Welcome back to Research-Driven Engineering Leadership. Each week, we pose an interesting topic in engineering leadership and apply the latest researc

Research-Driven Engineering Leadership

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2024-11-27 03:00:02

Welcome back to Research-Driven Engineering Leadership. Each week, we pose an interesting topic in engineering leadership and apply the latest research in the field to drive to an answer.

To understand the performance of a software engineering team, technical and social drivers are commonly used. While technical drivers are more commonly discussed, social drivers are just as vital. This week we ask: which social drivers most indicate performance of engineering teams?

Understanding team performance requires examining both technical and social drivers, as each plays a critical role in fostering a productive engineering environment. While technical metrics such as code quality, deployment frequency, and system reliability are more commonly emphasized, the research consistently shows the profound impact of social dynamics on team outcomes. For instance, studies from Google’s Project Aristotle show that psychological safety—the belief that team members can take risks and express ideas without fear of judgment—is the top predictor of team success.

This edition of RDEL is adapted from a keynote conversation at QCon (also hosted today in SF!), in which our team collaborated with researchers to share an overview of the top social drivers of performance in software engineering teams.

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