Estimation & Planning
Predicting effort, breaking work down and deciding what comes first.
Backend Engineer track
Junior
Write correct code, ship small changes safely, ask good questions.
Core: start here
- Breaking Down TasksSplitting work into pieces small enough to finish and estimate.
- EstimationPredicting how long work will take, and communicating the uncertainty.
3 more junior concepts
- Planning PokerEstimating as a team by revealing guesses at the same time.
- Story PointsRelative effort estimates instead of hours.
- TimeboxingFixing the time and adjusting the scope.
Mid-level
Own a feature end to end without hand-holding.
Core: start here
- PrioritizationDeciding what to do first: impact vs effort, urgent vs important.
7 more mid-level concepts
- Buffers and UnknownsAccounting for the work you can't see yet.
- Hofstadter's LawIt always takes longer than you expect, even when you account for this.
- MilestoneA significant checkpoint in a project.
- Ninety-Ninety RuleThe last 10% of the work takes the other 90% of the time.
- Scope CreepRequirements growing while a project is underway.
- SpikeA time-boxed investigation to reduce uncertainty.
- T-Shirt SizingRough S/M/L/XL estimates for early planning.
Senior
Own a system, its failure modes, and its trade-offs.
- Cone of UncertaintyEstimates get more accurate as work progresses.
- Critical PathThe chain of tasks that determines the earliest finish date.
- Cross-Team DependenciesWork blocked on other teams, and how to manage it.
- OKRsObjectives and key results for setting goals.
- Project KickoffAligning everyone on goals, scope and roles at the start.
- RICE and MoSCoWFrameworks for prioritizing work.
- RoadmapA plan of what to build over the coming months.
Staff
Shape how many teams build, across systems.
Nothing here yet.
Principal
Set technical direction for the organization.
Nothing here yet.
Data Analyst track
Junior
Write correct SQL, build trusted dashboards, ask good questions.
- OKRsObjectives and key results for setting goals.
Mid-level
Own an analysis end to end, from vague question to recommendation.
Nothing here yet.
Senior
Own experimentation and metrics design; call out bad numbers.
Nothing here yet.
Staff
Shape how the organization measures and decides.
Nothing here yet.
Principal
Set measurement strategy across the company.
Nothing here yet.
Data Engineer track
Junior
Build and fix pipelines from clear specs; write correct SQL.
Core: start here
- Breaking Down TasksSplitting work into pieces small enough to finish and estimate.
- EstimationPredicting how long work will take, and communicating the uncertainty.
3 more junior concepts
- Planning PokerEstimating as a team by revealing guesses at the same time.
- Story PointsRelative effort estimates instead of hours.
- TimeboxingFixing the time and adjusting the scope.
Mid-level
Own pipelines and models end to end, including their quality.
- Buffers and UnknownsAccounting for the work you can't see yet.
- Hofstadter's LawIt always takes longer than you expect, even when you account for this.
- MilestoneA significant checkpoint in a project.
- Ninety-Ninety RuleThe last 10% of the work takes the other 90% of the time.
- PrioritizationDeciding what to do first: impact vs effort, urgent vs important.
- Scope CreepRequirements growing while a project is underway.
- SpikeA time-boxed investigation to reduce uncertainty.
- T-Shirt SizingRough S/M/L/XL estimates for early planning.
Senior
Design the platform's storage, processing and modeling choices.
- Cone of UncertaintyEstimates get more accurate as work progresses.
- Critical PathThe chain of tasks that determines the earliest finish date.
- Cross-Team DependenciesWork blocked on other teams, and how to manage it.
- OKRsObjectives and key results for setting goals.
- Project KickoffAligning everyone on goals, scope and roles at the start.
- RICE and MoSCoWFrameworks for prioritizing work.
- RoadmapA plan of what to build over the coming months.
Staff
Shape how the whole organization produces and uses data.
Nothing here yet.
Principal
Set data strategy and architecture across the company.
Nothing here yet.
Frontend Engineer track
Junior
Build UI that works, ship small changes safely, ask good questions.
Core: start here
- Breaking Down TasksSplitting work into pieces small enough to finish and estimate.
- EstimationPredicting how long work will take, and communicating the uncertainty.
3 more junior concepts
- Planning PokerEstimating as a team by revealing guesses at the same time.
- Story PointsRelative effort estimates instead of hours.
- TimeboxingFixing the time and adjusting the scope.
Mid-level
Own a feature end to end without hand-holding.
Core: start here
- PrioritizationDeciding what to do first: impact vs effort, urgent vs important.
7 more mid-level concepts
- Buffers and UnknownsAccounting for the work you can't see yet.
- Hofstadter's LawIt always takes longer than you expect, even when you account for this.
- MilestoneA significant checkpoint in a project.
- Ninety-Ninety RuleThe last 10% of the work takes the other 90% of the time.
- Scope CreepRequirements growing while a project is underway.
- SpikeA time-boxed investigation to reduce uncertainty.
- T-Shirt SizingRough S/M/L/XL estimates for early planning.
Senior
Own an app's architecture, performance, and failure modes.
- Cone of UncertaintyEstimates get more accurate as work progresses.
- Critical PathThe chain of tasks that determines the earliest finish date.
- Cross-Team DependenciesWork blocked on other teams, and how to manage it.
- OKRsObjectives and key results for setting goals.
- Project KickoffAligning everyone on goals, scope and roles at the start.
- RICE and MoSCoWFrameworks for prioritizing work.
- RoadmapA plan of what to build over the coming months.
Staff
Shape how many teams build, across apps.
Nothing here yet.
Principal
Set technical direction for the organization.
Nothing here yet.