An Elegant Puzzle: Micro Review
Will Larson’s An Elegant Puzzle — Systems of Engineering Management, is one of the few books about the practical sides of managing an engineering team. The book offers pretty good advice based on author’s own experiences at large technology firms.
Though the book does not flow very well (probably because it was based on author’s blog), it still provides great guidance on many relevant topics if you are leading a group of engineers — sizing teams, careers, succession planning, managing technical debt, measuring manager/developer productivity, culture etc.
If you are leading a team of engineers, I would highly recommend this book. Do keep in mind that this is based on author’s experience at large technology companies. Make sure that you contextualize it to your situation and enterprise.
And yes, it’s also very well put together visually !!! Don’t forget to peek at the book recommendations in the Appendix. They are spot on if you are an engineering manager.
Thanks Kevin Pelton for the recommendation.
