Protect Engineering Capacity

Description

When external demands threaten to overload engineering capacity, protect capacity by either requiring the demand to come with additional resources, or forcing hard prioritization choices upstream.

Typical Approach

Reject work that displaces existing priorities without growing capacity. Require partnerships to add headcount, not just fund activity. Force Product to separate critical path from nice-to-haves. Use phased estimation to protect engineers from premature commitments while still giving leadership visibility.

Trigger Conditions