As a new software engineering leader, how quickly should you begin updating processes? Those of you have successfully made changes to your org’s way of working, how long did you wait before you made major changes?

I’d recommend thinking of the two concepts separately; the wait time for (1) making changes and (2) major ones. After taking the time to sufficiently understand the existing processes, I think it’s useful to start with incremental changes, specifically ones that address challenges raised by the team during preliminary assessments. This will help with engagement and will be respectful of the current environment that has organically developed over the years. By rolling out incremental changes first, it will help inform the change readiness of the team so that any major changes can be planned with that consideration. It is also highly recommended that there is adequate time invested in defining metrics and collecting a baseline before implementing changes so that efficacy can be measured and adjustments made accordingly.

Wow...  That's a loaded question.  I agree with Guilherme.  But, the right time to begin understanding opportunities & challenges from your business stakeholders & employees is immediate.  That means the time to begin creating those relationships is immediate.  It's essential for their engagement.  Those conversations will equip you to set appropriate expectations, and increase probability of success.  You didn't ask this question...  But, a great way to engage the business is to understand their pain points.  Figure out what can be quickly & easily resolved...  Make the pain go away.  Give all the credit to your team.  Business leaders will be more likely to take your calls.  And, your team will be more energetic and transparent with you.  Congratulations and good luck in your new role!

There is no “right time” to make process adjustments. I understand that processes exist to achieve specific results, so I believe it’s more important to have clarity on the key performance indicators (KPIs) than to control how often processes are changed.

It’s not advisable to constantly change processes, as they won’t have enough time to mature, and monitoring results will become problematic.

In summary, adjust processes whenever the performance indicators show something is wrong, or there is an opportunity to improve results compared to the current metrics. Be careful not to change processes too frequently, as this can create noise when tracking results. What matters most are the KPIs, not the processes themselves.