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Product Development Team Standards

Six standards that define how engineering teams build great products and consistently ship value to customers.

Engineering great products requires more than technical skill—it demands disciplined execution. These six standards establish how product development teams operate to consistently deliver value.

The Foundation of Execution Excellence

I’ve seen technically brilliant teams fail to ship, and modest teams consistently deliver exceptional results. The difference is almost always execution discipline. These standards encode the practices that separate high-performing product teams from the rest.

Balancing Speed and Quality

There’s a persistent myth that you must choose between moving fast and maintaining quality. The reality is that sustainable speed requires quality. Technical debt compounds. Shortcuts create more work. Teams that commit to quality actually move faster over time.

The key is making quality decisions explicit. When you consciously choose to take on technical debt for speed, you’re making a strategic choice. When you accidentally accumulate debt through carelessness, you’re building on a crumbling foundation.

The Power of Incremental Delivery

Large projects fail more often than small ones. By delivering in increments, you reduce risk, get faster feedback, and maintain momentum. Each increment is a chance to learn and adapt.

Clear dates create accountability. Incremental delivery creates flexibility. Together, they enable teams to commit confidently and deliver consistently.


The Principles

Principle 1

Commit to Quality

Quality is not negotiable. Build systems that are reliable, maintainable, and secure. Technical debt is acceptable only when consciously chosen and actively managed.

Principle 2

Build Towards Clear Dates & Deliver in Increments

Deadlines create focus. Break large initiatives into deliverable increments. Ship early and often to get feedback and reduce risk.

Principle 3

Ruthlessly Prioritize

Not everything can be priority one. Make hard choices about what matters most. Say no to good ideas so you can say yes to great ones.

Principle 4

Face Up to the Truth & Adapt Plans in Real Time

Reality always wins. When plans meet reality, adapt quickly. Surface problems early, communicate transparently, and adjust course without ego.

Principle 5

Proactively Manage Risks

Anticipate what could go wrong before it does. Identify risks early, develop mitigation strategies, and monitor actively. Hope is not a strategy.

Principle 6

Measure Results and Connect Decisions to Data

What gets measured gets managed. Define success metrics before starting. Use data to inform decisions, validate assumptions, and demonstrate impact.


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