My name is Mauro Bagnato and for over 15 years I have been leading tech organizations.
When I first stepped into leadership, I believed technical expertise was the key to being an effective leader. However, I quickly learned that organizations are living and complex systems and that leading them demands much more than just technical know-how. I believe that curiosity is at the heart of effective leadership. This is what fuels learning and experimentation, both crucial for continuous improvement. This blog aims to explore engineering leadership in all its aspects and to provide insights in a tangible and pragmatic manner. It will also be a space where I will share insights, reflections, and personal takeaways from books, podcasts, and articles that influenced and keep influencing my journey.
Let’s start from the basics
Here is the crack
When we constrain the problem space, we limit the number of challenges that we need to consider
and
by limiting the number of challenges we limit the number of possible solutions (hence reducing the problem space).
So
Constraining the problem space narrows the solution space making it easier to focus on the most relevant solutions.
For instance, defining non-functional requirements (i.e. response time) narrows the problem space and makes it easier to find appropriate solutions.
Similarly, identifying target user groups for your product or service reduces the complexity and makes it easier to find appropriate solutions.
However, it's crucial to strike the right balance.
Over-constraining can lead to a problem space so narrow that the resulting solution lacks flexibility and can only address a limited set of issues.