becoming a technical leader
🤖 Abstract
“Becoming a Technical Leader: A Guide for the New-Led Engineer” is a book written by Gerald M. Weinberg, an American computer scientist and one of the pioneers in the Software Engineering field. The book is based on his teaching experience at Carnegie Mellon University and is aimed at new engineers who are entering the technical leadership profession.
The book “Becoming a Technical Leader: A Guide for the New-Led Engineer” (2002) by Gerald M. Weinberg presents a comprehensive guide to software engineering with focus on the professional growth of an engineer, as the author has experienced in his 20 years of teaching at the Carnegie Mellon University.
The book is divided into two parts:
In the first part, the author gives many insights and advice to new engineers about how they can develop their skills and knowledge. He believes that software engineering should be considered a “craft” for which an engineer must spend time in learning. The first part of the book emphasizes on what the reader needs to do if he or she wants to become a technical leader, whereas in the second half of the book, Weinberg offers examples of how to use these ideas to help other people learn and grow. Throughout the book, he also discusses his own experiences as well as some of his colleagues.
The first part of the book is “what to do.” It begins with an introduction to software engineering. The author believes that a good software engineer must be able to understand what the problem is about before starting to solve it. This implies being able to read and write code, but also having knowledge in other areas. For instance, being knowledgeable in testing, debugging and other issues which are not directly related with the coding.
The book starts by stating that an engineer should be a “master of one’s own domain,” and then describes what this really means: having the ability to read and write code, understanding the problem he or she is trying to solve, being able to test their software, knowing about debugging techniques, etc. The author also emphasizes on the importance of practicing coding. He states that a person must have “something to do,” and coding should be something that you can really practice. He discusses how people can grow from novices into masters by working hard and spending time reading and writing code. In this part of the book, he also introduces the idea of having “a mentor” in order for one’s career to advance.
The second part of the book is “how to do it.” The first half of the chapter focuses on what a leader needs to know about the process of learning and growing: the importance of being open-minded, the value of learning from other people, and how the author has experienced these things. In the second half, he describes his own experiences in teaching and mentoring students.
The book is written for those who are entering their first position as a technical leader. The main concern of the book is with helping you to become a successful technical leader by developing your skills in software engineering. This includes understanding what is important for an engineer to do if he or she wants to grow. As well, it discusses how one can help other people to learn and grow.