Constraints & Controls

How do you get a team to deliver work on time?

Constraints & Controls.

Delivering anything on time begins with setting a constraint: a deadline or a fixed amount of time allocated to the task. This is how much time you’re willing to put toward the solution.

Timelines often go off track because initial estimates are just that — estimates. While you can improve estimation accuracy with experience, it’s a deceptive path. Humans struggle to estimate accurately, especially in software development, which is full of unknowns. True clarity comes from actually doing the work. Lean into the unknowns and build for them.

Constraints force trade-offs, but teams must be equipped with controls: the levers that enable them to adjust the scope of work as they encounter unknowns.

When facing unforeseen complexities during feature development, they must be able to modify the solution and adapt the scope to manage these changes effectively. Working against a fixed scope without controls is like navigating a ship without a rudder, leaving the team helpless against the unpredictable currents of the project.

Constraints force trade-offs and decision-making.

Controls, like modifying the scope, create levers for the team.

Apply constraints and supply controls.

Deliver on time.