Ever struggled with software project deadlines? You're not alone.
Last week, I had the opportunity to speak to a group of senior executives and CEOs about our unique approach to how we work. I discussed how our company empowers individuals to manage their schedules and make remote work effective. One of the concepts we explored was what we call "Fixed Time, Flexible Scope."
Building software is inherently complex, and many companies struggle with planning and meeting deadlines. Traditionally, the question asked is, "How long will this take?" That in itself is already a problem. It's often impossible to know precisely, leading to frustration when deadlines are missed too frequently.
Asking a Different Question
We solved the issue by adopting a strategy from the Shape Up methodology. Instead of "How long will this take?" we ask, “How long are we willing to spend on this?” This simple but powerful shift in perspective eliminates much of the guesswork and sets clear expectations.
A Quick Example
Last year, we developed a feature that displays upcoming patient birthdays. If a patient’s appointment is near their birthday, the UI shows a subtle visual cue throughout the app, giving our customers the chance to wish them a happy birthday. It’s a small gesture, but it means a lot to people.
When we started writing the Pitch for this project, we discovered several technical challenges. It was hard to show this information without drastically slowing down some pages in the app. This issue can be solved, but we were unsure of how long it would take. Being aware of this, we made sure to outline the core of the feature and explicitly stated the nice-to-have elements that could be cut if it gets too tight.
For this project, we were willing to spend five days. By setting our “Appetit” to a fixed number of days (or weeks) for each project, we know when it will be completed but are flexible in terms of what exactly we will ship.
This approach allows us to adjust the scope as needed and still introduce great features for our customers, even if it means we might not include all the bells and whistles we dreamed up at the beginning.
Key Benefits
Our customers ended up with a valuable improvement to their workflow and overall experience. If we decide to perfect the feature in the future, we can always allocate time for those nice-to-haves that we couldn’t fit into our appetite this time.
With this “Fixed Time, Flexible Scope" approach, we not only manage our projects more effectively but also deliver consistent, high-quality improvements for our customers. It reduces stress, increases predictability, and—maybe most importantly—drastically improves team morale.
If you're struggling with project deadlines, consider trying this methodology. The results might surprise you.
And, if you need help with that feel free to reach out to learn more about our workflows. ✌️
