Observe & Improve

Improve the engineering environment through conversations, contextual measurements, and deliberate iteration.

Practices

• Talk regularly with engineers, managers, and technical leads.
• Examine trends in delivery, defects, and resolution times.
• Study unintended consequences of process changes.
• Use metrics diagnostically, not as substitutes for judgment.

In practice

As we improved mobile delivery, I developed a feedback mechanism using New Relic telemetry and analytics. We standardized and documented the events recorded by iOS and Android so the platforms captured comparable data, then created dashboards for different areas of the app.

That gave the teams shared signals for understanding behavior after release, alongside the feedback they gathered through testing and conversations. Read the engineering organizations case study.

Further writing

• Measure the System, Listen to the People (planned article)