When Specs Are Unclear, Wake Up the Experts

12 Apr 2025 #misc

“Do anything to wake up the experts.”

That was a phrase we repeated at a past job. We were building a gateway-like software to connect small companies to the Government’s tax office.

It took us a couple of years to build a minimum viable product. We were behind the Government’s changing requirements and our own clients’ expectations.

We were late almost all the time. Often we knew we needed to finish something, but we weren’t sure what or how. Apart from emails or conversations with clients, we didn’t have clear requirements or specs.

In those moments, we woke up the experts.

To show some progress, we built on a quick prototype or a half-baked idea. Then, after looking at that half-baked idea, a stakeholder, project manager, or product owner, would speak up, saying that what we had wasn’t what was needed. Then, we started to work on a real solution.

When looking at a bad answer or a half-baked idea, it turned out everyone was an expert.

The fastest way to get a good answer is by giving a bad answer, by waking up the experts.

For more workplace lessons, check the leadersship lessons I learned from this project and the lesson from the most expensive hambugers I’ve tried