Reilly, Tanya

Origins of Projects

• You’re invited to join. Organization already cares about this. That someone thinks you’re a good fit might mean it’s similar to work you’ve done before and not an opportunity for growth.
• You ask to join. Even if it’s obvious that you’re the best fit, don’t wait for someone else to notice.
• You have an idea. You need to convince others to care. Might get mired in politics, but once it’s underway, you have lots of control and can have huge impact.
• The fire alarm goes off. Goals are usually very clear and there’s a bias to action. However, there are fewer opportunities for growth.
• You’re invited to join a grassroots effort. Working groups can be effective if there’s organizational buy-in, a clear time commitment, exit criteria, and a process for making decisions.
• Someone needs to… Volunteering can build credibility and goodwill, but watch out for doing too much of it at the expense of other results people are expecting from you.
• You’re just meddling. Make sure you’re not getting involved long enough to cause chaos and then disengaging without sticking around to experience the consequences of your changes.

Usually, the reason a project is difficult isn’t that you’re pushing the boundaries of technology, it’s that you’re dealing with ambiguity: unclear direction; messy, complicated humans; or legacy systems with behavior you can’t predict.

These maps already exist but are obscured to you. Be alert to facts that affect your projects or organization. Continually sift information out of the noise around you, e.g., a shift in corporate priorities could mean a platform you’d considered but backburnered has become an amazing investment.

The Locator Map: Getting Perspective

Time you spend absorbed in any domain increases your depth and understanding, but it comes with some risks, e.g.

Stuck in Traffic

Blocked By Another Team

Understand and explain. Why is the work is important? What do you want from them and by when? Give them another chance to indicate feasibility and/or alternatives.

Make the work easier. Can you ask for a smaller subset of features? Can you help unblock their dependencies. Note that supporting your foray into their code base might cost them more in support and they might decline your offer.

Big Picture

What is a staff engineer?

3 maps: getting perspective; navigating the terrain; where we’re going.

Creating the big picture: vision & strategy; the approach; the writing; the launch.

Execution

Finite time: resource constraints; choosing projects.

Leading big projects: the start of a project; driving the project.

Why have we stopped? Should it be moving? Are we lost? Have we arrived… somewhere?

Leveling Up

You’re a role model now. Be competent; be responsible; remember the goal; look ahead.