Cheat sheet & self-check

Pick an answer to see if you got it, and why.

1. Q1. What does 'force multiplier' mean for a lead engineer?

   1. AWriting the most code
   2. BRaising the whole team's output and quality through decisions, reviews, unblocking, standards and teaching
   3. CManaging people's performance
   4. DWorking longer hours
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   B. A lead's impact is measured by what the team ships and how well, not by personal commits.

   From lesson 01 · The lead engineer's job

2. Q2. Which work should a new lead keep, rather than delegate?

   1. AEvery interesting task
   2. BThe few things only they can do: architecture direction, cross-team alignment, the riskiest decisions and unblocking others
   3. CNothing
   4. DAll on-call shifts
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   B. Keeping the interesting tasks starves the team of growth and leaves the lead's real job undone.

   From lesson 01 · The lead engineer's job

3. Q3. What belongs in an Architecture Decision Record?

   1. AOnly the chosen solution
   2. BContext, the options considered with trade-offs, the decision, and its consequences
   3. CMeeting minutes
   4. DThe code
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   B. The value of an ADR is the reasoning: future readers can tell whether the context has changed enough to revisit it.

   From lesson 02 · Architecture decisions and ADRs

4. Q4. How should the speed of a decision depend on reversibility?

   1. AAll decisions need the same process
   2. BReversible (two-way door) decisions can be made quickly by the people closest to them; hard-to-reverse ones deserve more analysis and wider review
   3. CIrreversible decisions should be rushed
   4. DNever decide until all facts are known
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   B. Over-analysing cheap, reversible choices slows the team; under-analysing one-way doors is expensive.

   From lesson 02 · Architecture decisions and ADRs

5. Q5. What does 'disagree and commit' mean?

   1. APretend to agree
   2. BArgue your case fully before the decision; once it's made, support it as if it were your own, while watching for evidence that it should be revisited
   3. CRefuse to help
   4. DEscalate every disagreement
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   B. Teams move when decisions stick. Commitment isn't silence: new evidence is a valid reason to reopen.

   From lesson 02 · Architecture decisions and ADRs

6. Q6. Two engineers strongly prefer different designs. What is usually the most useful first step?

   1. APick the more senior engineer's design
   2. BAgree on the decision criteria and what evidence would settle it, before debating the designs again
   3. CVote
   4. DLet them build both in production
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   B. Most stuck debates are really disagreements about what matters; agreeing criteria turns opinions into something testable.

   From lesson 03 · Leading through technical disagreement

7. Q7. An engineer on your team disagrees with your design and turns out to be right. What should you do?

   1. AQuietly switch designs
   2. BSay so openly, credit them, and update the decision record
   3. CKeep your design to stay credible
   4. DAsk them to stop disagreeing
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   B. Changing your mind in public builds trust and shows the team that good arguments win, not titles.

   From lesson 03 · Leading through technical disagreement