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In the often hidden platform engineering world, articulating progress effectively, especially in long-term projects, is paramount. We suffer from the invisible unless it fails syndrome.
The challenge, however, lies in translating complex, foundational technical achievements into clear, compelling narratives that resonate with C-Level stakeholders — those who may not necessarily possess a deep understanding of the technicalities yet hold the keys to resources and strategic decisions.
This task becomes even more challenging when we consider stakeholders who aren’t just interested in incremental progress; they’re drawn to game-changing innovation, projects that disrupt the status quo, and endeavors that promise to redefine markets.
This first article will guide engineering leaders in effectively presenting their long-term project progress to such stakeholders. We’ll explore why this skill matters, the inherent challenges, and the critical steps in preparing your presentation artefacts, and conclude with key takeaways. In the second part of this series, we’ll see an example of this framework applied to a real-world project.
By the end of this piece, you’ll have a robust framework to communicate your team’s progress, align with the vision of your stakeholders, and showcase the transformative power of your engineering projects.
Why It Matters
Platform engineering teams are often at the heart of innovation and progress. They work on projects that can significantly impact the company’s ability to achieve its strategic goals. However, the impact of these projects is only sometimes immediately visible or easily understood, especially by non-technical stakeholders. This is where the power of effective presentation of progress comes into play.
Firstly, clear communication of long-term progress is vital for strategic alignment. It ensures that all stakeholders, including C-Level executives, understand where the project stands and where it’s headed. This shared understanding helps to align the team’s efforts with the overall business strategy. It ensures that everyone is working towards the same goals.
Secondly, presenting progress effectively fosters trust and transparency. When stakeholders have a clear view of what’s happening, it builds their confidence in the team’s ability to deliver. It also allows for proactive identification and management of risks and issues, minimizing surprises.
Thirdly, effective communication of progress is about more than just stating facts. It’s about painting a picture of a better future, showcasing how engineering work contributes to making that future a reality. Many leaders are interested in more than incremental improvements — they seek transformative change. By presenting your progress in this broader context, you can inspire and engage these stakeholders, securing their buy-in and support for your projects.
Lastly, the process of preparing to present progress can also benefit the engineering teams themselves. It encourages reflection, helps identify areas for improvement, and can provide a morale boost as the team sees how far they’ve come.
In short, effectively presenting long-term engineering progress is not just a nice-to-have skill — it’s a critical component of successful project management and leadership.
The Challenges of Communicating Progress
Communicating engineering progress, especially for long-term projects, can be fraught with challenges. These difficulties often stem from the inherent complexity of the work, the fluctuating nature of development timelines, and the need to translate technical details into a format that non-technical stakeholders can understand and appreciate.
One of the primary challenges is the technical complexity of engineering projects. To those involved in the work, every detail might seem vital. Yet, when presenting to C-Level stakeholders, it’s crucial to distil this information into key points that illustrate progress without overwhelming the audience with jargon or minutiae. This balance can take time to achieve.
Another challenge lies in the unpredictable nature of engineering projects. Long-term projects, in particular, can see timelines fluctuate due to unforeseen obstacles, changes in scope or priorities. Communicating these changes in a way that maintains stakeholder confidence and keeps the focus on overall progress rather than temporary setbacks requires careful framing.
Furthermore, the challenge is amplified when presenting stakeholders who value big-picture thinking and transformative potential over detailed technical specifications or incremental progress. Thus, the challenge becomes about communicating what has been done, why it matters in the grand scheme of things, and how it contributes to the company’s visionary goals.
Lastly, there’s the challenge of quantifying progress in a meaningful way. Engineering progress isn’t always linear, and traditional metrics may not fully capture advancements.
Despite these challenges, effective communication of progress is possible and can significantly enhance stakeholder engagement and project success. The following sections will provide practical strategies and examples to navigate these challenges and effectively present your engineering progress to C-Level stakeholders.
Key Steps for Crafting Your Presentation Artifacts
Crafting the presentation artifacts that best convey your project’s progress to C-Level stakeholders is a process that requires careful thought, attention to detail, and a keen understanding of your audience. Here is a step-by-step guide to help you through this process:
1. Define Your Audience’s Needs: This is the first and most important step. Understand what information is most relevant and valuable to your C-Level stakeholders. What are their interests, concerns, and expectations? What questions might they have? This understanding will guide your selection of content and how you present it.
2. Select the Challenges and Metrics: Ideally done at the start of the project, choose the challenges your project addresses and the metrics that will measure your progress. These should be directly tied to the project’s goals and objectives and understandable and meaningful to the stakeholders.
3. Snapshot of Changes in Metrics Over Time: Create a visual representation of how these metrics have changed over a period of time — monthly or quarterly, depending on the project’s length and nature. This helps to illustrate the progress made in a clear, easily digestible format.
4. Overlay the Key Events: Indicate when key milestones or events occurred in your visual representation. For example, when a significant feature was launched, or a major challenge was overcome. This provides context for the changes in metrics and helps stakeholders understand what contributed to the progress.
5. Show Trendlines: If applicable, include trendlines in your visual representation to indicate the overall direction of progress. This can be especially useful for showing long-term progress or predicting future outcomes.
6. Contextualize Your Data: Don’t just present raw numbers or facts. Explain their meaning, why they matter, and how they relate to the broader business objectives. This is where you can connect the dots for your stakeholders and help them see the bigger picture.
7. Address Risks and Challenges: Be upfront about any potential obstacles or risks to the project. Explain how you plan to mitigate these issues and keep the project on track. This demonstrates your proactive approach and can instil confidence in your stakeholders.
8. Reminder of How We Started and Where We Are Going: Summarize the journey and reiterate the end goal. This showcases the progress made and helps keep everyone focused on the vision and the steps still needed to get there.
9. Prepare for Feedback and Questions: Anticipate your stakeholders’ questions or concerns and be ready to address them. This could involve creating additional slides or documents to support your presentation or rehearsing answers to potential questions.
10. Practice Your Presentation: Before you present to the C-Level stakeholders, practice your presentation. This can help you refine your delivery and ensure your message is clear and concise.
By following these steps, you’ll be well-equipped to create presentation artefacts that effectively communicate your long-term project progress, engage your stakeholders, and pave the way for continued support and success.
Key Takeaways
As explored throughout this article, effectively presenting long-term engineering project progress to C-Level stakeholders is a critical skill for engineering leaders. Translating technical achievements into narratives that align with the larger company vision allows you to foster a deeper understanding, secure continued support for your projects, and inspire those around you to push for transformative change.
Navigating the complexities of this task can be challenging. Still, you can rise to the occasion by implementing the strategies and steps outlined in this guide. Let’s recap the key takeaways:
1. Understand Your Audience: Start by defining your stakeholders’ needs and expectations. Remember, leaders seek transformative potential, not just incremental progress.
2. Choose Relevant Metrics and Challenges: Align your metrics and challenges with the company’s broader goals and the interests of your stakeholders.
3. Visualize Your Progress: Use clear, compelling visuals to show changes in metrics over time, highlight key events, and illustrate overall trends.
4. Contextualize Your Data: Don’t just present raw data — explain what it means and why it matters as part of the company’s goals and vision.
5. Address Risks Proactively: Be upfront about potential risks and explain your mitigation plans. This demonstrates your foresight and responsibility.
6. Prepare and Practice: Anticipate potential questions and practice your presentation to ensure your message is clear, concise, and compelling.
Remember, effective communication isn’t just about what you say but also how you say it. You can inspire your stakeholders and drive your projects forward by tailoring your message to your audience, engagingly presenting your data, and tying your progress back to the larger vision.
From Code to C-Suite: How to Present Your Engineering Progress Effectively was originally published in Better Programming on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.