Hey everyone,
I’ve been noticing a recurring theme in conversations lately, both online and with my own network. We’ve all spent years shifting our teams from outputs to outcomes, focusing on moving metrics rather than just shipping features. But the current economic climate seems to be testing that resolve.
Stakeholders are getting nervous. They want more predictability, more detailed 12-month roadmaps, and clearer commitments on what will be delivered and when. The pressure is on to fill backlogs and look busy, making sure every engineering cycle is visibly accounted for. Suddenly, the language of ‘discovery,’ ‘iteration,’ and ‘learning’ is being replaced with demands for a feature pipeline.
It feels like we’re being dragged back into the feature factory model, even if we’re still using outcome-oriented language. We risk building beautifully executed roadmaps of solutions that don’t actually solve the right problems, just to satisfy a craving for certainty. We become busy, but not impactful.
This brings up a critical challenge for us as product leaders: How do we balance the legitimate need for business predictability with the non-negotiable need to stay focused on delivering real customer value and outcomes?