The Importance of Writing in Software Engineering

Level-up Engineering

Interview with Erica Greene, Senior Engineering Manager at Etsy about the importance of writing in software engineering. She goes into details about why you need to write well, how to get good at it, how to coach your team in writing and much more.

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In this interview we're covering:

• The importance of writing in engineering management
• Why is writing important in software engineering
• Why is writing important in meetings
• Improving your writing skills as a manager
• Writing tools for engineering managers
• Common mistakes of managers
• Teaching your team about the importance of writing

Excerpt from the interview:

"Recently, I had a disagreement with a project manager regarding a project. We had a meeting about it and it was productive, but we didn’t manage to completely resolve the conflict. He suggested that we continue the discussion in a document.

We wrote down the points that we agreed on, and the points we disagreed about, and we started a back and forth. He wrote his response and sent it to me, and I could answer when I found some time, and then send it back. We resolved the conflict in about four to five rounds.

It was a misunderstanding, and we came to a compromise. It was an efficient way of working out a conflict in written format, which we probably wouldn’t even have tried pre-pandemic, working fully on-site."

Click here to read the full interview!