Introduction
This presentation is intentionally future-focused - we’re not dwelling on the past, but looking ahead.
Some points we’ll discuss may sound critical, but they are not meant negatively. They are meant to help us grow.
Today is about shaping our future, informed by what we’ve learned - not about blame, but about progress.
Lets remind ourselves a bit....
Why are we here?
Are we staying true to our purpose?
What is our goal?
Are we living up to our objective?
The goal has not changed...
...but how do I interpret the goal?
These are the topics I think about, and everyone here should too....
Delivery
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What we deliver is what stakeholders see
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How we deliver is what defines us as an engineering organization
Delivery defines the value we create
The How part is just as important as What
What characteristics make a good delivery process?
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Transparent: value/progress is visible daily
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Collaborative: everyone contributes to the flow, not just to their function
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Agile: responds to change, not controlled by it
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Measurable: process is measured, not just results
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Predictable: we know where we are and where we’re going
Does each team member see the value their team is creating on a daily basis?
Transparent
Are we truly building something together, or are we each focused on our own piece - only coming together once those pieces need to fit?
Collaborative
Are our processes truly enabling agility, or are we just following them without being agile?
Agile
Do we know how well we’re doing, or do we just feel like we’re doing well?
Measurable
Are we measuring how long things take, yet still rebuilding familiar work from scratch each time?
Predictable
Exellence
Excellence defines the quality of our work
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Excellence isn’t perfection - it’s consistency in doing things right.
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It’s about care, craftsmanship, and accountability.
What characteristics make engineering excellent?
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Quality-focused: we build things that last, not things that pass
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Scalable: our solutions grow with the business, not against it
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Maintainable: easy to understand, easy to improve, easy to trust
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Secure: protection is designed in, not bolted on
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Efficient: we optimize for both performance and effort
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Documented: knowledge is shared, not stored in individual heads
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Measurable: excellence is demonstrated, not just believed
We prioritize quality a lot while we build, but do we do enough when the product has shipped?
Quality focused
Our services can handle more people with more resources, but can our processes?
Scalable
Do we have a good balance between making things maintainable and delivering?
Maintainable
Are we secure by design or secure by luck?
Secure
Are we efficient when delivering results? Are those results efficient?
Efficient
If this group stopped working tomorrow, would the people in our Hub know what to do?
Documented
Do we know how well we’re doing, or do we just feel like we’re doing well?
Measurable
Delivery × Excellence
Delivery without excellence is chaos.
Excellence without delivery is stagnation
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Speed without quality breaks trust.
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Quality without output kills momentum.
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Great engineering = Sustainable Speed - we move fast and stay proud.
Technical leads
need to understand delivery
PDMs need to understand excellence / engineering
People
Do we have the right people for our goal?
This is a difficult topic, but it is important and necessary.
When someone is here without motivation or alignment, it holds back both them and the team. It prevents them from growing into their best potential, and it limits our ability to move forward.
Our responsibility is to help people get unstuck - to support their growth, even if that growth eventually leads them elsewhere. We need engaged, committed people to reach our goals.
Processes
Do we have the right processes for our goal?
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What processes need to change?
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What processes need to be removed?
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What processes need to be added?
Change
Are we open to change?
Or are we just open to
being convinced?
What I need from you?
Share your thoughts on 4 specific topics
Delivery
How do we drive measurable improvements in our delivery process, so that every next feature, game, or maintenance task takes significantly less time - whether that’s 10%, 20%, 30%, 40%, or even 70% faster?
Excellence
How do we make excellence measurable and visible -so that what we deliver is not only functional, but something we are genuinely proud of?
Culture of progress
How do we build a culture of progress - where momentum is visible, improvement is contagious, and we naturally strive to move as fast as the best around us?
Culture of learning
How do we build a true culture of learning — where reflection, curiosity, and growth are deeply embedded into how we work, lead, and succeed together?
Strategy day
Day 1
Each of you will present your thoughts on the 4 topics and we will go discuss them as a group.
We will go topic by topic, so everyone presents their ideas on the first topic and then we have a group discussion, then move to the second topic and so on.
Strategy day
Day 2
Open discussion on any topics that do not fit under the 4 that were tackled on day one.
Strategy day
When?
Limits?
Our hubs lifecycle
The first steps
Goal: Establish the foundation - people, tools, and shared purpose.
Focus areas:
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Hire the first core team (leads + delivery managers). ✅
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Define the hub’s purpose and how it contributes to the wider company. ✅
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Set up basic infrastructure (onboarding, communication, round tables). ✅
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Start delivering small, low-risk projects. ✅
Output: The hub exists, can deliver, and has early wins.
The teenage years
Goal: Deliver consistently, establish trust, and reduce operational chaos.
Focus areas:
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Introduce clear ownership and accountability for teams and systems ✅
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Create stable processes / rituals 🤏 / ✅
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Start changing the mindset of people 🤏 / ✅
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Have clear visibility into our deliverables ✅
Output: Predictable delivery, stable teams, and stakeholder trust.
Adulthood
Goal: Get serious about how and what we do — mature into a world-class engineering hub that drives excellence, not just delivery.
Focus areas:
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Start separating delivery process (how we do things) and excellence (what we produce)
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Measure results — both delivery (velocity) and excellence (quality)
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Promote data-driven decision making across teams
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Move away from department silos → build cross-functional collaboration
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Empower teams to own their performance metrics and improvements
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Start investing in tooling, automation, and continuous improvement loops
The great battle
Goal: Change Evolution from within.
Focus area:
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Get all Hubs to become as great as us.
Be more open to change
A lot of new ideas are met with the question Why? and the mindset of "Prove this or convince me".
Be more open to change
I have spent a lot of time convincing everyone of everything. This is a slow process.
Be curious, not judgemental
Ask to understand, and if that does not work then go and research the idea.
Do more with less.
We can all deliver great results when resources are unlimited.
Real impact comes from making the most of what we have.
I need you to think creatively and strategically:
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How can we get more value from our current people, tools, and time?
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What can we simplify, automate, or stop doing to focus on what matters most?
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Where should we break things down to make progress?
I’m not asking for miracles — I’m asking for ownership and smart thinking.
Do more with less.
Don’t limit yourself with “this is my box” thinking.
I need leads who work across boundaries, collaborate openly, and help solve problems wherever they appear.
We’re one team, not a set of silos
What I need from the Hub?
Metrics
Start coming up with how you want to be measured.
Both delivery and exellence.
Lifecycle
1. Formation - "Building the Core"
Goal: Establish the foundation - people, tools, and shared purpose.
Focus areas:
-
Hire the first core team (leads + delivery managers). ✅
-
Define the hub’s purpose and how it contributes to the wider company. ✅
-
Set up basic infrastructure (onboarding, communication, round tables). ✅
-
Start delivering small, low-risk projects. ✅
Output: The hub exists, can deliver, and has early wins.
2. Stabilization - "Becoming Reliable"
Goal: Deliver consistently, establish trust, and reduce operational chaos.
Focus areas:
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Introduce clear ownership and accountability for teams and systems ✅
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Create stable processes / rituals 🤏 / ✅
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Start measuring delivery speed, quality, and reliability.🤏
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Start changing the mindset of people, culture of change 🤏 / ✅
Output: Predictable delivery, stable teams, and stakeholder trust.
3. Optimization - "Engineering Excellence"
Goal: Move from speed to quality, innovation, and efficiency.
Focus areas:
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Introduce engineering pillars (Performance, Security, Reliability, Quality, etc.).
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Automate and monitor everything — CI/CD, quality gates, incident response.
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Build a feedback-driven improvement culture (OKRs, retrospectives, metrics).
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Optimize for developer experience and velocity.
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Promote data-driven decision making.
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Output: The hub operates semi-autonomously with multiple parallel projects.
3. Expansion
Goal: Grow scope and influence without losing efficiency.
Focus areas:
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Form multiple independent departments with clear domains.
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Introduce shared platforms, patterns, and cross-team standards.
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Strengthen internal mentoring and leadership layers
Output: The hub operates semi-autonomously with multiple parallel projects.
Where are we
By Peeter Tomberg
