42: Building People-Centric Apps with Maria

Meta Tech Podcast

The approach we take to building the Facebook app is based around three adjectives: trustworthy, people-centric and unified. In this episode, Pascal talks with Maria who is a director of engineering for product architecture and product excellence. They discuss what it means for a culture that is known for being driven by metrics to become more people-centric. What are examples of metrics that are aligned with people goals and when do they fail to capture them? Tune in to hear the answers to these questions and much more.

Got feedback? Send it to us on Twitter (https://twitter.com/metatechpod), Instagram (https://instagram.com/metatechpod) and don’t forget to follow our host @passy (https://twitter.com/passy). Fancy working with us? Check out https://www.metacareers.com/.

Links:

• Rachel Nabors on The Diff: https://thediffpodcast.com/docs/episode-12
• Meet the Developers: Mobile Edition (Pritesh Nandgaonkar): https://developers.facebook.com/blog/post/2022/05/23/meet-the-developers-pritesh-nandgaonkar/
• Meta Open Source on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/FacebookOpenSource
• Meta Tech Podcast Episode 29: Design Systems with Sriram: https://pca.st/u8r4u6h6
• Meta Tech Podcast Episode 9: Android Bytecode Optimisation with Emma https://pca.st/J3cn

Timestamps:

• Intro 0:06
• The Diff: Episode 12 1:23
• Meet The Developer: Prish 1:38
• Meta Open Source on YouTube 2:01
• Intro 2:26
• Intro Maria 2:36
• Craft in FB App 5:15
• Metrics vs People? 6:40
• Unquantifiable Quality Goals 10:14
• Dropping Facial Recognition 11:38
• Dynamic Goals in a Dynamic World 13:21
• Driving Cultural Change 15:49
• Average vs Power Users 18:53
• Metrics for Quality 22:33
• Dev Tools' Role for Quality 29:12
• Supporting People at Meta 33:38
• Most Exciting Upcoming Change 39:25
• Outro 40:43
• Bloopers 42:00