How Visibility Helps Developers Focus On Innovation
Tags: webdev, beginners, career, news
Published: 2022-06-19 16:25:51

As software engineering leaders adjust to a future defined by remote and hybrid work models, as a result, they are altering priorities in the in the [structure of work](https://community.lohika.com/home/blogs/how-to-organize-engineering-teams-measure-developer-productivity-and-more-2022-01-28) to compensate for the lack of in-person collaboration.  

According to a recent Jellyfish study, engineering leaders' top priority is ensuring that each member of their team spends as much time as possible on the highest-priority work. To achieve this goal, these leaders are using real-time visibility and data-driven decision-making to guide more effective management.

To shift from reactive to proactive work, Engineering executives spend an average of 3 hours per day going through email to ensure that each member of their team has access to everything they need to accomplish their work effectively and efficiently, according to the Jellyfish study.

This shift toward data-driven decision making has been driven by a desire to improve communication between teams and eliminate blind spots.  Engineering executives must first have visibility into what their teams are doing. How can you better distribute your time and resources if you don't know how they're currently allocated? Engineering  Leaders must first determine how much bandwidth their teams have to take on new projects before they can successfully prioritize work. 

The new approach involves using technology like Slack with different channels depending on what department needs immediate attention or feedback from another department's members without disrupting workflow too much. However, this is inefficient and distracting, but it also means that engineers' trains of thought are continuously interrupted by notifications from a variety of sources.

Some engineering teams are doubling down on data aggregation and analysis to obtain visibility into their processes. While all firms spend roughly the same amount of time on "keeping the lights on" and customer service, those who invest in a more sophisticated data organization can spend 29 percent more time on innovation and 48 percent less time on unplanned work, according to the report.

Despite the multiple obstacles faced by engineering teams over the last two years, the industry has changed and become more collaborative as [remote and hybrid work models](https://community.lohika.com/home/blogs/how-three-engineering-leaders-are-navigating-our-remote-in-person-and-hybrid-world-2022-04-28) have become more prevalent. New tools and methodologies will result in more purposeful engineering work, enhanced visibility, and operations for leaders who want to increase data-driven decision-making.

This approach to data will be critical for every technical leader to retain [efficiency](https://community.lohika.com/home/blogs/growth-resilience-and-the-power-of-creative-possibility-2022-04-28) as their teams grow. More than 79 percent of engineering leaders intend to expand their teams in 2022, and the most major obstacles they encounter include employee on-boarding ramp time, virtual on-boarding, and hiring