You’re reading The Steady Beat, a weekly-ish round-up of hand-picked articles and resources for people who make software products: designers, engineers, product managers, and organizational leaders.
By the Numbers - The Great Detachment
2015 — Employee job dissatisfaction has returned to a record low, similar to levels seen in 2015, as workers increasingly feel detached from their roles.
73% — The majority of employees (73%) report experiencing some level of disruptive change in their organization in the past year, contributing to feelings of burnout and detachment.
55% — More than half of managers (55%) report disruption due to restructuring of teams, adding to the challenges of maintaining productivity and morale in a fluctuating job market.
56% — Of employees surveyed, 56% have noticed changes in customer expectations since the start of the pandemic, with many attributing these changes to more demanding customers or higher expectations for digital experiences.
71% — A significant number of employees (71%) now place greater importance on work-life balance and better compensation packages, along with expectations for remote work flexibility, reflecting a shift in employee expectations since the pandemic.
— Gallup, 5m, #employee-engagement, #workplace-challenges, #organizational-leadership
Designer, Meet Engineer
Designers can often feel like they’re playing catch-up with their engineering counterparts when it comes to the business of shaping and delivering software. Engineers have a keen understanding of elements like small batch size, continuous integration, example-driven design, stress testing, and more. These are not just technical jargon but critical components that affect the product strategy, user experience, and learning process. Yet, designers tend to retreat into their Figma fortress, leaving this tech-savvy stuff to the engineers, and later scratch their heads when their designs are “compromised” by the engineering team. The answer? Designers need to get their hands dirty and work more closely with high-performing engineering teams to understand these concepts.
— Jamie Mill, 8m, #design, #engineering, #product-strategy
Finding Fulfillment in Egoless Engineering
Dan McKinley, an experienced engineer who has led teams both small and large, reflects on his career journey in the tech industry in this presentation. He emphasizes the importance of understanding how work gets done and not just focusing on computers and tech. McKinley points out that one of the main challenges for companies is deciding how to divide responsibilities among employees, and this decision often has far-reaching consequences. He shares an anecdote from his time at a startup where a misguided attempt to scale led to the creation of a Python middle layer, which he believes should not have existed. Lots to learn here from both the slides and the notes.
— Egoless Engineering, 15m, #engineering, #work-culture, #team-dynamics
Speeding to Value
In the modern digital age, ‘speed-to-value’ is a crucial success indicator for any organization. This term refers to how quickly an organization can deliver value to customers and stakeholders, defined by its capability (effectiveness in achieving goals) and capacity (efficiency of achievement). Long-established organizations often suffer from ‘operational debt’ caused by outdated technology, which newer, more agile organizations capitalize on. Previously, intelligent automation solutions like robotic process automation were hailed as the cure for enterprise operations. Now, genAI is being touted as the next game-changer, able to displace entire organizational capabilities. The key to success lies in strategically utilizing both these technologies to address operational debt and embrace digital agility, thereby enhancing ‘speed-to-value’.
— James McLintock, 8m, #digital-transformation, #artificial-intelligence, #business-strategy
Code Your Career Path
John Arundel, in this thought-provoking piece, warns against the common career mistake of not planning your end goal. He emphasizes that your career isn’t just about reaching a retirement date, but about identifying where you want to be and how to get there. He suggests that loving your current job could mean you’ve reached your career goal, but for those that don’t, it’s key to identify what job would bring them satisfaction and plan how to achieve it. Arundel posits that many find themselves in unsatisfying jobs due to lack of planning rather than bad luck. He encourages software engineers to plan their careers as meticulously as they plan their code and to consider the path that will lead them to their desired career destination.
— John Arundel, 15m, #career-planning, #software-engineering, #personal-development
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