Project Background

Andela Products is preparing to launch a new matching and decisioning workflow inside the Andela Talent Platform to reduce time-to-shortlist for enterprise clients. The feature combines candidate ranking updates, recruiter review tooling, and a new client-facing shortlist approval flow. You are the Engineering Manager leading execution across 8 engineers, 1 product manager, 1 designer, and shared QA support, with a board-visible launch target in 10 weeks.

Key Stakeholders

The GM of Andela Products wants the launch this quarter to support a signed pipeline worth $1.8M ARR. The Head of Sales is pushing for the full client-facing workflow because two enterprise customers were promised it in renewal conversations. The Director of Engineering is concerned that the team has already worked two high-intensity releases this quarter and recent pulse data shows burnout risk rising. The Head of Customer Success wants reliability and low operational overhead because recruiters will need to support the rollout.

Constraints

You have no additional headcount and only $60K left for contractors and tooling. Two senior engineers are each allocated 25% to production support for the existing Andela Talent Platform. The launch date is fixed for 10 weeks from now, but only the ranking service changes are fully designed; the client approval flow is still in discovery. A security review must be completed by Week 7, and enterprise pilot customers need training materials by Week 8.

Complications

1. One staff engineer has signaled they may take one week of unplanned leave during Weeks 5-6.
2. The Head of Sales is escalating for all promised functionality at launch, even though the team estimates that full scope would require sustained nights and weekends.
3. Recent incident data shows the current matching service has a 2.1% weekly error spike under peak load, increasing launch risk.

Your Task

1. Propose an execution plan that balances the fixed launch date with sustainable team pacing.
2. Define what ships at launch versus what should be deferred, with rationale.
3. Outline how you would align stakeholders with competing priorities and handle escalation.
4. Identify the top risks, mitigation steps, and trigger points for replanning.
5. Define success metrics for both delivery and team health in the first 30 days post-launch.