How do you prevent rogue engineers from slipping in features that are good but not prioritized?

This usually signals a trust or communication gap rather than a purely logistical issue. Engineering teams sometimes struggle to be heard and may feel that maintenance work or platform upgrades are frequently deprioritized in favor of flashier, user-facing features. The mistake is assuming one can exist without the other; long-term product success depends on both. If we’re talking about user-facing features (rather than unplanned technical work or tech debt), this may point to a lack of buy-in o ...Read More

This question made me smile. “Rogue engineers” is quite a term :) . First, I believe anyone, regardless of craft, should feel empowered to suggest ideas, challenge assumptions, and influence the roadmap. A healthy team culture thrives on curiosity and initiative. But if someone ships something outside agreed priorities without team alignment, it usually signals a deeper issue with how the team is operating. The best prevention is trust, transparency, and shared context. As PMs, we must constantl ...Read More

The first question I would ask is whether PM and engineering have aligned upfront on a mutually agreed-upon definition of the problem to be solved and the definition of success. In my experience, engineers don’t just slip in features for no reason, but there might be other failure modes upstream of that decision. It’s important to understand the ‘why’ and adjust processes and behaviors accordingly. Here are some typical examples of friction points I’ve seen in the past and how to potentially add ...Read More

There is no such thing as "rogue engineer" everyone comes to job to best of their abilities however I understand the nuanced question. here is my take Bunch of tools that helps keep all ducks in a row. Clarity: About goals and non-goals in given specific period Strategy fit v/s tangential : if not fitting goals in specific criteria but requires some exploration. if it doesn't drop, "good" feature should align with your strategy else its NOT good. % Allocation for innovation : Lets say 80% for ru ...Read More

Product managers should partner closely with engineers on building a product roadmap so that everyone is bought into the roadmap and avoids the need for slipping in rogue features. I would say this sounds like a lack of trust between product and engineering. Here are a few suggestions of how to rebuild trust: Collaborate early and often on a roadmap with engineers and UX to make sure the entire team is bought into the plan. Encourage suggestions from engineers so that they have a voice. Establis ...Read More

To answer this question, I’m going to put my PM hat on. Why is the engineer “rogue”? What is driving them to want to “slip in this feature”?  First, I’d talk to them, understand their frustrations, and where they’re coming from. From that conversation, I would expect to learn a bunch of stuff I probably didn’t realize about how frustrating it is to build in our codebase. The engineers and designers on your team are a key persona you must also serve as a PM. If you can make their lives better, ea ...Read More

This is a classic conundrum. The good news is it’s a lot less costly when it happens in today’s agile world than it was when I started my PM career in the days of 18 month waterfall development cycles. First, apply your PM skills and dig in and explore the problem and its root causes. Is this an isolated issue specific to a single engineer, or more of a systemic cultural issue? If it’s the former, the fix is a bit easier. Make sure you have a rock solid relationship with your engineering manager ...Read More

I try to prevent it from becoming a problem in the first place. Most of the time, when engineers build something unplanned, it’s because they see a real opportunity to improve the product. That’s usually a sign of ownership, not ill intent. Here’s how I handle it: Set clear goals and priorities upfront. We align on what we’re focusing on and why. If something isn’t on the list, we’re explicit about the tradeoffs. Share the "why" behind the roadmap. When engineers understand the bigger picture — ...Read More

That is an intriguing scenario. While it's generally rare in well-governed teams—as a connected PM, you should be deeply integrated with both your team and customers the core principle is managing technical autonomy without sacrificing product strategy and customer impact, a balance critical at scale. Bug fixes have more leniency but any significant feature addition must adhere to the standard review process to maintain product integrity and resource prioritization. If the team has no PM and is ...Read More