Engineering Unblocked

In this episode, Rebecca sits down with Max Kanat-Alexander, Executive Distinguished Engineer for Developer Experience at Capital One, to explore the nuances of developer productivity and experience. The conversation dives deep into what actually drives — and what kills — productivity in engineering organizations. Max shares hard-won insights about why most developer experience initiatives fail (hint: it’s about not understanding your users), the critical difference between being productive as individuals versus as teams and organizations, and why treating engineers as “ticket takers” destroys software quality.Find the transcript at: https://www.swarmia.com/podcast/max-kanat-alexander-capital-one/Timestamps(0:00) Introductions(0:48) Max’s journey to Capital One(2:58) Unsuccessful developer productivity(5:37) Doing the ‘right’ work(11:01) Ticket-taker culture(15:25) Drivers of productivity(20:32) Performing KTLO work(25:40) Drivers and detractors of effective software delivery(33:16) Setting goals(40:42) The future of coding with AI(46:36) Max’s advice to junior engineersFollow Max on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mkanat/Follow Rebecca on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rmurphey/

Kristen Foster-Marks, Head of Developer Experience at Depot, shares her wealth of knowledge from her previous work at Pluralsight. She dives into the hot topic of 'ghost engineers,' stressing the importance of ethical research in the tech world. Kristen discusses how improving developer experience can impact productivity and retention, especially during tough economic times. The conversation also highlights the need for empirical studies and the challenges of replicating qualitative research, as well as the importance of research literacy for practical application.

Nathen Harvey leads the DORA group at Google Cloud and shares key insights from the latest DORA report. He discusses the growing influence of AI on software stability and developer productivity. Nathen emphasizes the need for transformational leadership and highlights the challenges of measuring productivity, particularly with 'ghost engineers.' He also underlines the critical role of quality documentation in team success and the importance of setting specific goals for continuous improvement.

In today’s episode, Rebecca talks with Iccha Sethi, the new VP of Engineering at Vanta. They discuss taking stock of an engineering organization as a new VP, how technical engineering managers need to be, and her work at Github, Atlassian, Invision, and now Vanta around operational health. Find the transcript at: https://www.unblocked.fm/episodes/iccha-sethi-vanta Timestamps (0:00) Introductions (0:52) About Vanta (4:55) Engineering and cultural challenges (10:50) Operational health for platform teams (15:19) Communicating with non-tech leaders (18:53) How Vanta handles incidents (23:36) On strategic remediation and incidents (29:14) Involving everyone in the conversation (33:19) Common operational health mistakes (37:06) About being an approachable VPE (40:44) Practices to manage team meetings Follow Iccha on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/icchasethi Follow Rebecca on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rmurphey/ Links and mentions • Vanta: https://www.vanta.com/

Emily Nakashima, VPE at Honeycomb, dives into the nuances of engineering leadership and collaboration. She discusses the tough decisions leaders face when structuring their teams and the pivotal shift from monitoring to observability. Emily emphasizes the importance of cross-functional collaboration, revealing stories of successes and missteps. She shares insights on effective goal-setting, innovative hiring practices, and the value of a strong communication culture in scaling teams. Tune in for her hot takes on tech trends and organizational challenges.

Mason Jones, recently of Zapier and a former leader at Lattice and Credit Karma, shares his journey into platform engineering. He discusses the importance of visibility in engineering processes and the challenges of transitioning from monolithic to microservices architecture. Mason dives into effective team communication strategies and the balance between immediate goals and user-centric approaches. He highlights the value of standardization and data-driven decision-making while navigating the intricacies of product management.

Alice Bartlett, Tech Director for Customer Products at the Financial Times, discusses introducing modern technology to a 136-year-old company and leading efforts to re-architect past decisions. Topics include fixing architectural flaws, communication importance, blameless culture, system maintenance, and tech engagement.

Colleen Tartow, Field CTO and Head of Strategy at VAST Data, shares her experience from years in data engineering leadership roles. In this episode, Rebecca and Colleen talk about how “data” has evolved over the years, how AI is turning everything we know about data upside down, and how a PhD in Astrophysics got her started on this path. Find the transcript at: https://www.unblocked.fm/episodes/colleen-tartow-vast/ Timestamps (0:00) Introductions (0:44) Colleen’s background (3:01) About VAST’s approach (7:18) Unique challenges of data engineering (10:56) Setting reasonable expectations (13:34) The importance of process (16:29) The future of data engineering (21:00) What Colleen misses about engineering (22:39) How to set goals for a data organization (25:58) Colleen’s perspective on people in business (29:58) Colleen’s unusual path to data Follow Colleen on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/colleen-tartow-phd/ Follow Rebecca on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rmurphey/ Links and mentions • VAST Data: https://www.vastdata.com/

Andrea Corey is a VP of Engineering for platform engineering at Homebase. In today’s episode, Rebecca and Andrea talk about Andrea’s experience in working at scaleups, the lessons she’s learned, the pitfalls she’s trained herself to avoid, and some of the biggest problems leaders need to solve as their organization grows. Find the transcript at: https://www.unblocked.fm/episodes/andrea-corey-homebase/ Timestamps (0:00) Introductions (0:46) Andrea’s background (4:37) Unlocking potential among teams (7:02) About Homebase’s team strategy (11:26) Tips to make ideas a reality (15:20) How Andrea manages multiple teams (18:11) Countering hero culture (21:44) Incident handling (25:19) Setting goals around incidents (27:23) Avoiding past mistakes (33:45) When to federate vs. centralize (37:01) Who Andrea wants to be Follow Andrea on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andreacorey/ Follow Rebecca on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rmurphey/ Links and mentions • Homebase: https://joinhomebase.com/ • FreshBooks: https://www.freshbooks.com/ • Eloqua: https://www.oracle.com/cx/marketing/automation/

Liz Hustedt is a Senior Engineering Manager at ActBlue, an American political action committee and fundraising platform established serving left-leaning and Democratic nonprofits and politicians. In today’s episode, Rebecca and Liz talk about how Liz’s early experience as an ICU nurse shaped her leadership skills and style, and about managing change in a way that’s empathetic to where the organization is at the moment. Find the transcript at: https://www.unblocked.fm/episodes/liz-hustedt-actblue Timestamps (00:00) Introductions (00:50) Liz’s background (04:00) About ActBlue and Liz’s experience there (08:55) Understanding team health (12:35) Building trust (15:15) Roadmap planning (20:07) How Liz and her team are evaluated (21:21) About outcome-driven goals (26:26) Tips to transition towards outcome-driven goals (28:59) Skills needed in management (34:34) Managing through change (40:50) Milestones and who Liz wants to be Follow Liz on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lizhustedt/ Follow Rebecca on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rmurphey/ Links and mentions • ActBlue: https://secure.actblue.com/