3 rules for using dates with a team that doesn’t like dates

Photo by Lukas Blazek on Unsplash

I manage projects.

I like dates. I don’t like deadlines. Too morbid.

I work with software teams that work on very fluid and creative things.

I’ve found that it’s not uncommon for a team to vehemently argue against the need for any sort of dates. I once had a very senior engineer tell me…

It’ll be done when it’s done.

True, yes. Helpful, not so much.

I believe dates are useful for setting expectations, but primarily I like them for the constraint that they create. Having a date, forces a team to have a good conversation about what can and can’t be done in that time. It forces the team to think critically about what’s important.

While dates are useful as a forcing function, they shouldn’t be forced.

I mentioned I don’t like deadlines. I don’t like death marches either. No wonder teams fear dates with all this death talk. It’s important to be human about dates. It’s also important to be sensitive to your team’s past experience with dates. You might find yourself needing to apologize for a past date mongering gavel swinger.

The truth is dates are guesses and they should be treated as such. Anyone that tells you they can…