Day 24: Maximize Your "20% Time" for Tech Debt and Technical Initiatives
Be Better Engineering Leader, a 30 Days Series
This is the fifth week of a series of daily lessons on how to Be a Better Engineering Leader. I recommend spending up to an hour on each lesson to gain insights into Product, Technology, and People—areas critical for every Engineering Manager.
You've got "20% time" from your manager to focus on technical work. Now what?
Having dedicated time for tech debt and maintenance is a great opportunity, but it can easily go to waste without a clear strategy. Today, we’ll discuss how to avoid common pitfalls and make the most out of your "20% time" by translating technical work into meaningful product outcomes.
Common Mistakes and How to Avoid Them
Separate Backlogs for Product and Tech
Problem: Isolating tech debt in a separate backlog can lead to misalignment between product and engineering teams, making technical work undervalued and deprioritized.
Solution: Integrate technical work into the main product backlog. Use a PR/FAQ document to articulate the value of each technical task in terms that resonate with business stakeholders. For instance, instead of listing “refactoring code,” present it as “reducing onboarding time for new developers” or “improving system reliability to minimize downtime.”
Lack of Understanding of Tech Work Value
Problem: If the business doesn’t understand the value of tech work, it’s likely to be the first thing to be deprioritized when resource constraints hit.
Solution: Regularly communicate the benefits of technical work to non-technical stakeholders. Use metrics and case studies, like the example of migrating from Objective-C to Swift to improve developer hiring and reduce compilation time, to make the impact clear.
“We’ll Fix It Later” Mentality
Problem: Relying solely on your "20% time" to handle all tech debt can lead to a growing backlog of issues and reduced overall product quality.
Solution: Maintain a baseline level of quality in every release. Use your "20% time" for strategic improvements, not for fixing issues caused by cutting corners. Always meet Non-Functional Requirements (NFRs) and SLAs/SLIs/SLOs to avoid accumulating debt.
Diluted Focus
Problem: Tackling too many initiatives at once without a clear strategy can result in minimal progress on any front.
Solution: Prioritize and focus on one or two high-impact initiatives at a time. Create a technology roadmap that aligns with product goals and stick to it. Use regular check-ins to assess progress and adjust priorities.
Ineffectiveness of One Day a Week
Problem: Working on big projects one day a week makes it difficult to maintain momentum and context, delaying delivery and increasing the likelihood of failure.
Solution: For larger initiatives, consider dedicating continuous blocks of time (e.g., a full week each quarter) to make significant progress. Alternatively, break down large projects into smaller, manageable tasks that can be completed incrementally.
Action Points
Translate Tech Work into Product Goals
List your top technical initiatives and frame each one in terms of its impact on product and business goals. You can use PR / FAQ document described on Day 18th.
Align with Product Objectives
Work with your product manager to integrate these initiatives into the product roadmap. Ensure each technical task has a clear business outcome and is prioritized accordingly.
Create a Unified Tech Roadmap
Develop a tech roadmap that outlines how each initiative will contribute to product success. Include specific, measurable goals.
Communicate and Review Regularly
Share this roadmap with key stakeholders and schedule regular check-ins to review progress. Adjust your plans based on feedback and evolving business needs.
Measure and Adapt
Use simple metrics and dashboards to track the progress of your initiatives as discussed on Day 17th. Make adjustments based on data and team feedback to ensure you’re moving in the right direction.
By following these steps, you’ll ensure that your "20% time" is a powerful tool for advancing both technical and product goals.
Further Reading
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