Calibration
Under, just right, over.
| Situation | Under | Just Right | Over |
|---|---|---|---|
| A project is slipping | Asks for more people before looking at scope or reuse. Headcount is the first lever. | Trims what this cycle does not need and reuses what already works. Adds help only when the remaining work is more than the current team can finish, and new people can start in time. | Turns down every extra person to keep the team small. The same few people absorb the slip, they stay late, and the date still moves. |
| Choosing a vendor | Takes the first quote. Does not check what the team can do itself or whether a cheaper option covers the need. | Compares a short list against the real need, including doing the work in house. Pays more only when the cheap path will create rework or a lock-in later. | Takes the lowest bid even when the vendor cannot do the job. The team spends the following week fixing or replacing what came back. |
| Budget left at year end | Spends the remainder so next year's number does not shrink. Buys things the team does not need this quarter. | Returns what will not be used well. Spends only on things that would have been bought anyway, and writes down what next year actually needs. | Holds back spend that is already justified, to look careful. Materials or licenses arrive late, and the next month starts with a scramble. |
| Another team already built something close | Starts from scratch because the existing thing is not a perfect fit. The week goes into rebuilding what already shipped. | Adapts the existing work where it fits, and builds only the gap. Accepts a few rough edges instead of a second stack to maintain. | Forces the old thing onto a problem it cannot serve. People spend more time fighting the mismatch than a small new build would have taken. |
| Scoping this week's slice | Puts the full vision into the first cut. The week fills with extras no one needed this cycle. | Ships the smallest version that can be used and judged, and parks the rest. Puts leftover time into the one piece that would be expensive to change later. | Cuts so far that the result cannot be used or tested. The same slice has to be rebuilt the following week. |
| A teammate needs a small purchase | Buys without checking whether a shared option already exists. Duplicate kits and licenses collect on desks. | Checks what the team already has, then buys the cheapest thing that will last the job. Does not send people looking for a free workaround that will burn the afternoon. | Makes people use a broken spare or a clumsy free path. The task takes the rest of the day, and the save is gone. |
| A short contractor is on the table | Brings in outside help for work the team could finish with a small scope cut. The invoice covers hours that were never scarce. | Uses a contractor when the skill is missing and the window is real. Keeps the brief tight so the team still owns the result and does not pay for idle time. | Refuses outside help to avoid the fee. The only person who can do the work is already booked, so the launch waits. |
| An order will miss the date | Pays rush fees on every slip without checking whether the original day still matters. Expedite becomes the default. | Expedites only when a miss is real and costly. For the rest, resets the date and stays on the standard path. | Refuses every rush charge. A customer who needed that day is left waiting, and the team spends the next week on recovery. |