Dev Interrupted

Managing Developer Feedback Effectively | Atlassian’s Andrew Boyagi

Jan 14, 2025

In this engaging discussion, Andrew Boyagi, Atlassian's Head of DevOps Evangelism, dives into the intricacies of developer experience and productivity. He emphasizes moving beyond mere surveys, advocating for data-driven insights to tackle technical debt and improve build times. Andrew highlights the importance of aligning developer feedback with organizational goals and fostering a culture of transparency. With practical strategies, he reveals how clear career development paths and collaboration can enhance both developer satisfaction and overall productivity.

41:48

Episode guests

Andrew Boyagi

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Episode notes

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Quick takeaways

Bridging the gap between developers and managers requires data-driven insights to accurately address productivity concerns and technical challenges.

Establishing effective feedback loops through open communication and regular meetings enhances team efficiency and aligns development goals with organizational objectives.

Deep dives

Misalignment Between Engineers and Leaders

There exists a significant disconnect between how engineers and their managers perceive the factors affecting developer experience (DevX). While managers frequently cite issues such as understaffing and new technologies as major concerns, engineers tend to emphasize technical debt, documentation, and build processes. Despite these differing viewpoints, both groups agree on the importance of developer experience, although they attribute this importance to different outcomes, such as recruitment for leaders and job satisfaction for engineers. This misalignment can lead to misallocated resources if leaders fail to align their investments with the actual concerns expressed by their development teams.

Intro

2min

Balancing Technical Debt and New Feature Delivery

4min

Enhancing Developer Productivity and Experience through Data

2min

Aligning Developer Feedback with Organizational Goals

8min

Enhancing Developer Productivity through Feedback

15min

Understanding Context in Developer Metrics

3min

Aligning Teams for Developer Joy

7min

Is your company relying on surveys alone to bridge the gap between developers and managers?

In this episode of Dev Interrupted, host Ben Lloyd Pearson and Dan Lines, COO of LinearB, dive into the perceived misalignment between engineers and their leaders on improving developer experience. Together, they emphasize the importance of data-driven insights over relying solely on surveys, highlighting how quantifiable metrics can illuminate issues like technical debt and build times. The conversation also touches on the power of setting clear, company-wide goals to boost developer experience and productivity.

Next, Conor Bronsdon, in his final episode as host, sits down with Andrew Boyagi, Atlassian's head of DevOps Evangelism. Andrew brings a wealth of knowledge on developer experience, emphasizing the need for transparency, the nuances of measuring productivity, and the crucial role of company culture in aligning development teams with business goals.

Show Notes: