31 Example Self-Appraisal Comments for Software Engineers — ManageBetter: The #1 Performance Review Generator

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Have you been asked (or told) to do a self-appraisal at work? 

This can be a challenging task, and many people in more technical roles struggle to come up with ways to describe themselves accurately. 

Self-appraisals are a key component in displaying real contributions to your organization as a software engineer. So don’t get caught without solid statements to evaluate and back up your accomplishments.

Remember, self-appraisals aren’t all about capturing your best qualities. Your manager likely wants to see how self aware you are when it comes to weaknesses or areas for improvement. 

Below are 31 specific phrases software engineers can use in self-appraisals, divided into five relevant skills and categories.

Coding / Code Review

1. Writes clean code

2. Iterates on code, based on feedback.

3. Can defend technical decisions in code review feedback.

4. Mentors others on the code base, processes, and other best practices.

5. Takes initiative to reduce complexity.

6. Code is difficult to read or follow.

7. Disregards the team’s technical processes.

Design

1. Designs for scale and reliability with the future in mind. Can do critical R&D.

2. Can lay out a path across many versions, given long term strategic goals.

3. Independently scopes and implements solutions for their project/team.

4. Systematically thinks through potential design impacts on other teams and the company.

5. Constantly veers into irrelevant design issues.

6. Assumes it’s someone else’s job to design a system.

Engineering Management

1. Takes responsibility for their team and product.

2. Balances strategic and tactical goals.

3. Works well with their team, other engineering teams, and the company at large.

4. Knows the entire product, how customers use it, what they want, and where it should go.

5. Inefficiently prioritizes tasks and projects.

6. Does not participate in or support initiatives outside main area of responsibility.

Estimation

1. Provides reasonable timeline estimates.

2. Never surprises the team with delayed features.

3. Keeps team updated with changes to timeline.

4. Strong awareness of the state of the product and team at all times.

5. Overpromises on deadlines, leading to unnecessary overtime and burnout.

6. Consistently underestimates timelines.

Technical knowledge

1. Has a deep understanding of full-stack encompassing their domain. 

2. Can navigate and make legacy code maintainable.

3. Maintains awareness of industry trends and tools.

4. Go-to expert in an area, with an increasingly strategic mindset.

5. Doesn’t follow new technologies or industry trends.

6. Spends too much time chasing new technology fads.

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