The Best Product Engineering Org in the World

Overview
James Shore recounts his experience as a newly appointed Vice President of Engineering faced with a CEO demand to measure productivity. He explains why productivity is essentially unmeasurable without creating harmful incentives and pivots the discussion toward building a high-performing product engineering organization.

Key Takeaways

• Productivity metrics often lead to distorted incentives and weak improvements.
• Leaders should focus on people, internal quality, lovability, visibility, agility, and profitability instead of chasing dubious productivity numbers.
• Open, transparent communication with leadership is crucial when faced with impossible requests.
• Building a strong engineering culture requires a holistic view of outcomes rather than narrow velocity metrics.

Who Would Benefit

• Engineering managers and VPs of Engineering
• Technical leaders and CTOs
• Agile coaches and Scrum Masters
• Product leaders seeking a healthier engineering culture

Frameworks and Methodologies

• Agile principles
• Engineering excellence frameworks (people, quality, lovability, visibility, agility, profitability)
• Organizational health assessments