Remember the mantra “move fast and break things”? For a long time, it was the North Star for product teams. But in a market that demands efficiency and real ROI, I’m seeing a dangerous addiction to a byproduct of that culture: velocity as a vanity metric.
We’re all pressured to show progress. Stakeholders want to see new features, sales teams want new talking points, and an active CI/CD pipeline feels like a win. This often creates a “feature factory” where the team is optimized for shipping outputs, not delivering outcomes. We get so focused on the cadence of releases that we forget to ask if we’re actually solving the right problems or creating measurable value for customers and the business.
This isn’t just about bad process; it’s a strategic pitfall. It leads to bloated products, burnt-out teams chasing short-term wins, and a disconnect from the real mission. True agility isn’t just about speed; it’s about the ability to learn and pivot effectively. That requires slowing down to do the hard work of discovery and validation.
How do you navigate the organizational pressure for constant delivery while ensuring your team remains focused on meaningful outcomes, not just shipping more features?