Calibration
Under, just right, over.
| Situation | Under | Just Right | Over |
|---|---|---|---|
| An idea from another team | Waves it off because it did not start here. The team keeps building its own copy of something that already works next door. | Gives the idea a real look even when the source is unexpected. Takes what fits this problem and invents only the part that is still missing. | Copies the other team's whole approach without checking the fit. People spend the week bending a solution that was built for a different job. |
| Extra steps on a request form | Leaves every field and approval in place. Requesters keep filling out details nobody reads. | Sits with a few recent requests and removes the fields that never change a decision. Keeps the two or three questions that still catch a real miss. | Cuts the form to almost nothing. Reviewers have to chase people for context, and the queue slows down for everyone. |
| A prototype in review | Pulls the prototype when the room looks confused. The week goes back to the familiar design so no one has to sit with something new. | Walks through what the prototype is trying to make simpler and names what is still unproven. Leaves it in play long enough to get one concrete reaction from the people who would use it. | Treats every objection as proof the room just does not get it. Review time runs out, and the people who have to live with the change stop offering useful pushback. |
| A rough idea in standup | Cuts it off because it is not ready. People learn to bring only finished thoughts, and the half formed ones never show up. | Gives the idea a few minutes and asks what pain it would remove. Either parks it with a next step or says why this week is the wrong time. | Turns every spark into a thread or a spike. Standup runs long, and the work that was already on the board loses the morning. |
| Scope on a ticket this week | Implements the request exactly as written. Adds another screen and another setting when a smaller change would have removed the same friction. | Checks what the person is trying to finish and ships the smallest change that unblocks them. Writes down what was left out so it does not vanish. | Trims the ticket so far that the original pain is still there. The requester opens a follow-up, and the team touches the same area twice. |
| A manual weekly patch | Does the same hand edit again and treats it as normal. No one looks for a simpler way to make the patch unnecessary. | Does the patch so this week's delivery still goes out, and names a simpler fix with an owner. Comes back to it before the patch becomes the official path. | Halts the delivery to invent a clean replacement immediately. The thing people are waiting on slips while the team rebuilds a side path. |
| A repetitive task that eats the afternoon | Clicks through the same steps again and treats that as the work. Nobody asks whether the middle can go away. | Automates the boring middle and keeps a human check where a wrong output would go out the door. The next pass is shorter, and the risk is still visible. | Scripts the whole path, including the judgment call. When the odd case shows up, the afternoon goes to untangling a tool no one else can read. |
| First cut in a demo | Hides the draft until it looks finished. The demo is a slide, and no one has used the thing. | Shows the rough cut and says what is still missing. Gets a reaction on the simple path before the design is locked. | Demos every half built idea as if it is already the plan. People leave confused about what is real, and the next few days go to resetting expectations. |