What Makes a Good Engineering Team?

First, let's define what makes a good engineering team. Simply put, a good team delivers excellent results efficiently. It's not just about speed but also delivering the right things at the right time.

So, how can they achieve this? Let's break it down. Disclaimer: I won't delve deep into Tuckman's stages of group development; these are my thoughts from an organizational perspective.

professionals

The team members must be motivated professionals, capable of delivering high-quality results. To achieve this, we need a solid hiring approach. At Rebbix, we focus on culture fit, motivation, and tech skills during the hiring process. Another crucial factor is having insight into the high-level plans for the product's technical changes. Skilled engineers are drawn to interesting technical challenges. The hiring process should be led by someone with tech expertise who knows the product well. In our case, it's usually the engineering manager or tech lead. 

prioritization

Teamwork should be well-prioritized. I've seen many companies appointing PO/PM to handle prioritization down to the task level, and while this might work for small teams and short periods, it becomes infeasible as the team grows and technical complexity increases. As the team expands, so does the technical complexity, making the whole prioritization process unfeasible for one person, leading to inefficient resource allocation and missed deadlines. Our approach is to involve the team in prioritization as much as possible. When team members understand their goals, the product, and its limitations, they generate creative and efficient solutions.

power

At Rebbix, we often say we build "empowered teams," which means our teams have the authority to make decisions within their scope. "OK, let's make Team A responsible for the decisions on Project X" is a good starting point. It shows that upper management is willing to give power to the team. It was the case with Dreamlines, who gave us full authority in product management and technical decision making. As a result, we’ve quickly stabilized the system and achieved cost-efficiency, which was critical during post-pandemic times. 

But in reality, power is not simply given; it's earned through action, determination, and a sense of responsibility. This requires a certain team culture where teammates are eager to contribute to business growth and feel responsible for their decisions.

vertical integration

An effective team should possess all the necessary capabilities to handle their tasks most of the time. While collaboration with different organizational units is important, certain critical functions like SEO or data analysis benefit from having dedicated experts within the team. For example, if the team frequently works with data, having a data analyst on the team is essential to avoid constant bottlenecks from the organization's data unit. We call this approach "vertical integration," similar to a supply chain arrangement.

culture fit

Culture fit is the secret sauce - crucial but often overlooked. Given its vital importance, I will cover it in one of the next blog posts. Make sure to come over.

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