Process Management Recap

Think of this as your complete toolkit for getting your tech team organized. Over the past few weeks, we’ve covered the essential building blocks of managing engineering work. Now let’s put it all together in one simple guide you can actually use.

The Big Picture: Why Process Matters

Remember that story about the startup that spent two years and got nothing usable? Or the company that burned through $140,000 because they couldn’t track what their team was actually doing?

These disasters happen because there’s no clear system for organizing work. Without process, you’re basically throwing money at a problem and hoping something good happens.

The Foundation: Understanding Agile

Agile development isn’t some complicated tech thing - it’s just a smart way to build products in small chunks instead of trying to do everything at once.

Think of it like planning a road trip. Instead of mapping out every single stop for 2,000 miles, you plan the next few hundred miles, then adjust based on what you discover. That’s exactly how Agile helps teams build software.

Key Players:

• Product Owner: Decides what to build

• Project Manager: Keeps everything running smoothly

• Development Team: Actually builds your product

Step 1: Define What “Done” Actually Means

This is where most teams mess up. Everyone thinks they know what “finished” means, but they’re all thinking different things.

Your Definition of Done should cover:

Technical Stuff:

• Code is written and reviewed

• Automated tests pass

• Security requirements are met

Quality Checks:

• Test cases written and passed

• No critical bugs

• Acceptance criteria satisfied

Business Ready:

• Feature actually solves the problem

• Users can use it without help

• It’s deployed and working

Step 2: Set Up Two-Week Sprints

Two-week sprints are your secret weapon for measuring real progress. Not one week (too short), not four weeks (too long), exactly two weeks.

Why this works:

• Your team commits to specific work for just two weeks

• At the end, you see exactly what got done

• If something’s wrong, you catch it early when it’s cheap to fix

• No more “we’re 70% done” lies

The Golden Rule: Never extend a sprint. If your team doesn’t finish everything, that’s valuable data about how much work they can actually handle.

Step 3: Stop Asking for Percentages

Asking “what percentage are you done?” is like asking someone to guess how many jellybeans are in a jar. They might be close, but they’re probably wrong.

The infamous “70% done” answer happens because:

• Engineers see the main problem they need to solve

• They don’t know about all the edge cases and complications yet

• Without a Product Owner mapping out requirements, nobody knows what “100%” actually includes

Instead of percentages, track:

• How many small tasks are completed

• What specific features work

• Whether your Definition of Done criteria are met

Step 4: Build a Sensible Backlog

Your backlog is basically your product’s organized to-do list. Without it, your team is like that kitchen covered in random sticky notes.

Good backlog rules:

• Put the most important stuff first

• Write clear user stories (not vague descriptions)

• Include acceptance criteria so everyone knows what “done” looks like

• Focus on your core problem - if a feature doesn’t solve it, why build it?

Tools like Trello or Jira can help organize everything, but a simple spreadsheet works fine when you’re starting out.

Step 5: Use Story Points (Not Hours)

Story points are like t-shirt sizes for work - Small, Medium, Large, Extra Large. Your team estimates how hard something is, not how long it takes.

Why this works better than hours:

• Humans are terrible at estimating time but good at comparing difficulty

• Story points include space for unexpected problems

• Your team gets better at estimating over time

• You can predict timelines based on your team’s velocity

Critical point: Your whole team should estimate together, not just one person. Different people catch different problems and shortcuts.

Step 6: Find Your Process Sweet Spot

Not every team needs the same amount of process. It depends on trust.

High-trust teams need:

• Simple backlog management

• Brief daily check-ins

• Basic sprint goals

Teams rebuilding trust need:

• Detailed Definition of Done

• Regular demo sessions

• Granular task tracking

• More frequent check-ins

Start light and add more process only if your team proves they need it.

Step 7: Enforce Accountability

Here’s the truth: good engineers welcome accountability. They’re happy to show their work and explain progress. Problem engineers fight against any tracking or measurement.

Red flags your team needs more process:

• Engineers say they’re “almost done” for months

• You can’t get straight answers about timelines

• Your team resists basic planning or tracking

• Work takes way longer than expected

Remember: process isn’t about micromanaging. It’s about clear communication and setting everyone up for success.

Your Action Plan

Start this week with these simple steps:

1. Define “done” for your most important feature using our simple criteria above

2. Set up a basic backlog with your top priorities

3. Try a two-week sprint where your team commits to specific tasks

4. Stop asking for percentages and start counting completed tasks

5. Watch how your team responds to basic structure - this tells you if you need more or less process

The Bottom Line

Process isn’t bureaucracy - it’s protection. It protects your time, money, and sanity. The companies that get this right spend their engineering budget on new features instead of fixing broken ones.

Good process means you always know where you stand. You can give investors realistic timelines. You can make smart decisions about priorities. Most importantly, you can spot problems before they become disasters.

Start simple, measure results, and adjust based on what you learn. Your future self will thank you.

Coming Next Week: Why That Super Cheap Proposal Will Cost You Double - Red flags in tech estimates that spell trouble.