The Stack Overflow podcast is a weekly conversation about working in software development, learning to code, and the art and culture of computer programming. Hosted by Paul Ford and Ben Popper, the series features questions from our community, interviews with fascinating guests, and hot takes on what’s happening in tech. Founded in 2008, Stack Overflow is empowering the world to develop technology through collective knowledge. It’s best known for being the largest, most trusted online community for developers and technologists. More than 100 million people come to Stack Overflow every month to ask questions, help solve coding problems, and develop new skills.
Moving beyond velocity: Measuring real business impact
In this episode of Leaders of Code, Dan Lines, cofounder and COO of LinearB; Ben Matthews, Senior Director of Engineering at Stack Overflow; and host Ben Popper talk about why velocity should be a diagnostic tool, not the primary goal of engineering teams. They also touch on the need for cross-disciplinary collaboration to align engineering with business objectives.
They also discuss:
- AI's potential to automate repetitive tasks, allowing engineers to focus on more complex work.
- The challenges of scaling organizations and the importance of centralized developer experience teams to improve productivity.
- How non-technical staff can contribute to engineering tasks through the democratization of technology, enabling more innovation.
Episode notes: