The Most Expensive Engineering Problem Is the One You Cannot Name
When delivery slows down without a clear cause, guessing becomes the default strategy.
Article
Most founders know when something is wrong.
They just cannot articulate it.
The team is still shipping.
People are still working hard.
No single metric is alarming.
And yet, progress feels fragile.
Every decision carries more weight than it used to.
Every change requires more discussion.
Momentum exists, but it is expensive.
This is where many teams make their biggest mistake.
They wait.
They wait for clearer data.
For a missed deadline.
For an incident.
For someone to resign.
By the time that happens, the cost of fixing the system has already multiplied.
What is happening underneath is rarely technical.
It is structural.
Decisions are being made without being examined.
Ownership exists without being explicit.
Assumptions are shared without being tested.
The system keeps running because it can.
Not because it is healthy.
Founders often try to solve this by asking for solutions too early.
Should we reorganize?
Should we refactor?
Should we change process?
These questions feel productive.
They are also premature.
No solution survives a wrong diagnosis.
Before you decide what to change, you need to understand what is actually shaping outcomes today.
That is not a comfortable step.
It requires stopping.
Looking.
Naming things clearly.
An Engineering Autopsy exists for that moment.
Not to assign blame.
Not to redesign everything.
But to replace guessing with clarity.
If you are responsible for delivery and cannot clearly explain why things feel heavier than before, that is already an answer.
Clarity is cheapest before failure.