Building A Strong Engineering Culture - my talk from BBC Develop 2013

Building a strong engineering culture Kevin Goldsmith Director of Engineering November 14, 2013

Hej!

What is culture?

What is culture? Edgar Schein (MIT) A pattern of shared basic assumptions that a group has learned as it solved its problems of external adaptation and internal integration, that has worked well enough to be considered valid and therefore, to be taught to new members as the correct way to perceive, think, and feel in relation to those problems. 4

What is culture? Edgar Schein (MIT) A pattern of shared basic assumptions that a group has learned as it solved its problems of external adaptation and internal integration, that has worked well enough to be considered valid and therefore, to be taught to new members as the correct way to perceive, think, and feel in relation to those problems. 5

What is culture? Elaine Wherry (Meebo) Culture = Artifacts + systems and values + truth 6

What is culture? Henrik Kniberg (Agile guru) Culture is the stuﬀ people do without noticing it 7

What is culture? Me Culture is the manifestation of the shared values of the organization as represented by the actions of its members 8

9 What is culture? Values Culture Processes Ar,facts Rituals Beliefs

10 Spotify’s Values photo credit: © Leigh Ann Shaﬀner, used with permission

11 Spotify’s Values Learn from failure Innovation at every level Continuous improvement Shared Responsibility Iterative development Agile-ﬁrst Data-driven Autonomous Teams Transparency Trust Servant Leadership photo credit: © Leigh Ann Shaﬀner, used with permission

What is culture? What culture is not Free food Slides in your oﬃce Photos with Daleks Concierge Services Rock-climbing Walls 12

13 What is culture? Values Culture Processes Ar,facts Rituals Beliefs

What is culture? What culture is not Agile/Lean 14

You have a culture What is it?

What is culture? 16

What is culture? You are the average of the ﬁve people you spend the most time with Jim Rohn 21

Why is culture important?

23 Why is culture important? If vision is where you are going, culture is what makes sure you can get there. photo credit: © Leigh Ann Shaﬀner, used with permission

Why is culture important? 24 Apply the same level of deep thinking about building a culture as you would about building a product Tim O'Reilly

Why is culture important A good culture isn’t the same thing as a good business though Still need a vision, a product and customers 25

26 What is Culture Culture enables success, but it does not cause success. Patty McCord

What makes a good engineering culture?

28 What makes a good engineering culture? Stuﬀ gets done

Stuﬀ gets done 29

30 Stuff gets done Learn from failure Innovation at every level Continuous improvement Shared Responsibility Iterative development Agile-first Data-driven Autonomous Teams Transparency Trust Servant Leadership photo credit: © Leigh Ann Shaffner, used with permission

31 What makes a good engineering culture? Stuﬀ gets done It gets done well

It gets done well 32

It gets done well 33

34 It Gets Done Well Learn from failure Innovation at every level Continuous improvement Shared Responsibility Iterative development Agile-ﬁrst Data-driven Autonomous Teams Transparency Trust Servant Leadership photo credit: © Leigh Ann Shaﬀner, used with permission

35 What makes a good engineering culture? Stuﬀ gets done It gets done well People are happy

People are happy 36

37 People are happy Learn from failure Innovation at every level Continuous improvement Shared Responsibility Iterative development Agile-ﬁrst Data-driven Autonomous Teams Transparency Trust Servant Leadership photo credit: © Leigh Ann Shaﬀner, used with permission

38 What makes a good engineering culture? Stuﬀ gets done It gets done well People are happy Leaders provide direction and guidance

39 What makes a good engineering culture? Stuﬀ gets done It gets done well People are happy Leaders provide direction and guidance and GET OUT OF THE WAY

What makes an engineering culture great? 40

41 Leaders provide direction and guidance and get out of the way Learn from failure Innovation at every level Continuous improvement Shared Responsibility Iterative development Agile-ﬁrst Data-driven Autonomous Teams Transparency Trust Servant Leadership photo credit: © Leigh Ann Shaﬀner, used with permission

42 What makes a good engineering culture? Stuﬀ gets done It gets done well People are happy Leaders provide direction and guidance and GET OUT OF THE WAY Success is celebrated

Success is Celebrated 43

44 What makes a good engineering culture? Stuﬀ gets done It gets done well People are happy Leaders provide direction and guidance and GET OUT OF THE WAY Success is celebrated Failure is used as a way to learn

Failure is used as a way to learn 45

Failure is used as a way to learn 46

47 Spotify’s Values Learn from failure Innovation at every level Continuous improvement Shared Responsibility Iterative development Agile-ﬁrst Data-driven Autonomous Teams Transparency Trust Servant Leadership photo credit: © Leigh Ann Shaﬀner, used with permission

Protecting your culture

49 Protecting your culture Protecting your culture Walk the talk

Walk the talk Culture is the manifestation of the shared values of the organization as represented by the actions of its members 50

51 Protecting your culture Protecting your culture Walk the talk Hiring is crucial

52 Hiring is crucial ?

53 Protecting your culture Protecting your culture Walk the talk Hiring is crucial Firing is also crucial

A lot of people say don’t ﬁre great engineers – but they’re wrong. Even if you have an engineer who is exceptional, but an asshole, you should ﬁre them immediately. Your team will thank you for it afterwards. It only takes one asshole to destroy an entire team, so act quickly and remove any bad seeds no matter how good they are at writing software. Joe Stump

55 Protecting your culture Protecting your culture Walk the talk Hiring is crucial Firing is also crucial Communicate your values photo credit: © Leigh Ann Shaﬀner, used with permission

56 Protecting your culture Protecting your culture Walk the talk Hiring is crucial Firing is also crucial Communicate your values

57 Protecting your culture Protecting your culture Walk the talk Hiring is crucial Firing is also crucial Communicate your values

Protecting your culture 58 Protecting your culture Walk the talk Hiring is crucial Firing is also crucial Communicate your values Measure against your values

Protecting your culture 59 Protecting your culture Walk the talk Hiring is crucial Firing is also crucial Communicate your values Measure against your values Your organization reﬂects your values Credit: Henrik Kniberg

Protecting your culture 60 Protecting your culture Walk the talk Hiring is crucial Firing is also crucial Communicate your culture Measure against your values Your organization reﬂects your culture Watch out for warning signs

Fixing broken culture

62 Fixing a broken culture How do you know if the culture is broken? People don’t care “Broken Dreams” by Brandon Satterwhite is licensed under CC BY 2.0

63 Fixing a broken culture How do you know if the culture is broken? People don’t care “Bored people quit.” – Michael Lopp “Broken Dreams” by Brandon Satterwhite is licensed under CC BY 2.0

64 Fixing a broken culture How do you know if the culture is broken? People don’t care Disenfranchised people quit. “Broken Dreams” by Brandon Satterwhite is licensed under CC BY 2.0

65 Fixing a broken culture How do you know if the culture is broken? People don’t care Disengaged people quit. “Broken Dreams” by Brandon Satterwhite is licensed under CC BY 2.0

66 Fixing a broken culture How do you know if the culture is broken? People don’t care (Good) People are leaving “Broken Dreams” by Brandon Satterwhite is licensed under CC BY 2.0

67 Fixing a broken culture How do you know if the culture is broken? People don’t care (Good) People are leaving You spend time on the wrong things instead of building your product “Broken Dreams” by Brandon Satterwhite is licensed under CC BY 2.0

68 Fixing a broken culture How do you know if the culture is broken? People don’t care (Good) People are leaving You spend time on the wrong things instead of building your product dealing with “situations” “Broken Dreams” by Brandon Satterwhite is licensed under CC BY 2.0

69 Fixing a broken culture How do you know if the culture is broken? People don’t care (Good) People are leaving You spend time on the wrong things instead of building your product Focusing on your internal customers instead of your actual customers “Broken Dreams” by Brandon Satterwhite is licensed under CC BY 2.0

70 Fixing a broken culture How do you know if the culture is broken? People don’t care (Good) People are leaving You spend time on the wrong things instead of building your product Managing up “Broken Dreams” by Brandon Satterwhite is licensed under CC BY 2.0

71 Fixing a broken culture How do you know if the culture is broken? People don’t care (Good) People are leaving You spend time on the wrong things instead of building your product Dealing with process “Broken Dreams” by Brandon Satterwhite is licensed under CC BY 2.0

Fixing a broken culture “It’s not you, it’s me” 72

Fixing a broken culture “It’s not you, it’s me” Sometimes, it is you. 73

Fixing a broken culture Fixing it 74

Fixing a broken culture Fixing it Start with yourself 75

Fixing a broken culture Fixing it Start with yourself Then your team 76

Fixing a broken culture Fixing it Start with yourself Then your team Build on successes 77

Fixing a broken culture Fixing it Start with yourself Then your team Build on successes Recruit others 78

Fixing a broken culture Fixing it Start with yourself Then your team Build on successes Recruit others Grow bottom up 79

Conclusion

81 You have a culture Whether you think you do or not

82 Work on your culture It will determine how things get (or don’t get) done

83 If you have a good culture, protect it Make sure everyone understands what you value as a team. Make sure everyone you hire will be happy in your culture.

84 If you have a bad culture, transform it A long process, start small and grow. Don’t try to rush it.

85 You are the culture The culture is the intersection (average) of the values of the people in it. Want to improve your culture? LIVE THE VALUES

Tack!