Attain Innovation & Technology Culture

What’s one key communication habit you’ve developed and encouraged among your team? 

Discussing estimates early and often helps cut through much of the noise typically associated with software engineering. No points. No T-shirt sizes. Just projecting clear hours or days of effort. The sooner everyone starts talking about estimates, the sooner they’re enumerating the requirements. This will also drag timelines into the conversation, which can influence the scope of work. Once everyone is aligned on the “what” to build, they can shift focus to the “how.” Engineers love to collaborate on “how” to build something. Armed with estimates and deadlines, many approaches can be immediately eliminated.

What effect has this habit had on the way your team works and collaborates?

The “often” part is the key piece of estimating that most teams skip. An estimate isn’t a one-and-done artifact. It requires revisiting and collaborating during the course of a development or project. Estimates are not actuals. Requirements can be forgotten or overlooked, or implementation details may be more complicated than originally thought. In either case, knowing this earlier provides the team more time to create a solution.

This is also a great tool for new team members or less-experienced engineers. If they’re two hours into a four-hour task and haven’t completed at least half of it, it’s probably time for them to ask the team for help. Usually, this is due to lack of tribal knowledge or a small gap in skills, but it’s a great opportunity for both growth and mentorship. With enough repetition, engineers will continue to identify when they’re stuck. Eventually, the team is working within itself to resolve obstacles rather than always looking up for direction.

What advice do you have for other engineering managers who are looking to create healthy communication habits among their teams?

Don’t beat the team over the head with their estimates. It’s a fine line between balancing accountability on deliverables and allowing for mistakes in the estimation exercise. Remember estimates aren’t actuals and change is inevitable, so bake it into the process. Instead of focusing on the “blame,” figure out the resolution as a team. Over time, the team will naturally accrue a catalog of patterns and recipes that can be used to solve problems, and estimation misses should happen less frequently.