Research-Driven Engineering Leadership

Research-Driven Engineering Leadership

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RDEL #84: What influences developers' trust in adopting AI-assisted coding tools?
Quality of output and functional value are important to build trust, but engineers are also largely motivated by their unique behavioral styles.
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Lizzie Matusov
RDEL #83: How can engineering teams use data in retrospectives more effectively?
Subjective insights take priority due to data asymmetry, psychological safety concerns, and preference for simplicity.
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Lizzie Matusov
RDEL #82: How do developers fix bugs differently when they don't author them?
Over half of bugs fixed are from a different developer, and bugs fixed by other developers take a median of 148 days to resolve. We relate the findings…
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Lizzie Matusov

February 2025

RDEL #81: How does learning debt impact engineering teams?
Active learning during task ramp-up is initially high, but seen as invisible work. Code reviews saw social pressure to justify decisions, rather than…
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Lizzie Matusov
1
RDEL #80: What makes a code review useful?
Larger reviews tend to have a lower proportion of useful comments, stronger team cultures have higher-quality reviews, and more.
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Lizzie Matusov
2
RDEL #79: How can engineering teams apply the SPACE framework to improve productivity? (with Dr. Jenna Butler, co-author of SPACE)
What metrics a team should pick, how often they should change, and how to turn metrics into actions (and measure improvement).
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Lizzie Matusov
RDEL #78: Does removing author identity in code reviews reduce bias?
A look at findings from researchers on whether removing author identity from code reviews reduces bias or impacts overall efficiency.
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Lizzie Matusov
1

January 2025

RDEL #77: How can engineering teams optimize hybrid work?
Researchers find that hybrid work is an intentional balance, and that people are the most valuable reason for being in-office.
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Lizzie Matusov
1
RDEL #76: How do online communities shape developer trust in AI tools?
Collective sensemaking and community heuristics emerge as the two primary ways that engineers build trust for the AI tools they want to try.
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Lizzie Matusov
RDEL #75: How do interruptions impact different software engineering activities?
Certain tasks, and their complexity, change how impactful an interruption is. Research also discovers a disconnect between perception and physiological…
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Lizzie Matusov
2
RDEL #74: Top findings from the Engineering Team Performance Report
O'Reilly and LeadDev surveyed 1,000 engineering leaders to understand the top challenges and opportunities in software team performance.
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Lizzie Matusov

December 2024

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