How a CTO Uses Cognitive Load Theory to Structure Engineering Teams
from Tech Leadership with Fexingo: Engineering Managers, CTOs, and Technical Leadership Conversations Hosted by Fexingo
In Episode 89 of Tech Leadership with Fexingo, Lucas and Luna explore how one CTO applied cognitive load theory to reorganize engineering teams, reducing context-switching and improving delivery speed. They break down the three types of cognitive load—intrinsic, extraneous, and germane—and show how the CTO used team topology mapping to assign services to squads based on intrinsic load. The episode cites a specific case where a platform team's cognitive load was halved by splitting ownership of a monolith into bounded contexts, cutting lead time for changes from two weeks to two days. Listeners learn practical heuristics like 'if a team's pull request review cycle exceeds 48 hours, the cognitive load is too high' and how to use Wardley mapping and team cognitive load assessments to find bottlenecks. The conversation also touches on how this approach connects to Conway's Law and team topologies, with a real-world example from a mid-sized SaaS company. #CognitiveLoad #TeamTopologies #ConwaysLaw #EngineeringManagement #SoftwareArchitecture #PlatformEngineering #DevOps #Agile #TechLeadership #FexingoBusiness #BusinessPodcast #CTO #Technology #Leadership #Productivity #ContextSwitching #BoundedContexts #SystemArchitecture Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo
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