What Happens When You Can't Say No?

I remember my first days as Engineering Manager of a scaling engineering team.  We were in the room with leadership.  My screen lit up with IMs: “Watch what happens next.  They’ll suggest three new features, and we won’t be able to say no.”  And that’s exactly what happened.  We said yes to some big asks because we wanted to please.

In future meetings, I’d hear about the impact those “yes”es would have.  The team wouldn’t be able to meet release schedules, and that the one planned release would turn into two (or three) to fix bugs the customer found.

So, I helped us bring more structure to the process, so that the team’s strengths could shine.

⚙️I introduced Adaptive Change Control to help us assess the cost of the changes we were making.  It allowed us to give an educated response to leadership.  When they asked for a feature, we were able to scope out the true cost and let them know the impact to what was already in flight.

🏁I also started Designing Predictable Releases by putting into our plans the feature and quality-related criteria we needed to hit for a release.  We started reviewing these at the mid-point and more frequently before launch, so there were no last-minute or post-release surprises.

While the shift took time to perfect, the talented team adopted these changes with urgency and care.  Over time, we started noticing the difference.  Our predictability improved, and so did our sense of control over our work. We set ourselves on a path for future success.

If this sounds familiar, you’re not alone.  Adaptive Change Control and Designing Predictable Releases were game-changers for our team, and they may be for your scaling engineering team too.  If you’re interested in learning more:

-          Download our FREE toolkit at https://www.pragmatictechexecution.com/starterpack.

-          Contact me via https://www.pragmatictechexecution.com/contact.

-          Or, if you want hands-on assistance, sign up for an Advisory Sprint or Workshop.

We Say "Yes If"