Engineering's Ability: Engineering Prioritization

pri·or·i·ti·za·tion (noun)
the action or process of deciding the relative importance or urgency of a thing or things.

This is a vital skill within the world of building software. We are constantly prioritizing at different levels.

• Prioritizing when is it time to build an abstraction
• Prioritizing when it is time to make a UX change
• Prioritizing what bugs we should tackle first
• Prioritizing what epics we should do that will lead to the greatest outcomes
• Prioritizing what themes we should focus on this year

Note: There is an active debate on if there is a big enough difference between this and the Sense and Respond Ability. At the moment we've landed on keeping them separate, but we will continue evaluating this until the difference is clear, or we've merged the two

I have observed this person showing a consistent, comfortable, continuous, and clear positive impact to a squad when wielding this ability, and therefore I would put them in situations where they can employ this ability with only a small amount of guidance

• You manage and maintain an accurate list of what you should focus on now and next
• You can explain and defend your prioritization of what you are taking on and considering taking on next
• You seek input from stakeholders on what the next highest priority item is to own

I have observed this person showing a consistent, comfortable, continuous, and clear positive impact to a squad when wielding this ability, and therefore I would put them in situations where they can employ this ability, with no assistance as well as being a trusted active or passive mentor to others

• You can explain and defend your prioritization of what you are taking on and considering taking on next by referencing squad objectives and/or customer impact
• You seek input from stakeholders on what the next highest priority item is to own by providing a proposed list of priorities

I have observed this person showing a consistent, comfortable, continuous, and clear positive impact to multiple squads when wielding this ability, and therefore I would put them in situations where they can employ this ability as well as being considered an expert within this discipline

• You lead a squad in identifying, managing, and maintaining an accurate list of what they should focus on now and next
• You lead a squad in explaining and defend their prioritization of what they are taking on and considering taking on next
• Within your squad, you are proactive about identifying red or yellow objectives throughout the quarter and lead the charge to create plans to get those objectives into green

I have observed this person showing a consistent, comfortable, continuous, and clear positive impact to a squad when wielding this ability, and therefore I would put them in situations where they can not only employ this ability but where they set the tone for this at the company level

• You ensure all squads have identified and are managing, maintaining an accurate list of what they should focus on now and next

• Across all squads, you are proactive about identifying red or yellow objectives throughout the quarter and lead the charge to create plans to get those objectives into green

• You've begun influencing the company’s list of priorities by proposing objectives the department should take on next and get feedback to help inform next priority

• Across the company, you are proactive about identifying red or yellow objectives throughout the quarter and lead the charge to create plans to get those objectives into green

I have observed this person showing a consistent, comfortable, continuous, and clear positive impact to not just internal teams but the community/industry in general when wielding this ability, and they are recognized by the community/industry as an expert