Re:How product teams should set deadlines
by senko on Tuesday May 03, 2022 @08:02AM
(#31247273)
Yeah, this doesn't sound like a modern approach to managing timelines.
What's described here is "take the estimate and multiply it by some factor, adding a buffer, and then commit to it" approach, which is an ancient rule of thumb.
As other commenters here pointed out, a more realistic approach is to either have a fixed deadline with flexible scope (time-based delivery) or fixed scope but flexible on when it's going to be finished (feature-based delivery).
Problem with feature-based delivery is that nothing else can depend time-wise on it. If you have a big product launch and need to prepare marketing, buy ads, or execute on some contracts, "it'll be done when it's done" is not going to fly. This is an example of a real, hard deadline, that needs to be dealt with.
The management problem I see in many organizations is managers conflating "estimates" (internally produced timelines that may or may not be achieved) with "deadlines" (externally produced constraints). These two are often handled in the same way. In a team where the managers/product owners/clients do understand and keep the difference in mind, engineers feel free to estimate without fear of putting a noose around their neck, and in turn understand that some things may be externally forced at a specific date.
What's described here is "take the estimate and multiply it by some factor, adding a buffer, and then commit to it" approach, which is an ancient rule of thumb.
As other commenters here pointed out, a more realistic approach is to either have a fixed deadline with flexible scope (time-based delivery) or fixed scope but flexible on when it's going to be finished (feature-based delivery).
Problem with feature-based delivery is that nothing else can depend time-wise on it. If you have a big product launch and need to prepare marketing, buy ads, or execute on some contracts, "it'll be done when it's done" is not going to fly. This is an example of a real, hard deadline, that needs to be dealt with.
The management problem I see in many organizations is managers conflating "estimates" (internally produced timelines that may or may not be achieved) with "deadlines" (externally produced constraints). These two are often handled in the same way. In a team where the managers/product owners/clients do understand and keep the difference in mind, engineers feel free to estimate without fear of putting a noose around their neck, and in turn understand that some things may be externally forced at a specific date.