This is the March 2025 Pragmatic Manager Newsletter, from Johanna Rothman. The Unsubscribe link is at the bottom of this email.
Susan, a product leader, has a big problem. One of the senior managers, Tim, often wants to know the cost (or time) required for a new feature or a new product. So he asks her to ask the team to stop doing what they're doing now and estimate the proposed work.
But that estimation work means the team has to interrupt their current work to do that estimation. That slows their current work and creates more WIP. (See Flow Metrics and Why They Matter for Teams and Managers.) But if she doesn't ask the team, Tim often does an end-run around Susan and asks people on the team personally.
Susan feels as if she is in a no-win position. But she has options to say no.
However, her no is a little different from the way line managers can say no. (See Leadership Tip #3: Use No As a Complete Sentence for ways managers might say no.)
Instead, Susan can say no by changing the conversation. Instead of getting the answers to questions about cost, she can ask these questions about value:
- “How much of the team's time do you want the team to invest in getting this estimate?” (That helps Tim realize there are varying levels of estimation.)
- “When do you want the team to start that work?” (Just because the team estimates the work does not mean the team should start the work.)
- “How much do you want to invest in the team's starting this work?” (Once the team does start that new work, how much does Tim want the team to invest in this new work?)
Each of these questions works a little differently when she asks them.
Ask About the Value of the Current Investment
The first question is:
How much of the team's time do you want the team to invest in getting this answer?
This question helps Tim realize:
- The team is busy with their current work. That work has value to the organization. Let's call that Value A.
- If the team changes their other work to answer this question, the team stops working on that other value to start working on this value. Let's call that Value B.
- Is that change in focus, Value B, worth more to the organization than Value A?
To be honest, that's a way of using Cost of Delay to rank the work. (See Rank the Work with Cost of Delay.) However, instead of discussing Cost of Delay, Susan can help Tim realize that just a “quick” assessment of future work has a cost. Only Tim can decide if the value of the current work outweighs the value of the new work.
Sometimes, it is worth the quick assessment of future work. Especially if the team limits its time, such as using a workshop such as in the post Alternatives for Agile and Lean Roadmapping: Part 1, Think in Feature Sets.
However, that question only works when the team might have to interrupt itself. But let's assume the team does take time from their current work to do a gross estimate. They have an answer. Now, Susan can ask Tim to decide if and when the team should start that new work.
Ask When the Team Should Start the New Work
An estimate does not mean the team should start the work. That's why this second question helps Tim clarify his request:
“When do you want the team to start that work?”
If the team should not start the work yet, Susan's role in saying no is done. But sometimes, Tim says, “Now!”
In that case, Susan checks with the same value questions as above: Value A is the current work, and Value B is the new work. Not only can she check with Tim, she can also ask all the other managers in her management chain. As long as Value B is larger than Value A, Susan can ask the team to change what they're doing.
But because Susan asks about value, she can prevent Tim from asking one team to do two products at a time. That helps everyone finish a limited amount of WIP.
What about when the team is supposed to estimate “all” the work before they start? That's where the second question about the near-future investment can help.
Ask About Limiting Investment in the New Work
The third question is:
“How much do you want to invest in the team's starting this work?”
As long as no one multitasks, Susan (or Tim) can know the team's run rate. (That's the weekly salary rate for the team). That means that if Tim only wants to see a couple of weeks of work, Susan can manage that request.
Tim might want to see the results of a research spike before committing to a new product. That's a great way of doing an experiment and choosing which products to invest in. (I've seen some teams do research spikes of anywhere from two to ten weeks before committing to a new product.)
While very few product leaders can manage the uncertainty of stopping current work and starting new work, asking about value helps senior leaders think through the decision more carefully.
Value, Not Cost, Changes the Conversation
It's too easy for people to disagree about the cost of some work. I still hear managers say, “Well, if we don't test, can we have it faster?” (Too often, insufficient testing makes everything take much longer.)
However, when I discuss value with these same managers, they often have a much clearer idea of short-term and long-term value. That allows anyone in a position of team leadership to have a reasonable conversation about the work to do and not do. Value helps people say yes to the valuable work and no to the less valuable work.
Read More:
This newsletter touches on topics in these books:
- The Modern Management Made Easy books
- Project Lifecycles: How to Reduce Risks, Release Successful Products, and Increase Agility
- Predicting the Unpredictable: Pragmatic Approaches to Estimating Cost or Schedule
- Manage Your Project Portfolio: Increase Your Capacity and Finish More Projects
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© 2025 Johanna Rothman
Pragmatic Manager: Vol 22, #3, ISSN: 2164-1196