Explosive mixture - the art of showing options

Chemistry is very practical subject teaching us about actions, reactions and energy freed or absorbed. Couple of years back, I was really involved in chemistry and up till now I still really love it. I'll never forget my first experiments with so called 'fairly safe reagents', when I almost lost my teeth. I learned that there are combinations of components that may cause massive exergonic reactions.

How we can get an explosive mixture? It's simple, you only need an oversized backlog, tight deadlines, low morale and business constantly asking questions, where we are. All these things you can experience at work. The problem starts to appear when you are exposed to these factors at the same time. The critical mass is reached very quickly and business guys start asking detonating question: could you resign from all your current estimates and reevaluate all your tasks until first deadline, please. Of course, all of us have to conform, estimate effort, which is left and respond saying we can't make it. Then, business is trying to digest indigestible answer and they come up with new, marvelous idea: could you possibly reestimate and double-check your efforts once again, but this time considering sticking to first deadline and all stories in backlog. Again, you are at least trying to clarify that it's not feasible to do all planned work. As you probably can see the avalanche is round the corner. Business is now not asking, they require the work to be done, of course saying same time - no pressure. This is an exergonic reaction, which might have been stopped much earlier!

The trick is to know that scheme and stop it right after first question from business side. Instead of saying we can't make it and being on your way to reach critical mass for exergonic reaction, try saying we can provide you options. Basically that's the only thing you can do.

Let's consider an example, where business is asking you to create a communicator featured with chat, audio and video conferences. Let's further assume that whole project is endangered, as it's highly probable that it won't be delivered on time. In that case the only thing you can do is to provide some options, e.g. you may say can provide a communicator having:

• no GUI
• only chat
• option of picking up the phone (establishing connection) without hearing each other :)
• only chat and communication in half-duplex mode
• only half-duplex
• only full-duplex
• only video without audio
• no multi conferences, etc.

As you can see there are plenty of options and you don't have to say: "we can't make it". It's hundred times more digestible for business, than saying "it's not gonna be possible". It'a a win-win situation for both sides. You would do your best and business would be happy that there is at least opportunity to call and establish connection without hearing each other. Something is always better than nothing. Even, if that something is almost nothing.