This pattern is exhibited by engineers whose work is, in a word, consistent.

They have a knack for getting in the zone and shipping high-quality work week in and week out.

Their work is reliable and predictable in nearly every way.

Professional software development is an endurance sport.

To create lasting enterprise value, you must show up every day and produce quality work.

Real value creation can take years.

It’s tempting to think of this as a person and not a pattern.

However it’s useful to depersonalize this engineer’s work as a pattern.

HOW TO RECOGNIZE IT

An engineer in the zone organizes their day to eliminate distraction and focus on delivering business value.

Their Active Days are consistently above average.

Their Impact is high and consistent.

Their PRs are timely, evenly paced, and nicely sized.

They consistently participate in reviews, so their Involvement is high and consistent.

Their churn is usually lower than average.

WHAT TO DO

Acknowledge this pattern either publicly, privately, or both.

“six weeks of committing code every day is something to admire”.

Small changes in scheduling and reduction of interruptions can amount to significant increase in capacity.