Engineering Management for the Rest of Us

by Sarah Drasner

English language

Published Feb. 13, 2022 by Skill Recordings Inc..

ISBN:: 979-8-9867693-1-8

(8 reviews)

A lot of Engineering Managers and leaders studied for years and years to become the best Engineer they possibly could be... and then they were promoted.

It can be very tough for those of us who didn't go into Engineering with the distinct concept that we would become managers, but still want to do our best to support our teams.

I wrote this book because there's so much no one told me about management that I wished I would have known. There's a lot to be purposeful about that many of us learn on the job, and worse: learn on people. This book provides some organization for collaborating with networks of people, working together towards a common purpose.

There seem to be millions of articles and "how to"s on programming and only a handful of resources on Engineering Management- why? It's very tough to talk about something that involves people …

A lot of Engineering Managers and leaders studied for years and years to become the best Engineer they possibly could be... and then they were promoted.

It can be very tough for those of us who didn't go into Engineering with the distinct concept that we would become managers, but still want to do our best to support our teams.

There seem to be millions of articles and "how to"s on programming and only a handful of resources on Engineering Management- why? It's very tough to talk about something that involves people processes. People are non-deterministic. Working relationships are nuanced, communication is linked with individual values, motivations, power dynamics, and skills. People also have a range of experiences and emotions that are not consistent day-to-day.

Hopefully, in the happiest, most productive sense.

It's imperative that we as managers learn as much as we can and work on ourselves, so that our teams may enjoy a healthy working life and strong relationships. It's not just important, it's crucial that we iterate on our own skills as managers so that we can properly support everyone around us: individuals, peers, leadership, and the business.

I'm sharing what I've learned- not so that you follow my concepts exactly, but rather so that you can be thoughtful about your own leadership and needs. The book goes from the macro to the micro- with topics ranging everywhere from "feedback" to "scoping down PRs".

Though the book is meant to address people in management, individual contributors are welcome to read the book as well- perhaps you need to manage up and need some tools to help guide the conversation, perhaps you just want a peek at other concerns within the business- everyone is invited to the conversation.

3 editions

starchy reviewed Engineering Management for the Rest of Us by Sarah Drasner

Engineering Management for the Rest of Us

1 star

I appreciated Sarah's general outlook on management, and I'm sure there's plenty of good advice in the book, but it needed an editor. Or a different editor. Or a different writer and editor.

Too much of the first few chapters were like trying read a marketing blog or an HR email, not a book I wanted to study or curl up with. I gave up as soon as I got to to this sentence:

"A larger action item: try to change any processes or patch any misalignments that exist around the person that might alleviate the disconnects."

The layout is really nice, though.

marksutherland reviewed Engineering Management for the Rest of Us by Sarah Drasner

Review of 'Engineering Management for the Rest of Us' on 'Goodreads'

3 stars

A solid introduction to software engineering management that has more interesting things to say towards the back half of the book. It leans a little heavily on pop sci airport books and blogs whose key references are other blogs. It functions quite well as a low bar to measure yourself against and sometimes it is good to be reminded of the basics.

Florian reviewed Engineering Management for the Rest of Us by Sarah Drasner

Great introduction to Engineering Management

5 stars

With Engineering Management for the Rest of Us Sarah Drasner gives us a great starting point for new managers. On approximately 200 pages Sarah gives us a tour of all of areas that managers need to think about.

In chapter 1 Sarah starts with a quote from Ashley Willis, which sets the mood for the rest of the book: "The fact that you're worried that you're not a good manager is a key part of being a good manager."

The book is split into four parts: Your Team, Collaboration, Helping Your Team Do Their Best Work, and Your Work. This is one of the great things of the book, that it not just handles the managing and leading of people, but also how you can do great work and have a full-filling career.

For each of the topics that Sarah touches in Engineering Management for the Rest of Us adds …

For each of the topics that Sarah touches in Engineering Management for the Rest of Us adds references to further readings, which gives you the opportunity to learn more about the topic.