Software, Team and Strategy

UP24 vs Nike FuelBand After being a Nike FuelBand user for several years I’ve got myself an Up24 and decided to compare the data I am getting with both of the devices.  While some of the data, like calorie burn, is subject to interpretation, the other data, such as steps, should have been more or less mechanically calculated.  Surprisingly the data between the two devices had as much as 70% difference with Up24 usually counting more steps and Nike FuelBand generally recording more burnt calories. Here are a few data points I’ve got over the past week with both devices worn on the same wrist close to 24hours a day: Nike Steps Nike Calories Up24 Steps Up24 Calories 19-Dec 13,986 1096 16990 946 21-Dec 8,170 1003 11317 586 23-Dec 6,685 673 5553 272 25-Dec 1,929 319 2491 146 26-Dec 5,684 940 9675 54

What’s it like to manage an engineering organization? “It’s an art and a science.” Well, at least that’s a common cliché response. I’ve been managing teams for close to 15 years now -- long enough to reverse engineer at least some of the “science”. This post is about the big picture of engineering management; the pillars of a good engineering leader. As a great Engineering VP, CTO, Director, Lead, or Manager, you need to be a top performer in three categories: product, team, and engineering excellence. Building and running a top-notch engineering organization requires that you consistently excel in all three. #1 Product Your team’s primary output to the world is a great product. Your customers depend on it, your company depends on it, and, ultimately, your job depends on it. No matter how well you do as an engineering leader in any category, delivering your product on time, on budget, and with high quality cannot be overlooked or substituted. Regardless of your project manage