The Effective Engineer
theeffectiveengineer.com · Personal blog · on HN since 2013
Edmond Lau, author of The Effective Engineer, writes about engineering culture, team scaling, onboarding, and engineering careers.
What HN saysCommenters cite it for its advice on engineering culture and on picking high-value projects that take the least effort.
24HN people shared it
2linked it in comments
37stories submitted
386story points
10 years agolast shared
2013people per year2026
Most-shared posts
- 1Hidden Costs That Engineers Ignore3 people · 168 points · first shared 2014 · 41 comments on HN
- 2'The Effective Engineer' has launched3 people · 19 points · first shared 2015 · 3 comments on HN
- 3What Google Taught Me About Scaling Engineering Teams2 people · 83 points · first shared 2014 · 27 comments on HN
- 4What makes a good engineering culture?2 people · 5 points · first shared 2013 · discussion on HN
- 5How do I tell my team to work more hours to hit a launch date?2 people · 4 points · first shared 2013 · 3 comments on HN
- 6How to build a good onboarding process for new hires at a startup2 people · 3 points · first shared 2013 · discussion on HN
- 7How a 13-Engineer Team Successfully Builds a Product on 8 Different Platforms2 people · 3 points · first shared 2015 · discussion on HN
- 8Growing Your Engineering Career If You Don't Want to Manage2 people · 2 points · first shared 2016 · discussion on HN
- 9Pick the right metric to incentivize the behavior you want1 people · 33 points · first shared 2013 · 6 comments on HN
- 10What Qualities Make a Good Startup Engineer?1 people · 16 points · first shared 2014 · 5 comments on HN
- 11Five Key Mindsets That Separate Successful Programmers from Everyone Else1 people · 10 points · first shared 2016 · discussion on HN
- 12The Cardinal Sin of Software Engineering1 people · 8 points · first shared 2014 · discussion on HN
- 13How to avoid biggest mistake you can make as a new software engineer1 people · 5 points · first shared 2015 · 1 comments on HN
- 14How to Strategically Procrastinate and Actually Boost Your Creativity1 people · 3 points · first shared 2016 · discussion on HN
- 15The Single, Most Valuable Lesson I've Learned in My Professional Life1 people · 3 points · first shared 2014 · discussion on HN
What HN people wrote when they linked it
jakozaur · 2015-07-06
Good, lengthy read, but I find it pessimistic. Identifies well some problems, but I believe there are better strategies to mitigate the issues.
For example:
http://www.theeffectiveengineer.com/blog/what-makes-a-good-engineering…
1. Optimize for iteration speed.
2. Push relentlessly toward automation.
3. Build the right software abstractions.
4. Develop a focus on high code quality with code reviews.
5. Maintain a respectful work environment.
6. Build shared ownership of code.
7. Invest in automated testing.
...
Author of that blog post also wrote excellent book on that subject.
wwkeyboard · 2015-06-22
The high value project is a great place to find the parts that require the least amount of effort on your part but will have the highest value to the company and deliver those first. As an engineer this feels like "cheating". It's not, you are being prudent.
I just finished reading The Effective Engineer by Ed Lau and highly recommend it( https://www.theeffectiveengineer.com/book ). It covers both concrete (like keep a daily log) and more general ideas(e.g. your work is measured by the value it produces for the company, not the effort you put into it).