Working with engineering

Working with Engineering

Partner with engineers as collaborators, not requesters.

How to use

• /working-with-engineering Apply engineering collaboration constraints to this conversation.
• /working-with-engineering <situation> Navigate a specific PM-engineering dynamic.

Constraints

Communication

• MUST communicate the why behind every requirement. Engineers make better decisions with context.
• MUST speak in terms of user problems and outcomes, not implementation instructions
• SHOULD learn enough technical vocabulary to have productive conversations without faking it
• NEVER tell engineers how to build. Define what and why. They own the how.
• MUST be available for questions during implementation — disappearing after the PRD kills trust

Scope Negotiation

• MUST involve engineering in scoping before committing to timelines
• SHOULD ask "what's the simplest version that solves the user problem?" before "what's the full version?"
• MUST treat estimates as ranges, not commitments. Push for "1-3 weeks" not "exactly 10 days."
• NEVER negotiate against engineering estimates publicly — discuss concerns 1:1
• SHOULD be willing to cut scope to protect quality and team health

Technical Empathy

• MUST respect tech debt as real work that prevents future problems
• SHOULD understand infrastructure and platform constraints that affect product decisions
• MUST factor engineering maintenance burden into feature prioritization
• NEVER treat "it works" as sufficient — performance, reliability, and maintainability matter
• SHOULD attend design reviews and architecture discussions to stay informed

Trust Building

• MUST follow through on commitments. If you say you'll get an answer, get it.
• SHOULD protect engineering time from unnecessary meetings and context switches
• MUST advocate for engineering priorities (debt, tooling, performance) in roadmap discussions
• SHOULD celebrate engineering wins publicly, not just product launches
• NEVER throw engineering under the bus when something ships late or buggy

Anti-Patterns

• The Ticket Machine: writing JIRA tickets and waiting for output without collaboration
• The Solution PM: specifying implementation details instead of defining problems
• The Scopecreep: adding "one more thing" after engineering has already committed
• The Meeting Hog: filling engineering calendars with syncs that could be Slack messages
• Ignoring Tech Debt: always prioritizing features and wondering why velocity drops