The Engineering Manager, the Technical Lead, and the Product Owner
…walk into a bar. At the bar, they find three open seats, but one of the seats has a wobbly leg. How do they proceed do you think? Depending on how their organization is organized will generally determine the sequence of events.
Some organizations are run by product and engineering falls beneath the product umbrella. Other organizations are run by engineering and product falls beneath the engineering…blanket?
Let’s continue the example:
Product Led Organization
The tech lead looks at the stool and says, “It’s broken. Should I fix it?”
The product owner sits in a working stool. “No, we need to discuss other business. New business. But you go ahead and sit there for now. Just…you know…make it work.”
The engineering manager interjects, “Let’s get the fix for that stool added to our agenda for discussion though. I don’t think we should just ignore it.”
Engineering Led Organization
The tech lead looks at the stool and says, “Hey, this is broken. I’m going to fix it.”
The engineering manager nods. “Makes sense. Do you need any help?”
