I lead technical teams. But it is my belief that I am not best suited to make technical decisions alone. I may not know the most efficient algorithm to use for a feature at scale. I am not the right person to be logged into a production server, debugging an issue. But I will absolutely be in the room every time - making sure the right people have the clarity, guidance and safety required to best execute within the circumstances.
Graeme Harvey
graeme.r.harvey@gmail.com
As a manager, I believe I am accountable to my team members first, and then our stakeholders. I assert that our team can deliver best for our stakeholders if its members feel safe, heard, and taken care of.
I will never hide or withhold info unless there is a legal or policy reason to do so. If you believe I have info I am not giving you, please ask. We'll either talk about it, or I'll tell you why I can't. If I have withheld info, it is because I believed it was unnecessary noise for you and done with the best of intentions.
Through trying, we grow; regardless if we succeed or fail. I believe we must be willing to attempt changes, look at the data, and decide if we're accomplishing what we set out to. Maybe it's a little better and we keep it. Or maybe it sucks and we bin it. Either way, we learned something.
"El Duderino, if you're not into that whole brevity thing." - The Dude. I tend to use many words when few will do. This can cause my intended message to get lost or muddled. Since I hate being perceived as unclear, I am hyper-focused on improving in this area.
Just because I answer messages at all hours of the night does not mean I expect you to. I work best on scattered hours (shout out night owls!) but it's important to remember everyone works differently. I do not intend to model an expectation of constant availability.
I need it. And sometimes I answer messages before I've had it. Honestly, it's usually in an attempt to be responsive but unfortunately, these messages read a little less polished than usual. This can cause hurt or lead to misinterpretation so I'm trying not to do it anymore.
Tell it to me straight - I can handle it. The most memorable (and effective) piece of feedback I have received came from a manager who pulled me aside right after a meeting and said "You interrupted James multiple times in there. Don't do that." We elaborated, of course, but the initial delivery was timely and direct.
I have best intentions to do what I say I'll do. If you're not getting something from me that I've promised you - remind me. It won't "bug me". I track tasks in so many ways sometimes things fall through the cracks.
Director of Engineering
Leading a cross-functional department of engineers: frontend, backend, mobile, and QA.
Director
KWSQA is a not-for-profit, independent organization of software professionals who have an interest in quality and testing. I attribute much of my career success to being surrounded by great professionals and mentors. This is one way I give back to the community that gave me my start.
Presentation • October 2021
We can measure activity, we can measure delivery, but when we measure the performance of our engineering teams, are we measuring the things that really make a difference? And, if not, how can we succeed in the tricky challenge of measuring every task an engineer does so that it creates a positive outcome for the business? Join Blake Walters and Graeme Harvey who will be discussing how you can measure the performance of your engineering teams using the metrics that matter most.
Webinar // Cypress.io • February 2020
In this webcast, Tech Lead Brendan Drew and Engineering Manager Graeme Harvey (PlanGrid), along with VP of Engineering Gleb Bahmutov (Cypress.io), demonstrate Plangrid’s approach to ensuring quality by using Cypress tests in a microservice (App Shell) web frontend model. They also share best practices on keeping test code next to feature code.
Medium Article • March 2020
With teams working from home during these times living and working through COVID-19, I decided to share some advice from my experience managing a team remotely over the last year or so.