Engineering Manifesto

The Engineering team must maintain a high bar for success in what we do and how we operate. Our members must seek excellence in all aspects of solution delivery including technical, process, communication, and business acumen. When we all approach those areas with the spirit of continuous improvement, we ensure success not only for the individual, but for the entire team.

A high-performing team must:

Deliver…

…High quality, defect free solutions

• Issues resolved should often address the root cause avoiding quick/easy temporary fixes.

• Issues resolved should not result in new defects.

• Adhere to team testing guidelines.

• Participate fully in testing activities.

…According to priorities

• • • Keep focused on the prioritization of the iteration.

    • Avoid introducing “surprise features” that have not been discussed with the team.

…According to plan

• • • Provide accurate estimates of the work.

    • Keep our commitment to the team and business partners.

Collaborate

• Engage with the team in all phases of the SDLC (planning, grooming, implementation, testing, deployment, maintenance).

• Work with business partners to understand their needs and explain the nuances of solutions we provide.

• Articulate multiple solutions.

• Negotiate selection of most appropriate solution factoring in:

  • Completeness.

  • Quality.

  • Proper fit for the project timeline.

Communicate

• Mentor.

• Document.

• Knowledge Share.

Support…

…Your teammates

• We deliver better, high-quality solutions as a team than we do as individuals

…Your project work from inception to deployment

• • Owning the solution through design, validation, deployment, and support ensures se are serving our stakeholders optimally.

…The production environment

• By designing and implementing robust solutions that conform to team, department, and company best practices.

• Assisting with production maintenance activities as necessary.

The activities detailed above are one component towards our overall success, however, to be truly high performing, we must approach those activities with the right mindset. The following describes these behaviors:

Be bold and creative in how we solve problems.

• Be an advocate for simplicity and OOTB solutions.

• Focus on ongoing improvement vs. big bang launches.

• Don’t just add on top of what’s there. Understand it. Think about better ways to solve the problem.

• Explore better ways to work together.

Be open, honest, and humble in our interactions.

• Leave your ego at the door. We will only grow and become a highly performing team if we can trust and listen to each other.

Be supportive of each other and our business partners.

• “Assume good intent.”

• We are all on the same team trying to do what’s best for the company.

• Improving yourself makes the team better, improving the entire team makes the company better.

• Yes, the business folks are “our team” as well.

Be proactive in anticipating business and technical needs.

• You are a partner to the business, help lead them.

• You likely have more insight into related functionality or new ways to realize the requirement, so engage in the design.

• Be accountable for the work you and the team produce.

• As a member of the team, you have a voice in how things are done.

• There will always be tradeoffs, and when the team makes a call, then be part of the solution.