The Last Responsible Moment

One of my go-to principles is called The Last Responsible Moment. It started as a programming technique, but I’ve found it helpful in making all sorts of decisions. I learned about it several years ago in this Coding Horror post from Jeff Atwood:

The key is to make decisions as late as you can responsibly wait because that is the point at which you have the most information on which to base the decision. In software design it means you forgo creating generalized solutions or class structures until you know that they’re justified or necessary.

• When is the feature going to be released?
• What if competitor X does Y?
• What should our pricing strategy look like in two years?

It’s easy to get distracted by decisions you don’t need to make yet. Considering this principle helps you identify which decisions should be made now and what data you need to lower the risk of future decisions.

Jeff goes on in the post:

Be prepared. But for tomorrow, not next year. Deciding too late is dangerous, but deciding too early in the rapidly changing world of software development is arguably even more dangerous. Let the principle of Last Responsible Moment be your guide.

Having a plan gives us (some more than others) peace of mind. It feels like what we’re supposed to do at work — make plans and manage them. But it turns out the minimum viable plan is often the best plan. It enables the team to be in the moment, focused on the most important things, shifting directions when the data supports it.

It also requires a high-trust environment. Leaders must trade predictability (or the illusion of it) for agility. We have to trust the process and each other. As long as we’re aligned on the destination, we can figure out the details on the fly as we have more data. If we discover a quicker route, leveraging this principle enables us to change direction quickly. That’s what the creative process is all about.