Your Objectives and Key Results
You've heard about OKRs but you're not exactly sure where to get started. Don't sweat it. Here's a brief intro on how you can get going!
May 28, 2021
Engineering Manager – What’s Expected in the Role?
So you want to be an engineering manager? What exactly does an engineering manager do and what is expected in an engineering manager role?
May 5, 2021
Timeboxing: Evolving the TODO List to be More Effective
I recently wrote about TODO lists and how they can help with focus now that many of us are working from home. I had a former colleague on LinkedIn mention this concept of "timeboxing" (which I think many people are familiar with the general idea) and how that can improve the effectiveness of a TODO list. I had made a post on LinkedIn sharing my blog article, and here's a comment that came in right away from Graeme Harvey: This obviously got me thinking because sure, Elon Musk is a pretty smart dude, but I also have a lot of respect for Graeme and his perspective on things. So I decided I'd try something out! TODO Lists v1.0 My original TODO lists didn't factor in any timeboxing techniques, but they had some benefits. The engineering mind in me says this…
April 3, 2020
TODO Lists: Keeping focused when you feel lost
What's your approach to keeping a TODO list? We all need something that we can stick to, or else the list itself doesn't serve us any purpose!
March 31, 2020
Staying Productive
Background I wrote a post a long while back about how I started to use Google Keep to get myself organized. Google Keep has been a go-to app for me on my phone for a long time now. I love using it to make lists of things, and I find it much more convenient than a paper notebook. Don't get me wrong--I think a paper notebook still has plenty of uses! I love my notebook for long running meetings with open-ended discussions or brain storming sessions. It's great to be able to take a pen/pencil and doodle down any idea that comes to mind. When I'm having a free-form conversation, I need a free-form way to take notes. However, my phone is something I almost always have with me--and my paper notebook isn't. My phone allows me to take my Google…
December 27, 2015
One on One Evolution
Background I'm a "middle manager" where I work, but that means a whole bunch of things. My everyday tasks primarily consist of programming, but I do a bunch of work to interface with other departments and teams, and I play a role in managing people on... well, the "people" side of things. For the latter part, I refer to that as people leadership. I think it's pretty easy to look at some of the aspects of people leadership and dismiss them as "fluffy" or needless... I consider myself a logical/technical thinker, so I have that frame of mind sometimes. However, I do see the value in actually being able to support my team so that they can operate at the best of their abilities. I try to find ways to do that without it seeming to them like I'm doing "fluffy leadership things",…
April 21, 2015
Failure – Changing The Perspective on Failing
Failure is a strong word. There's nothing wrong with failing. It's going to happen if you're pushing the boundaries. It's all about how you improve afterward.
February 25, 2015
Hack The North
Hack The North... What The Hack Is That? Hack The North is Canada's largest international hackathon. It's big. It's bad. It's awesome. Okay, but what does that even mean? The idea is that 1000 people get together from all over the world in an event where they're given 36 hours to create amazing technology hacks. There's a lack of sleep but no lack of amazing ideas and hacked together proof of concepts that show incredible innovation. Sponsors are present to hand out prizes for best usage of their product or API to competitors as well as mentor them and provide help with problem solving. This year, Hack The North was hosted at The University of Waterloo. Bro, Do You Even Hack?! This was my first time ever at a hackathon. I've participated in the Ontario Engineering Competition (OEC) which is much…
September 21, 2014