🏎️ The engineer’s illusion of speed: How skipping your software development process actually slows you down

Skipping well-designed software development processes might feel like a shortcut, but it’s the ultimate productivity trap. Good processes are the key to achieving consistent, reliable results.

Why skip something designed to make you efficient?

We all dislike bureaucratic, slow, or pointless processes.

But here’s the truth: a good process isn’t extra work. It’s the optimized way to get consistent, reliable results.

Skipping processes feels faster in the moment, but it’s a contradiction.

You say “no” to an optimized way to obtain reliable results in the delusional hope that you know better than the dozens of engineers who shaped this process before you.

The outcome of chasing this illusion of speed? Wasted effort.

⭐ In this article you’ll learn

• Why skipping processes creates inefficiencies and wasted effort.

• How good processes ensure consistency and prevent chaos.

• Practical strategies to embed effective processes in your team.

Paid subscibers get access to full history of articles, one exclusive article per month, and all the templates shared through 50+ articles

🚨 The cost of skipping processes

Let me share some personal examples where skipping processes backfired:

Skipping the interview process:

During a debrief, I discovered that another interviewer had used the same coding question I did, on a different day. The candidate struggled with it the first time, revealing weaknesses, but solved it perfectly the second time.

This invalidated the second interview’s results, wasting everyone’s time and losing for the candidate one of the chances to prove their worth in the interview.

Skipping the operational readiness checklist:

Our team uses a checklist to address operational concerns before launches. Skipping it might seem like it saves time—but it doesn’t.

It’s like writing without an outline: you start with a blank page and miss key points. In our case, we skipped the checklist and overlooked the need for load tests after making major infrastructure changes. Two days before launch, we had to rush unplanned tests, dropping other work in the process.

Skipping the sprint planning:

I bet your team has some time skipped sprint plannings when you have been on a rush. While skipping it might seem faster, it creates bigger problems.

Without a plan, team members pull tasks from the backlog. This looks fine until someone realizes a critical task is unassigned. Redirecting engineers mid-sprint forces them to drop half-done work, wasting effort. Sprint planning ensures focus on priorities, avoiding context switching.

✅ Why good processes drive success

Good processes aren’t obstacles, they’re enablers.

Here’s what makes a process effective, taking as example the readiness checklist:

• ✨ Clear scope: Everyone knows when and where the process applies.

  • You fill a readiness checklist before releasing your software.

• 🪜 Clear objectives and steps: Everyone knows what’s expected and how to proceed.

  • You have to answer all the questions from a template

• ❓ Cover the second question: Processes anticipate common pitfalls and build solutions upfront.

  • If any of the concerns applies to your software, you have guidance about how to solve it

• 👀 Identify blind spots: Processes bring attention to areas you might overlook if you only had a blank page in front of you.

  • The checklist highlights infrastructure concerns that could go unnoticed during routine planning.

• ⚡ Streamline decision-making: Processes reduce decision fatigue by making you work following a framework.

  • The checklist eliminates the guesswork about which operational risks to address first as they are prioritized.

• 🔄 Continuous improvement: A process, when executed repeatedly over time, gets optimized with feedback

  • If any project identifies something not covered by the checklist, you can update it, making it more optimized for the next project

🤝 Adopting processes in your team

Some people think: “Why would you write a document when you can be writing code? Wouldn’t I be more valuable if I spend all my time writing code?”

Embracing efficient mechanisms goes with the team’s culture. It takes intention and effort.

Here’s what works:

• Explain the "why" through real world scenarios: Show them how following a process is the shortest path toward achieving the result.

• Measure with data: Don’t talk about abstract scenarios. Track and share metrics like time saved or issues avoided to demonstrate the value.

• Refine together: Engage your team in improving processes to ensure they’re relevant and efficient. Don’t make it imposed upon them, but created by them

One method I’ve found effective is a retrospective focused on friction points. What isn’t working? What tweaks could make processes smoother? This collaborative approach not only improves workflows but also gets buy-in from the team.

🎯 Conclusion

Skipping processes isn’t faster—it’s a trap. A good process is the optimized path to consistent success, not a burden.

So, let’s flip the narrative.

• An efficient process is a straight line toward your results, and you know upfront how much it takes, others have done that path.

• Skipping the process is thinking another route could be faster, taking a detour only to find you had to go back.

Treat processes as tools for achieving your goals more efficiently.

If a process seems like bureaucracy, optimize it.

Paid subscibers get access to full history of articles, one exclusive article per month, and all the templates shared through 50+ articles

🗞️ Other articles people like

🛡️ My strategy against distractions as a software engineer working in an open-floor office

🛑 Don’t Start Coding Yet: Here’s What Great Engineers Do First

✍️ From Tech Docs to Blog Posts: How Writing Can Transform Your Career

How the best software engineers write technical designs (the blueprint for consistent results)

👏 Weekly applause

1. How to learn API? by

   Tech World With Milan Newsletter
   . API design involves many concepts, best practices, security measures, and tools that Milan covered in this article

2. The slow death of the hands-on engineering manager by

   Leading Developers
   Whether you are an engineering manager or a Senior/Staff/Principal engineer who feels detached from code, this article provides good suggestions to do some coding without getting in the way of your team

3. The 'Competing Priorities' Trap: Why Important Work Never Gets Done by

   A Life Engineered
   . Most of the procrastination, at life and work, comes from trying to avoid discomfort. Auditing your calendar is a great way to stop this pattern

4. Should You Stay In Your Current Job or Move For A Promotion? by

   The Software Engineering Times. A good overview of the pros/cons of internal promotion or upleveling via job-hopping