Ask HN: Ever had to abandon large parts of a project 6 months in? How'd it go?

#1

Post by 4thwaywastrel » Wed, Oct 09, 2019, 3:13 AM UTC

I lead a team that's put a large amount of resources into a greenfield project that's considered urgent for the business.

6 months in and we're having endless trouble with technology choices we made early on. Have you ever faced a similar decision to either stick with or throw large parts of a project? If so what did you choose and how did it turn out?

Re: Ask HN: Ever had to abandon large parts of a project 6 months in? How'd it go?

#2

Post by 2rsf » Wed, Oct 09, 2019, 8:20 AM UTC

As a team lead ? The decision was made on the business side of the company and had nothing to do with the technology or our effort, we simply started development too early before any proper due diligence was made.

Re: Ask HN: Ever had to abandon large parts of a project 6 months in? How'd it go?

#3

Post by go-rabbit » Wed, Oct 09, 2019, 12:55 PM UTC

2rsf wrote: post #2

As a team lead ? The decision was made on the business side of the company and had nothing to do with the technology or our effort, we simply started development too early before any proper due diligence was made.

Had the same experience. On the flip side we learned a lot from our mistakes and the dev team cohesion is stronger than ever.

Re: Ask HN: Ever had to abandon large parts of a project 6 months in? How'd it go?

#4

Post by sloaken » Wed, Oct 09, 2019, 5:11 PM UTC

The sign of a great leader is one who is willing to stop a failed project. Learn what you can and go on.

Re: Ask HN: Ever had to abandon large parts of a project 6 months in? How'd it go?

#5

Post by dlphn___xyz » Wed, Oct 09, 2019, 8:12 PM UTC

team leads don’t make business decisions