Summary
Overview
The article explores how different companies, especially Big Tech, manage software engineering projects. It draws from a survey of over 100 companies and extensive industry experience, uncovering insights into methodologies, team autonomy, and the use (or lack thereof) of Scrum.
Key Themes
1. Project Management Across the Industry
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Companies use varied methodologies based on their size, funding, and industry.
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Methodologies include: no formal approach, Plan-Build-Ship, Scrum, Kanban, SAFe, and Shape Up.
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Satisfaction with methodologies correlates with team autonomy and low reliance on dedicated project managers.
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Dissatisfaction is tied to poor vision, high turnover, rigid tooling (e.g., JIRA), and lack of team autonomy.
2. Big Tech’s Approach to Projects
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Teams have high autonomy and choose their methodologies.
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Engineers often lead projects, with TPMs stepping in for complex, cross-team efforts.
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Developer tooling is robust, enabling short iteration cycles and fast deployments.
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Project management artifacts vary by team; no one-size-fits-all.
3. Organizational Influences in Big Tech
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Engineers are problem solvers, not task completers.
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Transparency and access to data are high.
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Internal communication is fast and flat.
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Developer experience is prioritized, supported by platform teams.
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Teams are empowered, autonomous, and own their missions.
4. Role of Product and Project Managers
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Product Managers (PMs) handle strategy and execution plans.
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No dedicated Project Managers at the team level; engineers lead execution.
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TPMs and Program Managers exist for broader, strategic projects.
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Engineer-to-engineer communication is preferred over layered management.
5. Scrum and Its Absence in Big Tech
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Big Tech largely does not use Scrum.
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Teams drop Scrum due to better tooling, faster workflows, and empowered cultures.
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QA is integrated into engineering; biweekly sprints become unnecessary.
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CI/CD, feature flags, and automated tests replace many Scrum rituals.
6. When Scrum Can Work Well
Scrum is still valuable in:
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“Kitchen sink teams” managing multiple demands.
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Newly formed or storming teams.
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Organizations seeking to accelerate shipping cadences.
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Companies needing standardized progress reporting.
7. Strategic Guidance for Teams
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Iterative changes outperform big-bang transformations.
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Coaching engineers into project leads pays dividends.
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Choose between directing, mentoring, and coaching based on context.
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Minimize decision layers to boost velocity.
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Avoid over-optimizing for reporting; it erodes trust.
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Learning from competitors can offer practical inspiration.
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High-performing engineers resist micromanagement; empower or risk attrition.
Conclusion
How teams should manage projects depends on their context. Big Tech’s success lies in autonomy, strong infrastructure, and trust in engineers. Scrum can still be effective in specific environments, but it’s not a universal solution. The goal should be to foster empowered teams capable of evolving their own processes.