It Takes a Village: Why Engineering Communities are Taking Over

The Industrial Revolution was a marvel of human ingenuity — a worldwide commitment to innovation that was completely unheard of at the time. During this period, the rate at which new technologies went from idea to mass market ubiquity was absolutely stunning. Yet it’s easy to forget that 28 years passed between the time the telegraph (one of the greatest inventions of the Industrial Revolution) was invented and when it could reliably be used between continents — a rate of progress that would see any modern project shuttered.

Fast forward to today and the world now moves at incredible speeds. The proliferation of real-time, connected services in recent years has led consumers of every kind to expect instant gratification from the companies they choose to do business with. What’s more, they expect it delivered flawlessly, every time.

Failing to deliver can have grave consequences for a business — lost revenue, customer complaints and lasting brand damage. For the engineering teams troubleshooting the underlying systems and code that make these new digital experiences possible, the pressure is on and the stakes have never been higher.

Making matters even more challenging, engineering teams and the technology they leverage are more fragmented than ever. Few teams today sit in the same office, and many don’t even live in the same countries. What’s more, the tools they use to build and deliver great customer experiences are constantly evolving, and new ones are cropping up every day.

These converging trends make it hard for engineering teams to stay on the same page and continue pushing the envelope on innovation. How do they keep communication high and get the answers they need about the tools they rely on, when they are needed most? Engineering communities.

After decades running successful communities at companies like Adobe and RedHat — and now at Scalyr with the newly launched LogRunners community — I’ve seen how great communities can change the game for software providers and the engineering teams that depend on their services. We all know that communication is important, but the following are three major — yet lesser known — benefits of strong, smart engineering communities that everyone should know.

Better Answers Faster

Modern engineers are trained to pursue speed above all else. For example, when an online shopper clicks on their shopping cart, the clock starts ticking. Wait five seconds, and the customer will abandon their cart. Wait 10, and they will tell their friends about their bad experience.

Speed is currency to modern developers, and to the businesses that employ them. When you find yourself waiting for an answer to your problems, you’re already too late. The best way to ensure answers at speed is to widen the pool of people who can actually provide those answers. Compared to internal teams, open engineering communities bring together a much larger group of smart, savvy people who can help. Having access to a broader and more diverse set of insights reduces the time engineers spend troubleshooting problems and searching for answers, which helps businesses keep up with the breakneck speed of customer expectations.

Fewer Mistakes

Getting answers fast is meaningless if they are wrong. Businesses don’t have time to throw ideas at a wall hoping they stick — they need answers fast, and they need to be correct. The value of communities is perhaps most apparent here, assuming that they are well maintained. A strong, valuable community brings together the perfect combination of smarts and dedication, creating a hive mind of intelligence.

When the best and brightest in the field are the ones answering your questions (especially if they have experienced the same issues), you are far more likely to get the right answer. Combined with the speed that a larger group of people brings, community intelligence helps engineers and businesses get to the right answer, faster and more often.

Higher Team Morale

Recognizing success goes a long way in any field — software engineering included. Despite this, many engineers work in relative obscurity. Sharing engineering successes creates countless benefits that are vastly helpful to a business. When success is shared, it inherently raises the profile of the people who achieved that success, increasing community awareness of their work. When people share their wins, or answer questions on topics they know well, they feel good. People who feel good work harder, smarter and better. It’s a simple, but under-appreciated practice, and a community is the perfect way to combine the benefits for both engineers and businesses.

Every single engineer can benefit from participating in a community of their peers, no matter the specific value they bring. A culture of information sharing raises the floor for the entire community, giving engineers the chance to do their jobs better, without sacrificing more time or energy than they must. In a world that runs on code, speed and smarts are paramount, and given the complexity and fragmentation of technology, we can no longer expect one individual or team to provide the answers we need in the time we need them. We now must rely on our peers to support us, and communities are hands-down the best way to do so.

Software Development

It Takes a Village: Why Engineering Communities are Taking Over was originally published in Hacker Noon on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.