‘Out of scope’ lasts until leadership remembers it.
Every roadmap has boundaries, until someone with the right title crosses them. A reflection on influence, power, and the quiet art of reprioritization.
Like an ember in the ashes, one memory away from catching again.
A reminder that influence has a way of rewriting logic usually before the next sprint.
The Moment of Inspiration
A junior product manager once showed me his roadmap, a full year of balanced features, dependencies, and careful prioritization.
It was immaculate. Rational. A document of serenity.
I asked about a once-hot initiative that had vanished from view.
He smiled, proud.
“I explained why it doesn’t make sense right now. Everyone agreed.”
Three weeks later, that same initiative was back burning bright.
A VP had remembered it.
His roadmap? Reduced to ash.
I empathized, then helped him rebuild, this time leaving space for sparks that might return.
The Paradox
Scope isn’t extinction; it’s hibernation.
Every idea we cool down still smolders somewhere in leadership’s subconscious.
We treat “out of scope” as closure, but it’s only a pause, a thin layer of ash covering heat that never really left.
One email, one meeting, one off-hand recollection can fan it back to life.
The paradox of product work is this:
Even as we plan for certainty, we live in cycles of re-ignition.
The Reflection
Managing scope is less about control and more about temperature.
You can’t stop the ember from glowing, but you can prepare the space around it.
Keep the context warm. Keep the rationale close.
When the flame returns, channel it instead of fighting it.
The best project managers don’t just plan for change; they make room for it.
Every fire fades, but few truly extinguish.
What’s out of scope today will burn again tomorrow.