Great Engineers

I've written blogs on how people are the most important tool and I've written on what test people need to know. But as I watch various engineers, not jsut test engineers, there are some who do better than the rest. And some who seem to have potential but can't quite have it all together. I was thinking about some of the characteristics of great engineers (Test or otherwise). Here's what I think.

Great Engineers...

...know what they are doing, they have a reason for doing what they do and they know why things are happening like they are.

...don't believe things "Just Happen" (corollary to the above) They don't feel comfortable with just using instrument, specific electronics, API's or algorithms. They need to know how they really work.

...understand their business and their customers. Great Engineers know what matters for their customers and their business. They can make trade offs that make the most business sense and for their customer.

...put customers and their team first. No task is below a great engineer and no customer is unimportant.

...have the highest integrity and ethics. They care about how they accomplish their tasks. Great engineers care about their team and their customers and keep integraty and ethics in all of their dealings.

...have excellent people skills and communications skills. Great Engineers work well with others, respect others, and communicate clearly and effectively.

...have a wide support network. Great Engineers have contacts and a network to support them and to allow the engineer to be far more effective and become a great engineer.

There are many other aspects like quality, focus, and design skills but I have to stop typing somewhere.

These soft skills differentiate the great engineers from good engineers. I know I have short coming in some of these area's but I also know I am always trying to improve and hopefully become a Great Engineer.

"Know me for who I am, Revere me for how I got here" - Qwezzen