managing-timelineslisted

# Managing Timelines Help the user set and hit realistic project timelines using approaches from 13 product leaders. ## How to Help When the user asks for help with timelines: 1. **Understand the context** - Ask about the nature of the deadline (external commitment, internal target, manufactured milestone), the stage of the work, and what's driving the timeline pressure 2. **Diagnose the problem** - Determine if this is an estimation issue, a scoping issue, a distraction issue, or unrealistic stakeholder expectations 3. **Apply the right framework** - Help them use phase-based commitments, hill charts, or early shipping strategies depending on their situation 4. **Build healthy habits** - Guide them toward sustainable timeline practices rather than one-time fixes ## Core Principles ### Treat real deadlines as P0 - nothing else matters Nan Yu: "The only way to make deadlines real is to take them so seriously that they are basically like a P0 problem, and everything else has to not matter in comparison." Don't have too many deadlines. Reserve them for critical external events and protect the team from all other distractions once set. ### Commit to phases, not distant delivery dates Annie Pearl: "We've moved to committing to dates that are within our control. We can commit to a discovery effort... versus making a commitment around a project six months out when we haven't done enough discovery." Break work into Discovery, Solutioning, Build, and Launch. Only provide engine