Engineering Management Templates and Resources Collection

Templates as Inspiration for Engineering Managers and Software Engineers

TLDR: The Pragmatic Engineer has compiled a comprehensive collection of battle-tested templates and documents used successfully by hundreds of engineering managers and software engineers across various companies. This resource covers everything from AI metrics and performance reviews to hiring processes and team management checklists.

Summary:

This collection represents a goldmine of practical engineering management resources that address the most common challenges faced by both engineering managers and individual contributors. The templates span the entire lifecycle of engineering management, from initial team setup through performance management and strategic planning.

For engineering managers, the collection includes sophisticated tools for measuring team impact and calculating AI metrics - something that's becoming increasingly critical as organizations integrate AI into their development workflows. The performance review templates and promotion mapping tools provide structured approaches to career development, while the reorg preparation and layoffs checklists address the more challenging aspects of leadership that many managers face unprepared.

The hiring and onboarding sections deserve particular attention. The interview processes from companies like Sourcegraph provide real-world examples of how successful organizations structure their technical evaluations. The onboarding materials go beyond simple checklists to include check-in questionnaires and email templates that ensure new hires are properly integrated. This systematic approach to onboarding can significantly reduce time-to-productivity for new team members.

What's particularly valuable is the inclusion of "wartime" versus "peacetime" management approaches - a concept that acknowledges that engineering leadership requires different strategies depending on organizational context. During high-pressure periods like incident response or tight deadlines, management approaches must adapt accordingly. The incident analysis templates and project reporting examples provide frameworks for maintaining visibility and learning during these critical periods.

For architects and teams, these templates can serve as starting points for establishing consistent processes across the organization. The platform team business case template, for instance, provides a structured way to justify infrastructure investments to leadership. The engineering metrics dashboard from Uber offers insights into what world-class organizations actually measure to understand their engineering effectiveness.

Key takeaways:

• Comprehensive template collection covering the full spectrum of engineering management challenges
• Real-world examples from successful companies like Uber and Sourcegraph provide proven frameworks
• Resources address both tactical needs (performance reviews, onboarding) and strategic concerns (team impact measurement, platform justification)

Tradeoffs:

• Standardized templates improve consistency but may need customization for specific organizational cultures
• Comprehensive documentation processes increase transparency but require ongoing maintenance overhead

Link: Templates as Inspiration for Engineering Managers and Software Engineers

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