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Setting Goals for an Engineering Team

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Your question is Setting Goals for an Engineering Team. Take a moment with it on the right.

Talk me through your thinking if you like. When you're confident, submit your answer and I'll grade it like a real screen (7/10 or better passes).

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Problem

Scenario

You are advising an engineering manager whose team supports a core product surface and is being asked to set goals for the next planning cycle. Leadership wants goals that are measurable, aligned to company priorities, and realistic for the team to execute.

Question

How do you approach setting goals for an engineering team?

What Good Looks Like

A strong answer should explain how to turn company priorities into a small set of outcome-based engineering goals. It should show how you size goals against capacity, handle dependencies, and define metrics that make progress visible.

Common Mistakes

  • Setting output goals instead of outcome goals
  • Overloading the team with too many priorities
  • Ignoring support work and other capacity drains
  • Treating dependencies as if they are fully controlled
  • Using vague success criteria that cannot be measured