Working With Constraints

We all work under constraints like time or budget, even when working incrementally. You do not solve that problem with a plan, however, particularly an inflexible one. (You do need a product strategy, but that’s a higher-level thing. Plans are tactical, not strategic.) So, how do you handle constraints?

First, budget the annual cost of the team (salary * load). You pay for the team even if they sit around and play canasta all day, so budget for that reality. Now assign the team to the product (not projects) that provides the most customer and business value. This is a basic Lean concept: bring resources and people to the constraint—the place with the most demand. That’s a moving target, so discover what to do through feedback from small incremental releases, and adapt continuously as needed.

There is _always_ more work than budget (or time), no matter how you work. Solve that by continuously assessing what to do through the lens of user/customer (and therefore, business) value. Always do the most valuable thing next. When the budget or time runs out, you will have built the best thing you could have built within the constraints at hand. When time and money are fixed, scope must vary. Fixing all three is a death march.