“Irrational Exuberance: The Driving Force Behind Engineering Processes”

The Evolution of Process Management: How to Find the Right Fit for Your Team

Uber’s DUCK Review Process

Uber once utilized a tech spec review process called the DUCK Review, which was a typical review process that produced valuable feedback. However, despite its effectiveness, the DUCK Review was eventually disbanded due to high operational costs.

The Importance of Process Management

Effective process management is a critical aspect of any successful organization. However, there is a delicate balance between the quality of processes and their associated overhead costs. The appropriate degree of process sophistication for any team depends on the capability of the organization to sustain it and the tradeoff between quality and overhead.

Typical Pattern Progression

Organizations tend to follow one of five patterns to manage their engineering and company-wide processes.

Early Startup: In the early stages of startups, a founder or functional executive handles all process management.
Baseline: Centralized People or HR functions manage company-wide processes while engineers or engineering managers handle engineering processes.
Specialized Engineering Roles: Companies hire dedicated, specialized roles, including Engineering Operations or Technical Program Management, to support engineering processes.
Company Embedded Roles: As organizations grow, they separate engineering from default company mechanisms, creating dedicated recruiters and People team members.
Business Unit Local: Engineering reports into each business unit’s leadership, resulting in either centralized processes or inconsistency.

Pros and Cons of Process Management Patterns

Early Startup Pros: Low cost and low overhead.
Cons: Limited time and experience running processes, leading to low-quality outcomes.

Baseline Pros: Modest specialization to allow Engineering to focus on engineering.
Cons: Outcomes are dependent on the quality of centralized functions.

Specialized Engineering Roles Pros: Increased efficiency in engineering processes.
Cons: Adds more specialized roles and increased overhead.

Company Embedded Roles Pros: Dedicated recruiters and members of the People team to work with engineering.
Cons: Long ramp time for engineers to become productive, which requires higher retention values.

Business Unit Local Pros: Business units can customize their processes.
Cons: Inconsistent implementation and difficulty in inspecting across functions.

Finding the Right Fit

The appropriate degree of process sophistication for any team depends on the capability of the organization to sustain it and the tradeoff between quality and overhead. Teams need to determine who will run the processes and reason backward to the level of sophistication they can sustain. Additionally, teams need to navigate budgeting realities and trend cycles.

Conclusion

Process management is an essential aspect of any successful organization. The appropriate level of sophistication varies depending on the team’s capability to sustain it and the tradeoff between quality and overhead. By understanding the typical pattern progression and the pros and cons of each pattern, teams can determine the right fit for their organization.