Stories · Management
Ship on time or delay
You're the product manager for a shopping app. The new release includes a pay-in-installments feature and is due in two weeks; the same day, your biggest client, a retail chain, starts a joint promotion under contract. Testing is wrapping up and you have to decide whether to ship on time. You go to see Frank, the QA lead.
Who you're talking to
Frank, qA lead.
(looks up from his screen, rubbing his eyes) Looking for me? It's about the launch, right?
Questions to start with
- “What known bugs are still open?”
- “Do you think we should ship on time?”
- “Is this riskier than the last big release?”
Frank won't volunteer everything. Some of what matters only comes out if you ask the right follow-up questions.
Questioning habits this story trains
- Ask about the downside they skipped. For example: “What's the worst that could happen?”
- Ask where the evidence comes from. For example: “How many cases like that? Who says so?”
- Pin down vague words. For example: “How soon is "soon"? How much is "mostly"?”
- Don't let pressure or friendship push you. For example: “What happens if I answer in two days?”
The decision
When you've heard enough, you give Frank your answer face to face. The choices include:
- Ship everything on time, installments included
- Ship on time with installments switched off, turn it on once fixed
- Delay the whole release two weeks
- Ship on time with installments for only 5% of users
Then you read what happened a year later, see how sound your decision was, and get notes on the key moments of your conversation with a better way to say each.
Rehearse this conversation for free. New accounts get 2 free rounds. One round takes under 10 minutes.
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