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New York • September 8 & 9, 2027
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Engineering managers often manage what they can see: 1-1s, tickets, code reviews. But the systems that actually determine your team’s effectiveness are invisible until you learn to visualize them.
This talk shares the visualization techniques I use to lead teams more effectively. A scatter plot exercise across multiple teams that revealed each had a different PR cycle time problem. Some cross-team reviews, some internal, some process misalignment. An investment report that showed support work was quietly consuming far more capacity than anyone realized, and how we reduced it. A value stream map that showed one team where their work was stuck in review, leading to changes that improved delivery within two weeks.
In each case, the picture told a story that opinions alone couldn’t. I’ll walk through each technique: what to look for, how to build the visual, and how to turn what you see into action.
These examples come from teams at startups and public companies, but the principle is the same: fix how work flows, not push people harder. I’ll also show how these visuals become tools for conversation: with your team, with leadership, and with partner teams who may not realize they’re part of the bottleneck.
You’ll leave with:
- Visualization techniques you can use with your team.
- How to spot the difference between people problems and system problems.
- A systematic approach to diagnosis before intervention.
- How to use visuals as conversation tools with leadership and partner teams
This talk is for engineering managers who want to see their systems clearly before trying to fix them.
