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"This is Technically Complex": How to Work Better with Your Engineers | Somaditya Roy
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4 min read  ·  Monday, August 11, 2025

"This is Technically Complex": How to Work Better with Your Engineers

"Where product vision meets engineering execution."

Where product vision meets engineering execution
Where product vision meets engineering execution

If you’re a Product Manager, you’ve probably heard this phrase, “This is Technically Complex”, from your engineering team a time or two. It can feel like a roadblock, a sign that you’re not on the same page, or just a heads-up that things are about to get tricky. How you handle that moment can make or break your product and your relationship with the engineering team!

Here’s the deal: that gap between product and engineering isn’t something to be scared of. It’s a bridge you can build! And that bridge is built with clear communication, getting on the same page about what’s important, and having a ton of mutual respect. Let’s dive into how you can make that happen and turn those tricky moments into awesome teamwork.

✍️ Tip 1: Write Super Clear Requirements

Fuzzy requirements are a recipe for disaster. When things are vague, engineers have to guess what you mean, which leads to doing work over again, missing deadlines, and building something that users don’t even want. To stop that from happening, your PRDs and user stories need to be crystal clear.

How to Be Super Clear:

  • Always Start with “Why”: Don’t just say what to build; explain why it matters. What problem are you solving for the user? How does this help the business? Giving your team that context helps them make smarter technical choices.
  • Try the Gherkin Format: It sounds fancy, but it’s a super simple way to write out what needs to happen. Just follow the Given-When-Then formula:
    • Given: What’s the setup? (e.g., “Given the user is on the login page.”)
    • When: What does the user do? (e.g., “When they type in the right password and click ‘Login’.”)
    • Then: What’s the result? (e.g., “Then they should get sent to their dashboard.”)
  • Define What “Done” Means: Seriously, what does it mean for a feature to be finished? Does it have to be live for customers? Does it need some documentation? Agreeing on a “Definition of Done” keeps things from getting stuck in “almost-done” purgatory.
  • Draw a Picture! A picture is worth a thousand lines of code, right? Use simple wireframes, mockups, or flowcharts to show how things should work. It’s often the quickest way to get everyone on the same page.

⚖️ Tip 2: Get Good at Talking Trade-offs

Being a PM is all about juggling. You’re constantly weighing speed against quality, new features against fixing old tech problems, or adding more stuff against staying on budget. These chats can get a little tense, but they’re so important for building a product that lasts.

#Product

#Career

#Tech

#Productivity

How to Have Better Debates:

  • Remember, You’re on the Same Team: It’s not “your need for speed” vs. “their need for quality.” It’s “our goal to get cool stuff to our users quickly while making sure our app doesn’t fall apart.” Always talk about it as “we” and “us.”
  • Put Numbers on It: When you’re talking about tech debt, ask your engineering lead to help you explain the impact. Does it make building new things 20% slower? Does it make a critical feature more likely to break? Using real numbers makes the problem easier to understand.
  • Figure out the “Cost of Delay”: When engineers want to build something the “right way” but it’ll take longer, work with them to figure out the cost of waiting. What happens if this feature is a sprint late? Is a competitor about to launch the same thing? This helps you weigh the pros and cons together.
  • Find a Third Option: A lot of times, it feels like you only have two choices. Challenge the team to get creative! Can you launch a smaller “V1” now and add to it later? Can you build a quick fix for now and plan to do it right in a few months?

🤝 Tip 3: Build Real Trust and Respect

At the end of the day, the best teams run on trust. When engineers trust that you know what users and the market need, and you trust that they’re the experts on building a great product, everything just clicks.

How to Build That Trust:

  • Get Curious: Ask questions! Try to understand the technical side of things. You don’t need to learn to code, but showing you’re interested in the “how” goes a long way and helps you see why some things are so complex.
  • Listen More Than You Talk: When you’re in a meeting, make a real effort to just listen. Let the engineers share their thoughts and worries completely before you jump in with your ideas.
  • Celebrate the Wins (and Own the Losses): When the team launches something awesome, shout it from the rooftops! Give credit where it’s due. And when a feature flops? Take responsibility. It was a team effort, and as the PM, the buck stops with you.
  • Grab a Coffee: Get to know your engineers as people! Find out what their goals are, what they like to do for fun, and what gets them excited to come to work. Good personal relationships make for great professional ones.

When you nail down clear communication, make decisions together, and show some real respect, you’ll close that gap between product and engineering in no time. The phrase “this is technically complex” won’t be a roadblock anymore — it’ll be the start of a great conversation.

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