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Software development waste
#53 – September 06, 2021
this week's favorite
I've looked back at the end of every software project I've ever been on and thought, "If I'd known then what I know now, I'd have been done in half the time." Despite this, I've never thought carefully about exactly where all the time went and why so much of it felt wasted.
Quite a few companies run you through their interview process, send you an offer nestled in a beautifully designed packet, and finish with a recruiter who’ll ask whether you accept the offer. This is the foundation of a hiring funnel, but it’s missing one valuable step: the closing call.
Twenty years ago, an agile rebellion started among a small pocket of besieged software developers. Today, the benefits of agile methodologies have improved stock trading, federal bureaucracies, and even celebrity chef-led humanitarian efforts. Yet Agile has started to lose favor and be seen as a tool for control rather than empowerment. This has prompted us to get back to basics and start a series focusing on the Principles of Agile.
In tech, switching jobs almost always comes with either a financial or a title upside. However, it doesn’t always come with both. Switching for higher compensation can result in a “lower” title, like going from Senior Software Engineer to SWE 2 or VP Engineering to Senior Engineering Manager.
Software engineers have a few different options for career advancements. How should companies structure these opportunities to help their engineers do the best work of their lives?