Engineering Enablement

The Engineering Enablement Substack focuses on the latest research and perspectives regarding developer productivity. It explores strategies for managing technical debt, effective engineering metrics, software quality, and factors affecting developer productivity. Themes include the importance of non-technical factors, team and individual performance metrics, and the impact of workplace culture and processes.

Developer Productivity Technical Debt Management Engineering Metrics Software Quality Team Performance Workplace Culture Code Review Processes Workplace Tools and Technologies

The hottest Substack posts of Engineering Enablement

And their main takeaways

How (in)efficient are engineering organizations?

14 implied HN points • 15 Mar 24
💼 Business Efficiency Organizations Research Productivity
  1. On average, developers report 22% of their time being wasted, resulting in significant potential productivity loss.
  2. Efficiency in engineering organizations varies widely within teams, showing room for improvement and optimization.
  3. There is a correlation between the size of an organization in terms of employee count and revenue with the amount of developer time wasted, indicating larger organizations may struggle with efficiency compared to smaller ones.

Applying the DevEx framework

14 implied HN points • 01 Mar 24
🕹 Technology Developer Productivity Frameworks Metrics Data Collection
  1. The DevEx framework focuses on the lived experiences of developers by measuring feedback loops, cognitive load, and flow state to enhance developer productivity.
  2. Teams interested in using metrics to improve developer productivity, such as platform engineering teams, engineering managers, and engineering executives, can benefit from implementing the DevEx framework.
  3. To successfully implement the DevEx framework, organizations should focus on getting feedback from developers, setting targets, driving impact through projects, running experiments, and then measuring progress to improve developer experience and productivity.

Software Quality

37 implied HN points • 05 Jan 24
🕹 Technology Developer Productivity Code Quality
  1. Software quality encompasses four types: process, code, system, and product quality.
  2. Process quality sets the foundation for overall software quality by having a strong development process.
  3. Code quality is crucial for system quality and product quality, focusing on maintainability and reducing defects.

Accelerating Code Reviews With Nudges

19 implied HN points • 09 Feb 24
🕹 Technology Development Productivity Tech Culture Experiment Software Engineering
  1. Code reviews at Meta were taking too long, so they experimented with NudgeBot to speed up the process.
  2. The team identified a correlation between slow code reviews and dissatisfaction, leading to the implementation of NudgeBot.
  3. By using NudgeBot to nudge reviewers to act on 'stale' diffs, Meta successfully reduced the time taken for code reviews.
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Applying the SPACE Framework

23 implied HN points • 12 Jan 24
🕹 Technology Productivity Developer Tools Software Metrics Frameworks
  1. The SPACE Framework for developer productivity includes dimensions like satisfaction, performance, activity, communication, and efficiency.
  2. SPACE is useful for software organization leaders defining productivity, teams seeking comprehensive measurements, and leaders involving teams in productivity improvement.
  3. Implementing SPACE involves understanding various metrics, balancing workflow and perception measurements, and considering the holistic approach to developer productivity.

The Thoughtworks Technology Radar

9 implied HN points • 16 Feb 24
🕹 Technology Innovation Software Tech Trends Development Digital Transformation
  1. The Thoughtworks Technology Radar categorizes technologies into four rings: Hold, Assess, Trial, and Adopt based on their readiness and suitability for adoption.
  2. The Radar provides a snapshot of technologies seen in the previous six months and aims to showcase what's happening globally in the tech industry.
  3. The Radar is produced through a process of collecting technology proposals from Thoughtworks employees, voting on their inclusion, and finalizing around 100 blips for publication.

Three methods for measuring GenAI adoption and impact

4 implied HN points • 08 Mar 24
🕹 Technology Data Collection Artificial Intelligence Developer Productivity Surveys
  1. Telemetry metrics like pull requests per developer and code review time can give a high-level view of how GenAI tools are impacting developer output, but they may not provide a complete picture of tool utilization and benefits.
  2. Experience sampling, where developers are surveyed in real-time as they use GenAI tools, can offer valuable insights into specific time savings and tool usage, helping organizations understand the effectiveness of GenAI.
  3. Surveys are useful for measuring developer adoption, satisfaction, and self-reported productivity related to GenAI tools, providing a different perspective to complement telemetry metrics and experience sampling.

What Makes a Code Change Easier to Review?

4 implied HN points • 23 Feb 24
🕹 Technology Code Review Developer Productivity
  1. Change description is crucial for code review, including explaining the motivation behind a change and what is being altered.
  2. Smaller code changes are easier to review and have a higher chance of acceptance.
  3. Commit history matters: a concise, self-explanatory message is preferred, and fewer commits increase the likelihood of acceptance.

Three Dimensions of Developer Productivity

31 implied HN points • 01 Sep 23
🕹 Technology Developer Productivity Software Development Engineering Metrics
  1. Developer productivity can be conceptualized through three dimensions: Velocity, Quality, and Satisfaction.
  2. Leaders should clarify their goals for measuring productivity by considering stakeholders, level of measurement, and time period.
  3. Transitioning from dimensions to selecting metrics can be done using the Goals, Signals, Metrics approach.

What Predicts Software Developers’ Productivity?

23 implied HN points • 22 Sep 23
🕹 Technology Development Productivity Research Tools Feedback
  1. Factors like job enthusiasm, peer support for new ideas, and useful feedback strongly correlate with developer productivity.
  2. Non-technical factors like job satisfaction are crucial for productivity, while technical factors can vary among companies.
  3. Improving job enthusiasm, supporting new ideas, and providing feedback can enhance developer productivity.

Time Pressure in Software Development

28 implied HN points • 11 Aug 23
🕹 Technology Software Development Research Efficiency
  1. Time pressure in software development is influenced by poor effort estimates, project management issues, and company culture.
  2. Three theories explain the effects of time pressure: Yerkes-Dodson Law, Job Demands-Resources Model, and Dimensional Model of Emotions.
  3. Time pressure impacts individuals by decreasing confidence, process by affecting quality assurance, and efficiency and quality by increasing efficiency up to a certain point.

Psychological Safety and Norm Clarity in Software Engineering Teams

21 implied HN points • 25 Aug 23
💼 Business Productivity Team Dynamics Leadership Research Effectiveness
  1. Team norm clarity is a stronger predictor of performance and satisfaction than psychological safety.
  2. Psychological safety and team norm clarity are both important for team performance and job satisfaction.
  3. Focusing on team norm clarity has a more significant impact on performance and satisfaction than psychological safety.

Enabling Good Work Habits Through Reflective Goal-Setting

22 implied HN points • 28 Jul 23
💼 Business Productivity Goal setting Self-reflection Leadership
  1. Reflective goal-setting can increase productivity at work.
  2. Developers set goals to improve time management, avoid deviation from planned work, improve impact on the team, maintain work-life balance, and continuously learn.
  3. Reflective goal-setting helps developers identify concrete goals, increase perceived productivity, and sustain positive behavior changes.