The Colorful and Gray World of Engineering Management
Embark with me on my journey through the colorful situations & challenges and the (gray) ambiguity of management in the software industry.
The Tactics of Making a Strategy
As a team leader or manager, people will look to you to describe the direction the team is heading...
Author: anita george Date: 06/10/2011
Are you up for the challenge?
If you read my blog, learn something new from it, or think in the same way as I do, why not see how...
Author: anita george Date: 04/28/2011
Build It and They Will Come!...Really?
The concept of "build it and they will come" may be a good approach for pyramids and baseball...
Author: anita george Date: 04/19/2011
QA or Test - does the name really matter?
I've been the manager for many different teams. Some call themselves Test and some call themselves...
Author: anita george Date: 04/05/2011
What would you do?
Here's an interesting question I ask people just to see how many different and creative answers I...
Author: anita george Date: 02/09/2011
No Surprises!
This is what I aim for in my teams - no surprises. That means my team members do their best to not...
Author: anita george Date: 01/19/2011
Play Some Interference
Managers need to play interference in order for their engineers to stay focused and show results....
Author: anita george Date: 12/27/2010
There's No Room For Watermelons
I have noticed a problem lately that needs some focus. I heard a statement that sums it up nicely....
Author: anita george Date: 12/06/2010
Everyone Wants To Test
You are new to testing. You are sitting in front of your computer staring at the software code you...
Author: anita george Date: 11/10/2010
Crawl, Walk, Run
Babies figure out how to do it right – how to make progress and get to an end result. I think...
Author: anita george Date: 10/30/2010
Me, My Car, and a Thump
I have a neat story to tell about something that happened last week and how you can apply...
Author: anita george Date: 09/23/2010
The Tale of Two Teams
Once upon a time, a long time ago, in a land far, far away, there were two teams, umm, I mean...
Author: anita george Date: 09/04/2010
Do you need a career mentor?
I was recently asked a question from an engineer on whether she should find a mentor. It seems like...
Author: anita george Date: 08/14/2010
Recruiting - it's not just an open job position, it's an adventure!
As a manager, hiring good people is a necessary skill to build a highly-functional team and continue...
Author: anita george Date: 07/26/2010
Tribal Knowledge and Engineering Don't Mix
In many engineering teams, having tribal knowledge is normal and accepted. This is when information...
Author: anita george Date: 07/03/2010
Speak up to succeed
Speaking up in meetings seems like such an easy and somewhat insignificant task. But in fact, many...
Author: anita george Date: 05/28/2010
Don't Be Seduced by the Dark Side
I was watching a TV show recently (no, it wasn't Star Wars) where a lead character on the show had a...
Author: anita george Date: 05/13/2010
No Crystal Ball Required
One of the most challenge skills to master is long-term planning. This skill is needed for many...
Author: anita george Date: 04/20/2010
Sometimes Things Just Aren't Fair
Recently, I met with one of the people that I mentor. She was concerned because she found people...
Author: anita george Date: 03/25/2010
Mistake or Trend?
Sometimes there are almost too many things going on at work to keep it all straight. Is it fair to...
Author: anita george Date: 03/12/2010
Obsolete Yourself!
The best managers are ones who work to obsolete their roles. Is this bad advice for managers...
Author: anita george Date: 02/11/2010
Put on Your Game Face
Do you have a game face and do you use it? Do you know what a game face is and how you can apply it...
Author: anita george Date: 01/14/2010
More on Playing With Fire
As a continuation from my last blog entry, here are some more thoughts I have about code coverage...
Author: anita george Date: 12/11/2009
Going Dark
Since the nights are getting longer and it's Halloween, let's talk about going dark. This isn't...
Author: anita george Date: 10/31/2009
Cooking with Windows
Since Windows7 released today, I think it is a good time to reflect back on my experience in the...
Author: anita george Date: 10/22/2009
15 Years Ago Today
15 years ago today was my first day at Microsoft. In the last 15 years, a lot has changed. Here is...
Author: anita george Date: 10/17/2009
Do Whatever It Takes!
I had a test lead years ago that did a great job at setting expectations for his people. But for...
Author: anita george Date: 10/10/2009
Commitment Calibration
At Microsoft, we set commitments regularly for all employees. These are basically goals and focus...
Author: anita george Date: 09/28/2009
Action-oriented vs. Results-driven
In many project teams, I see people mistaking actions for results. One of the best inputs a manager...
Author: anita george Date: 09/13/2009
Test is not a landfill
I heard the statement "Test is not a landfill!" today from one of my leads and thought it was a...
Author: anita george Date: 08/28/2009
Should BVTs pass 100%?
This is the gray part of testing. Should the goal be that BVTs pass 100%? On every build, all the...
Author: anita george Date: 08/20/2009
Evaluating Your Employees
As I mentioned in a previous entry, it's review time at Microsoft. I already gave my guidelines on...
Author: anita george Date: 08/01/2009
Successful growth of a tester
Many engineers, especially testers, ask me how they can grow their careers and how I know when they...
Author: anita george Date: 06/27/2009
Guidelines for writing good individual review comments
It's that time of year again at Microsoft where we get to write our reviews. I find it helpful as a...
Author: anita george Date: 06/10/2009
The perpetual state of being understaffed - does it really exist?
The last few months have been a staffing challenge for me and my team. I lost a quarter of my team...
Author: anita george Date: 05/28/2009
Downward, upward, and sideways
As a manager in an organization, there are different directions to apply focus and communications -...
Author: anita george Date: 05/03/2009
Clones don't make good testers
A few weeks ago, I attended a presentation about diversity and it was enlightening. I personally...
Author: anita george Date: 04/10/2009
Automation maturity - what should a Test Manager focus on?
Automation is frequently a passionate debate, usually around how much and whether it is effective....
Author: anita george Date: 03/29/2009
Business-focused vs. People-focused managers
No matter whether your focus is Test or Dev or some other discipline, most managers will approach...
Author: anita george Date: 03/22/2009