And most people problems are communication problems. Engineers aren't engaged with the product vision or the customer base, and are allowed to silo themselves. Product doesn't see the point of engineers being engaged and feed the engineering team like an in-house outsourcing shop. Sales and CS fail to understand the cost of their promises to individual customers to the timelines of features they're hungry for from the product plan. Goals and metrics for success fail to align. And thus everyone rows in their own direction.
The solution usually isn't "better people." It's engaging people on the same goals and making sure each of them knows how their part fits with the others. It's also recognizing when hard stuff is worth doing. Yeah you've got a module with 15 years of tech debt that you didn't create, and no-one on the team is confident in touching anymore. Unlike acne, it won't get better if you don't pick at it. Build out what that tech debt is costing the company and the risk it creates. Balance that against other goals, and find a plan that pays it down at the right time and the right speed.
I would love a game that melds witcher style open world "ronin" with a tactics-style game like Fire Emblem. Sort of a wandering knight in a broader war sort of thing. The tactics-style battles you join (or don't) and the way they go matter to the line of main and side-quests and the condition or existence of characters you'd meet along the way. A different way to implement the whole "choices matter" mechanic that you get from Witcher.
I might go to a town, fail to take a side in the battle that town is locked in, and when I come back the town is laid waste. The quests that would be available to me in town are no longer there, but I might have errands where I end up searching the woods for refugees instead.
Something like that'd have a lot of replay value, because what you do changes the game you're playing over time.
Teamworks | Multiple Senior and Principal engineering positions + an Engineering Manager position | REMOTE | Boston, Durham NC, Birmingham AL
About us: We are the operating system of elite athletics. We provide the software that supports your favorite sports teams, whether you're a fan of collegiate American sports, NFL, NHL, the NBA, New Zealand and Australian Rugby, or EPL football (and more!). We provide everything from messaging, calendar, forms, and compliance to nutrition management (via Notemeal) and branding (via INFLCR).
Responsibilities: depends on the position, but generally we're looking for people who want to flex between product and engineering.
The solution usually isn't "better people." It's engaging people on the same goals and making sure each of them knows how their part fits with the others. It's also recognizing when hard stuff is worth doing. Yeah you've got a module with 15 years of tech debt that you didn't create, and no-one on the team is confident in touching anymore. Unlike acne, it won't get better if you don't pick at it. Build out what that tech debt is costing the company and the risk it creates. Balance that against other goals, and find a plan that pays it down at the right time and the right speed.