How should deadlines be used in software engineering?

An exploration of how deadlines should be strategically used in software engineering to drive productivity without sacrificing quality or team morale. The article examines the dual nature of deadlines—as both helpful constraints that focus effort and prevent scope creep, and potentially harmful pressure that leads to technical debt and burnout. Key insights include distinguishing between external deadlines (market-driven, regulatory) that are often immovable and internal deadlines that should be flexible, using deadlines as forcing functions for decision-making rather than arbitrary targets, and establishing 'working backwards' from deadlines to validate feasibility. Engineering leaders will learn about creating healthy deadline cultures through transparent communication about trade-offs, building buffer time for unknowns, celebrating learning from missed deadlines rather than punishing teams, and using deadlines to ship iteratively rather than perfectly. The framework emphasizes that effective deadline management requires balancing urgency with sustainability, using deadlines as tools for prioritization rather than weapons for pressure.