Navigating deadlines is a challenge for every engineering manager.
In my experience, the majority of deadlines set by businesses don’t actually matter. Particularly in the world of continuous delivery, strict deadlines can be difficult to justify because the costs of releasing software are cheaper than ever, and anything that needs to go out today can just as easily go out tomorrow. So, what’s the big deal?
Although in spirit I’m a ‘no deadlines’ person, I’ll admit that there can be a lot of value in them – if they’re set at the right time, for the right reasons. In this article, I’m sharing my playbook on the topic, explaining why strict timelines are often unnecessary, while also highlighting the benefits of setting the right deadlines, to help you build happier and more creative engineering teams.
