The Engineering Manager

This month we have a mailbag question from a reader who asks: Hi James, Your newsletter “being in the details” resonated with me. I would like to ask your opinion about managers writing code. I skim PRs but don’t critically review them and don’t write code. Should EMs write code in their day job? Thanks! It’s a great question, and given the higher scrutiny we’ve seen on the role of engineering managers in the past few years, […]

Since my November article on being in the details, I’ve had a few people ask me about the system that I use in order to do so. In my first book I went into great detail about how I manage information and stay organized. On reflection, my approach has evolved since then, so I thought it would be a good time to revisit the topic. The system that you use to organize your activity becomes your mental model […]