Roles
Who owns what, from business priority to production, and how an assignment differs from a career level.
Who owns what
| Role | Owns |
|---|---|
| Engineering leadership | The direction of engineering and how it runs: the product development lifecycle, technical roadmap, org structure, processes, career growth and clearing roadblocks. See below. |
| Product manager | Works with the business on priorities, shapes requirements with the project lead, and manages expectations about scope and dates. Usually gives the go-ahead to enable a feature. Owns project closure and follow-up priorities. |
| Project lead | The project plan, requirements, stories and tasks, risks, release planning, and communication between product and engineering. Leads by example on quality, makes sure the assigned team's work meets the bar, and coordinates release verification. |
| Engineers | The quality of their own changes and of the team's. Build and test the work, review each other's changes, raise gaps and risks, and check what they release. |
| Product designer | Reviews UI standards and consistency across the experience. Design review adds to engineering review; it doesn't take quality ownership away from engineers. |
What engineering leadership owns
Engineering leadership plays the role a CTO plays in many companies. It owns:
- Direction. The technical vision and strategy, and how engineering supports KODE's business goals.
- The product development lifecycle. How work moves from idea to production and beyond, described in KODE Kanban.
- Roadmaps. The technical roadmap, and engineering's side of the product roadmap, together with product.
- Org structure. How teams are shaped and staffed, and who leads which projects. Engineering leadership chooses project leads and supporting engineers, and assigns urgent work.
- Processes and workflows. How we plan, build, review and release, and improving them as we learn. This handbook is part of that.
- Delivery health. Reviewing forecasts against target dates and raising concerns with product early.
- Career growth. The levels and rubrics, coaching, and promotions. See Careers.
- Clearing roadblocks. Removing the organizational blockers engineers can't clear on their own.
- Culture. Hiring for it, modeling it and protecting it. See Culture.
An assignment is not a level
Leading a project is an assignment: a responsibility for one piece of work. It isn't a career level, and it doesn't make someone a people manager. A title never removes review: everyone's work gets reviewed. See Careers.
What you can expect from your manager
- A 1:1 every month to review wins, roadblocks, and feedback for improvement and growth.
- Clear expectations, and feedback that is specific and arrives while it's still useful.
- Opportunities to practice new skills.
- Help with organizational blockers you can't clear alone.
- A career conversation at least once a quarter about growth goals, with agreed follow-up written down. You're welcome to ask for one more often. See How growth works.
In return, engineers take part actively, ask for help, and use feedback to improve.