korrents
Will Larson

What Will Larson thinks about team size

@will-larson · 11 positions · 1 change of mind · On ppll ↗

Engineering executive who has led infrastructure and engineering organisations at Stripe, Calm, Carta and Imprint, and previously at Uber and Digg. Author of "An Elegant Puzzle", "Staff Engineer", "The Engineering Executive’s Primer" and "Crafting Engineering Strategy". Writes about organisational design at lethain.com.

Will Larson did not write this page.

We collected these quotes from things they published elsewhere, and every quote links to where it was said. They have no account here and have not endorsed this site. Quotes are word for word; the short line under each one is our own restatement, not their wording. Their own site. Is this you? Claim it or ask us to remove it. Or tell us what is wrong here.

Filter team size · Newest first
Topic
All 11hiring 4management 4team size 4innovation 2ambition 1patience 1
Sort
NewestOldest

Only Will Larson on team size. See everyone on team size

4 dated positions, 2018, in their own words. Our reading of what Will Larson has said — not written or endorsed by them.

4 positions so far — this page is not yet offered to search engines.

  1. Our readingAn engineering manager should support six to eight engineers: fewer and they drift into being a tech lead, more and they can only be a coach.

    management

    Their wordsManagers should support 6-8 engineers. This gives them enough time for active coaching, coordinating and furthering their team’s mission by writing strategies, leading change, and so on.

    ↗Sizing engineering teams.lethain.com 1st of 5 in this piece

  3. Our readingA sustainable on-call rotation needs seven or eight engineers.

    Their wordsOncall rotations want 8 engineers. For production oncall responsibilities, I’ve found that two-tier 24/7 support requires eight folks.

    ↗Sizing engineering teams.lethain.com 2nd of 5 in this piece

  5. Our readingA group of fewer than four people is not a team: it behaves like a set of individuals, and a single departure knocks it back into maintenance.

    Their wordsSmall teams (<4) are not teams. I’ve sponsored quite a few 1-2 person teams, and each time I’ve regretted it. To repeat: I have regretted it every single time.

    ↗Sizing engineering teams.lethain.com 3rd of 5 in this piece

  7. Our readingNew teams should be budded off an existing team grown deliberately large, never created empty and staffed afterwards.

    Their wordsTo create a new team, grow an existing team to eight to ten, and then bud into two teams of four or five. Never create empty teams.

    ↗Sizing engineering teams.lethain.com 5th of 5 in this piece