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Balancing Architecture and Product Needs

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Your question is Balancing Architecture and Product Needs. Take a moment with it on the right.

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Problem

Scenario

You are advising an engineering leader whose team is under pressure to ship customer-facing work quickly while also paying down technical debt. The current architecture is starting to slow future changes, but product demand is immediate and visible to the business.

Question

How do you manage the tension between long-term architecture and immediate product needs?