Speed is everything in product planning

“Speed is the lifeblood of product planning”

This is a story from when I was a junior planner.

I was assigned to design a new feature, and I wanted to impress everyone with a perfect specification. I included user policies, every imaginable edge case, even the hover color of buttons. For more than two weeks, I obsessed over my spec, determined to cover every possible scenario and detail.

I still remember the day I proudly walked into the dev team with my “perfect” document. After my long explanation, a senior developer tilted his head and asked the first question:

“To build this feature, we’ll need to change the user DB structure. Did you also plan for a data migration policy?”

Migration…?

That one question opened the floodgates. Technical constraints, business blind spots—things I hadn’t considered poured out. Within three days, my flawless plan was in shambles, and I had to start almost from scratch.

I’m sure many planners, designers, and developers have gone through something similar. Why do we repeat this kind of mistake? Today, I want to share why in planning, speed matters far more than perfection.

1. A “perfect plan” is an illusion

Many junior planners—and even seniors—harbor the fantasy of a flawless spec. A document so airtight that developers could start coding right away, and the CEO would be impressed after a single read. Perhaps we cling to this because when teammates comment on our work, it feels like our expertise is being questioned.

But the truth is: there is no such thing as a perfect plan from the start.

• Planner: “Here’s the spec for the new feature. I’ve detailed every policy and exception.”

• Developer: “Looks good, but to implement this as written, server costs will double. We’ll need to simplify the logic.”

• Marketer: “The flow is too complicated. Users will drop off halfway through.”

• CEO: “The core idea is fine, but it doesn’t quite align with our long-term vision. Let’s rethink parts of it.”

No matter how much you simulate in your head, the moment you share your plan, countless variables emerge. Unexpected feedback pours in from every perspective.

The real path to a “perfect plan” isn’t solitary polishing—it’s putting out a rough draft quickly, then refining it with your team. The moment you treat your spec not as a final product but as raw material for collective wisdom, everything changes.

2. Planning is the beginning of communication

The biggest cost of slow planning isn’t the planner’s time—it’s the time the entire team spends waiting.

While a planner spends an extra week chasing perfection, what can the developer do? What screen should the designer sketch? Everyone stalls, wasting valuable time.

Fast planning flips this dynamic:

• Day 1: Draft — “Here’s the big picture. Details are TBD, but this is the core user flow. Thoughts?”

• Day 2: Feedback — Developers highlight risks, designers catch UX flaws, marketers anticipate user reactions. You begin to see things you never could alone.

• Day 3: Refine — The spec evolves from my document to our document.

A spec is an agenda for discussion. The sooner the agenda appears, the sooner collaboration begins. And more collaboration means higher product quality and a greater chance of success.

3. Keep sunk costs low

You may have heard of the sunk cost fallacy—the bias of sticking with a failing effort because of what’s already been invested.

It plays out the same way in planning:

• Case A (slow planning): A planner spends a month on a 100-page spec. Everyone senses the project is doomed, but no one dares to say it—“They worked so hard…” “We’ve already spent a month…” The team pushes forward anyway.

• Case B (fast planning): A planner spends 3 days on a 5-page draft. During discussion, a fatal flaw is uncovered. The team pivots or abandons it. The only loss? 3 days.

Fast drafts fail cheaply. They’re easy to discard or redirect. That’s not failure—that’s affordable learning. The faster you plan, the more often your team gets this kind of inexpensive lesson.

4. Faster 80% beats slower 100%

I’m not saying you should throw out half-baked ideas carelessly. Fast planning still needs discipline: focus on the core 80%.

• 0% → 80%: Define why this product exists (goal), who it’s for (target), its key flows, and business model. Lay down the skeleton.

• 80% → 100%: Fine details—error messages, account deletion prompts, loading icons.

If you try to own the full 100% alone, you’ll lose your way. Sprint to 80% first, align the team on direction, and fill in the last 20% together during design and development.

In closing: A planner is a facilitator, not a finisher

In the past, planners were like architects, producing perfect blueprints. Today, a planner is closer to a facilitator, drawing out collective intelligence.

Let go of the urge to deliver a flawless plan single-handedly. Instead, ask yourself:

“How can I get my teammates talking sooner, and more often?”

That mindset leads to fast planning—and fast planning becomes your most powerful weapon for leading your team to success.