Have you seen the Forbes article that has zero idea how efficient engineering teams work? They have a whole long list of “inefficiencies”. This is a quote from that article:
- Marking oneself as “in a meeting” on Slack
- Scheduling communications (Slack messages, emails, and code commits) for off-hours to appear active
- Blocking out private calendar time
- Using mouse-movement software to appear online, which was even highlighted by VC icon Marc Andreesen in a recent Joe Rogan podcast episode, again going viral on X.com
- Artificially extending project timelines (claiming two weeks for one-day tasks)
- Citing unclear specifications as blockers
- Making numerous small code refactors
- Blaming build system issues
- Claiming blockages from other teams
- Using technical jargon about “race conditions” to justify delays
- Deflecting tasks by requesting formal ticketing (“can you create a JIRA for that?”)
Every single one of these “inefficiencies” is a symptom of zero understanding how efficient engineering teams work.
How Efficient Engineering Teams Work
Effective engineering teams collaborate in meetings, not necessarily in Slack. Because they do, too often, people work off-hours and block off private calendar time to think, especially in advance of the meeting. I call that preparation.
The more people work separately, the more likely they do need to extend project timelines, because their feedback loops are too long. (See Manage Unplanned Feedback Loops to Reduce Risks and Create Successful Products for examples.)
Unclear specs means no one knows what to do. Would you rather people assume and then rework? That's not a small code refactor—that's a potentially enormous change in design.
While I wish every team had a robust build system, most of the teams I know do not. That's one of the many Costs of Delay, along with blockages from other teams.
I will not even dignify the idea of “technical jargon” regarding race conditions. Why people think they know better than the professionals is beyond me.
And teams request formal ticketing so they can see everything they're supposed to do.
All of these fallacies have one big cause: a belief in resource efficiency thinking. And no knowledge of the flow metrics.
Resource Efficiency Thinking is the Least Efficient Way to Work & Flow Metrics Prove It
These purported “inefficiencies” all reflect the thinking that each person can work by themselves to create a useful product.
This is the reinforcing feedback loop that explains the flow metrics. The more people work alone, the higher the WIP. That means the team incurs delays with fewer releases (of any sort). Worse, that creates aging, where we all wonder if the old work is still valuable.
The more people work alone, the less likely they will create anything of value when management wants it.
However, there is a secret: team collaboration.
Team Collaboration is the One Secret to Efficiency and Productivity
When teams collaborate, especially in any form of pairing, swarming, and mobbing, the team completes the work as fast as possible. While that has positive effects in the team, such as reducing WIP, etc. it has even more positive effects for management. (For a fuller explanation, see How to Create More Autonomy and Finish More Work with Just Enough Delegation.)
Once the team is up to their fastest possible speed, they might even be able to manage the issues of a broken build system by collaborating on fixing it as a team. (Also see How to Calculate the Cost of Delay to Rank All the Work, Part 2 for specific costs of a broken build system.)
If managers want more efficiency, focus on the team as the unit who does the work. Not any given person.
Leadership Principles That Matter
All the Modern Management Made Easy books share a set of 7 common principles. But the biggest principle for efficiency and productivity is to enable the team of people.
Managers can do this by optimizing for an overarching goal and by not making it harder for a team to succeed.
Managers and leaders: Focus on what the team needs to succeed. Remove their obstacles. That's the one secret to team efficiency and productivity.
My Books That Help People Focus on Teams' Efficiency and Productivity
I've been writing about this efficiency and productivity problem for years. If you want to read what I have to say, consider these books:
- Agile and Lean Program Management: Scaling Collaboration Across the Organization (“scaling” agility from one or two project teams to an entire product with many teams).
- Create Your Successful Agile Project: Collaborate, Measure, Estimate, Deliver (one or two teams and how to use agility).
- Project Lifecycles: How to Reduce Risks, Release Successful Products, and Increase Agility (see your team's feedback loops to increase productivity and work more efficiently).
- All three Modern Management Made Easy books.
- Practical Ways to Manage Yourself helps with seeing and reducing micromanagement and getting time “back” as a manager.
- Practical Ways to Lead and Serve (Manage) Others starts the journey to creating autonomous teams that work efficiently.
- Practical Ways to Lead an Innovative Organization focuses on how teams enable real portfolio management and innovation at all levels, including managers.
People do matter. But any product development team, regardless of what you call it, can only work at the “speed” of the slowest person. Instead, for maximum efficiency and productivity, focus on the team.
This is part of the intermittent series of leadership tips.