Picture this: It’s Monday morning, and your CEO wants to know when that game-changing feature will launch. Your engineering lead is talking about “technical unknowns.” Your designer needs “more discovery time.” And somewhere in your inbox, there’s a customer asking for the sixth time when they’ll see the update.
Sound familiar?
I’ve seen product launches implode because of vague timelines. One team was “targeting Q3” for a critical feature, which, when pressed, actually meant “maybe late September, if we’re lucky.” The result? Missed deadlines, frustrated customers, and a stressed-out team.
Want to know the difference between good product teams and great ones?
While everyone talks about accountability, great teams go beyond ownership and get precise. Knowing exactly how precise your timeline needs to be is the real secret weapon.
Product development and roadmaps often feel like navigating through fog. Outcomes are a blur, priorities shift, and getting predictable commitments feels like herding cats.
But what if I told you there’s a simple planning rule that cuts through this chaos?
Sandeep Rule for Planning: Precision is Power
The closer the deadline, the more precise your estimate must be.
It works like this, if your deadline is:
- 24+ months: Name the year
- 12-24 months: Specify the half-year
- 6-12 months: Pin down the quarter
- Within 6 months: Commit to the month
- Under 6 months: Lock in the date
This isn’t just another planning framework—it’s a mindset shift that transforms how teams approach timelines.
Why It Works
In my years of scaling products, I’ve watched teams hyperfocus on immediate deliverables while treating future milestones as abstract concepts.
Here’s the trap I see teams fall into: Labeling something as “next half” makes it feel safely distant. But if you’re starting that conversation in early May, reality hits different—you might have just four weeks to deliver, depending on how that timeline was understood. That psychological distance between “next half” and “four weeks” can be the difference between success and scrambling.
But here’s what’s fascinating: When we apply the Timeline Planning Rule to distant goals—even just specifying “H2 2026” instead of “future”—something clicks. Teams start thinking deeper. They spot dependencies. They uncover complexities. Most importantly, they begin taking actions today that pave the way for tomorrow’s success.
For example, when a team commits to a specific month, they’re forced to break down the project into smaller, more manageable tasks. This reveals dependencies and potential roadblocks early on. Instead of a vague “next half” project, they’re dealing with a concrete “September launch,” which triggers specific actions like “finalize design by July 15th” and “begin user testing by August 1st.”
Put It Into Practice
The Timeline Planning Rule does more than set dates—it builds a culture of clarity and accountability. It turns vague possibilities into concrete commitments. It transforms good product teams into great ones. It empowers teams to anticipate challenges, mitigate risks, and ultimately, deliver exceptional products on time and within budget.
Ready to unlock predictable delivery in your organization? Implement the Timeline Rule in your next product planning meeting. Start with one simple question:
What’s the right precision for your next milestone?
Keep the conversation going
Share your experiences, challenges, and success stories of delivering with precision on LinkedIn. Let’s build a community of product leaders who are committed to delivering with precision.
This post was hand crafted with ❤️ using AI