The Direction Leak | Article 5: Feedback Loops

Your engineers are cranking out code faster than you can blink. Features are shipping left and right. Pull requests are flying through like an all-star sprint. But here’s the catch: you’re measuring speed, not results.

It’s like a race car doing laps without a finish line. Sure, it’s fast, but how do you know it’s actually making progress?

That’s where Feedback Loops come in. Without quick feedback on outcomes, your team is just throwing code over the fence and hoping it sticks. You need to know if what they’re building is actually working—if it’s hitting the mark, solving the right problems, and moving the needle.

Why Feedback Loops Matter

If your feedback loop is slow or non-existent, you get:

• Misguided speed: The team is fast, but they have no idea if they’re solving the right problems or hitting the right goals.
• Wasted effort: Engineers spend time building features, only to realize after launch that it wasn’t what users needed.
• Repeated mistakes: Without fast feedback, teams repeat the same mistakes over and over because they’re not learning from their work quickly enough.
• Morale drop: When feedback is too slow or ambiguous, engineers start to question if their work is really making an impact.

A slow feedback loop means you’re racing to a finish line you can’t even see. It’s a sprint with no real destination.

Signs Your Feedback Loop Is Broken

How do you spot a feedback loop leak? Look for these signs:

• Features launch, but there’s no immediate data on whether they actually moved the needle (usage stats, revenue impact, etc.).
• Engineers are unclear about how their work affects the product’s success.
• Retrospectives focus on what was shipped, but not why it succeeded or failed.
• Teams are building features without any validation or data to support their assumptions.

If your engineers are cranking out code but not getting feedback on impact, you’re basically flying blind.

The Fix: Create Fast Feedback Loops

1. Define Outcomes, Not Just Output – Don’t just track how many features ship; track how they actually affect the user. What is the impact? Are KPIs moving in the right direction?
2. Use Data for Validation – Implement quick validation methods—A/B testing, user feedback, and product metrics—to get answers fast.
3. Weekly Syncs on Results – Don’t wait for months to measure success. Have a quick, regular sync on what’s working, what’s not, and what needs to change.
4. Learn Fast, Adjust Fast – Give your engineers the space to experiment. Use the data you gather to quickly pivot when needed, and give them the feedback to iterate fast.

Submit a Bug Report

Ask yourself:

• Can the team measure impact and not just velocity?
• Are engineers clear on how their work is affecting product outcomes?
• Is feedback coming quickly enough to allow for rapid adjustments?

If you’re hearing “no” to any of these, you’re just racing for speed without knowing if you’re on the right track.