Encode your company values into principles for your engineering team. This also includes playbooks for how you do things in the engineering department.
Whenever the topic of dev team values comes up, most CTOs usually defer to the values and mission of the company. We see a potential weakness, and several missed opportunities, within the developer team culture because the team isn’t codifying what the company values mean within their team and are not implementing their own set of principles.
Many teams have their own set of unspoken agreements and rules that they govern their work by. For example, code reviews need to be done within 24 hours, or feature branches should be merged within 5 days, etc. But these working agreements are not what we are talking about. There is an incredible opportunity for the CTO to foster energy, purpose and focus by adopting a set of principles that the developer teams live by in order to deliver on the mission of the company.
More than just an optional extra, it is vital that the CTO establishes a blueprint for the development team. What is our “why?”. What is the mission of the technology teams? How do we live out the company culture inside of the dev team?
The strength and unity of a development team can often be gauged by their shared principles and culture. A team with a solid sense of camaraderie and shared vision doesn't just deliver code as individual contributors; they adhere to a collective set of values, even if these aren't formally documented.
Uniformity in processes, policies, and performance expectations can significantly enhance the team's coherence. Having clear and consistent guidelines for performance and promotions, for instance, can minimize subjectivity in decision-making and provide an accessible reference for team members during crucial conversations.
While the early stages of a business or project often demand flexibility and quick decision-making, these phases can sometimes involve inconsistent practices. For example, a CTO might expedite a prototype without customer validation based on domain knowledge, yet require thorough validation for the next project. Such inconsistencies are often necessary in the volatile, innovative initial stages. When we know the guidelines, we need to be clear about why we’re breaking them.
However, as the technology leader, it's vital to gradually cultivate consistency within the team. Documenting steps and procedures helps shape the desired behaviors from future employees, contributing to a cohesive and effective development team over time. Consistency should not be dogmatic, but seen as a means to foster an environment of trust, predictability, and alignment.
A playbook, in the context of an engineering team, is a comprehensive set of guidelines that delineates the team's processes, best practices, and procedures. It serves as a roadmap for both new and existing team members, outlining how tasks are performed, decisions are made, and problems are solved. It also communicates the team's culture, values, and expectations, providing a common framework for team interaction and behavior.
Playbooks promotes consistency within the team. By clearly defining processes and expectations, it reduces ambiguity and ensures that everyone is on the same page. This helps eliminate guesswork and enables team members to work more efficiently, as they don't need to reinvent the wheel each time they encounter a similar task or issue.
Playbooks are crucial tool for onboarding new team members. It provides newcomers with a comprehensive overview of how the team operates, helping them quickly understand their role and how it fits into the bigger picture. This accelerates their integration into the team and allows them to start contributing more quickly.
Playbooks fosters a culture of continuous improvement. It invites team members to refine and update processes based on their experiences and evolving industry standards. This commitment to continuous improvement not only enhances team performance but also fosters a learning culture where team members are encouraged to share knowledge and improve collectively.
Playbooks are not merely a set of instructions; they are living documents that encapsulates a team's collective wisdom, fosters consistency and efficiency, expedites onboarding, and promotes continuous improvement. By investing time in creating and maintaining playbooks, engineering teams can significantly enhance their effectiveness and productivity.
Here are some of the most common areas where a team can define its values and then codify them into playbooks: