Engineering Strategy for Business Leaders

Course Objective

To teach business owners and senior executives how to establish a clear link between business goals and engineering strategy, so that every dollar invested in development brings the company closer to its goals rather than being wasted.

Learning Format

Online / offline / hybrid
Practical cases, workshops, interactive sessions
Participant support during the course in a private chat
Methodological framework: OKR, Strategic Domain-Driven Design, product strategy

What Will Graduates Gain?

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The problem the course solves

Many CEOs and business owners cannot answer a simple question: “Why does development cost so much, and why does it take so long?” They hire top-notch engineers but fail to see the connection between development costs and business results. Teams work on tasks that don’t bring the company closer to its goals. The budget is spread thin across dozens of initiatives, none of which receive sufficient resources.

This course gives business leaders concrete tools to bring order to the situation: to determine where the company needs to be the best in the world and where a standard solution is sufficient; to align goals from strategy down to each team’s tasks; and to finally start managing technology as an investment rather than an expense.

Program

Technology as an Investment, Not an Expense (2 sessions)

Why business leaders lose control over development as they scale
Three types of technology investments: growth, maintenance, and debt
How to read and interpret engineering team metrics without a technical background
The connection between development speed and business results

Workshop: Audit of your company’s current development budget allocation

Defining Strategic Priorities (2 sessions)

What is the “core business” and why 80% of companies spend their primary resources on something else
Classification of business domains: key, supporting, standard
The “build vs. buy vs. outsource” principle—how to make decisions systematically

Workshop: mapping your company’s business domains and defining investment priorities

From Strategy to Team Goals (2 sessions)

How to turn a business goal into measurable results for engineering teams
OKRs for technology departments: what works and what doesn’t
Feedback: how to know if you’re moving toward your goal without waiting until the end of the quarter

Workshop: formulating OKRs for an engineering team based on your company’s strategy

A Common Language for Business and Technology (2 sessions)

Why CEOs and CTOs speak different languages and how to bridge the gap
Product and technical roadmaps: how to combine them into a single management tool
Managing technical debt as a business decision
When it’s time to hire a CTO, VP of Engineering, or bring in an external technology leader

Workshop: Creating a unified “business + technology” strategic roadmap

Final Exercise (1 session)

Comprehensive case study: a company with misaligned strategy and engineering
Group work: audit, prioritization, goal setting, roadmap
Presentation of solutions and group discussion

Individual action plan: the first three steps for your company