How to write an effective Development Plan (as a Senior Engineer)
Writing code is not the only part of being a senior engineer. Strong leadership and mentorship is a must, but there are other ways to lead and mentor besides the conventional means. One such way is by writing a clear and thoughtful development plan
Writing code is not the only part of being a senior engineer. Strong leadership and mentorship is a must, but there are other ways to lead and mentor besides the conventional means. One such way is by writing a clear and thoughtful development plan. In my previous post, How to Lead Without a Management Title, I shared ways senior engineers can guide teams through mentorship, decisions and influence. In this next post, I’ll share how writing effective development plans is an extremely valuable tool that can take your leadership skills to the next level.
Why Development Plans Matter
Development plans are where strategy meets execution. They are not just technical specs or a list of things that need to be done, they are tools for clarity, alignment and leadership. If a project or new feature is going to require multiple engineers or teams, it is important to have a clear plan that outlines the areas of impact, the risks as well as the purpose and reason behind it. This helps to avoid confusion, scope creep and those “Oh $%*$” moments we all know too well.
What a Development Plan Is and Isn’t
A development plan is a living document that lays out the what, why, how and who of a project. It is typically a document for a new feature that has already been approved and addresses some form of a business need whether it is adding a new user facing feature or refactoring how a service works for better performance. Before writing a development plan, there should already be business requirements written out. These are going to be the foundation of the development plan and what the document is going to focus on solving. The document should not focus on solving problems outside of the business requirements nor should it be an opportunity to pitch new ideas. It should be an opportunity however to address any concerns with the business requirements and to adjust them as needed. It is also not a list of Jira tickets with one sentence of information nor is it a one and done document with nobody continuing to update it.
What to include in a Strong Development Plan
I highly recommend that the first draft of a development plan should be written by one developer and then go over it with the rest of the team later. This will go faster while still allowing the rest of the team to voice their opinions and ask questions at a later date.
Project Overview
This should be a couple of sentences explaining what is being done and why. This helps show your teammates the purpose behind what they will be working on. Having a clear understanding of the purpose can be very motivating.
Goals and Non-Goals
This section should help clarify what success will look like and what intentionally will be left out of scope. Example: let's say you want to add a new feature that lets users comment on blog posts. Some examples of goals and non-goals would be Goals:
- Users will be able to engage with posts by adding comments or simply liking/disliking
- Users will need to be logged in order to comment or like/dislike, creating a 30% increase in user signups Non-Goals:
- Having anonymous users comment or like/dislike posts
- Refactoring the existing blog post components
Having clear high level goals helps keep the team focused on what to plan for and what not to plan for. Defining what success looks like and having it be measurable is a great way to have a shared alignment for the team and avoid subjective reviews after launch.
Timeline and Milestones
Breaking the work out into phases/sprints makes things more achievable and helps leadership track progress without micromanagement. These should never be interpreted as strict deadlines but more of a general timeline on how long the team expects it to take. Example of a timeline might be for our commenting on blog posts feature might be:
- Sprint 1: Create database migrations to store comments. Start authentication work for guest users
- Sprint 2: Wrap up Authentication work for guest users. Start work on UI for comments on blog posts
- Sprint 3: Testing and fixing any bugs discovered
Stakeholders
A quick section that calls out who is doing the work. This should include the product manager, UX designer, engineering manager, all the developers and QA members that will be involved in testing.
Risk and Mitigations
Highlight some risks on what could go wrong and what the plan might be if it does. It is important to think ahead and call these out now to build safety nets. Avoids potential chaos once the feature is released. Example might be:
- Risk: Users making harsh, abusive or inappropriate comments
- Mitigation: Monitor for certain keywords and phrases and block users from using the platform
Calling these out is a great opportunity to discuss with engineers and product on how you should handle these scenarios if it isn’t inherently obvious.
- “Do we want to ban users that leave inappropriate comments or warn them first?”
- “How will we track users that are blacklisted?”
Rollback Plan
It doesn’t matter how many risks you plan for, there is always one that you will miss. Because of that it is important to have a rollback plan. For a leader, planning for failure is just as important as planning for success. If your company uses feature flags, this could be as simple as turning the flag off or slowing down the rollout to 100% depending on what comes up.
Discuss With The Team
This portion of the development plan is by far my favorite part! This is your opportunity to present what you have come up with to the rest of the team and allows them to ask questions, raise concerns or add comments. This is your opportunity to provide guidance on why you chose this direction for implementing this feature while also listening attentively to their suggestions and feedback. The reason why I love this part so much is because it is an opportunity for me to learn from the team just as much as it is for them to learn from me. Someone might have a better idea or raise a great question that you might not have thought of or maybe they have worked in this particular area of the code and have a better understanding of it. These collaborative discussions not only strengthen the technical solution but also build trust, alignment, and shared ownership across the team.
Summary
If you are a senior engineer looking to grow your influence and impact, start by taking on the development plan process for the next feature you work on. It shows your team and leadership that you are not just there to code, you are there to lead. It’s a great way to build credibility, empower others, and take next steps in your career.