How to say no to stakeholders: trade-offs for PMs

You

Lucy's migration test is done. It works, but moving everything takes until the end of February. Until then, the pilot stays at two clinics.

Brandon

That's a problem. PurrPoint's procurement manager loves the form. She wants all 14 clinics using it in January.

Ian

Then hire two contractors for the warehouse and finish in January. I'll approve the budget today.

You

Everyone wants something sooner, and nothing moves without moving something else.

Alex Tutor

That's the iron triangle: scope, time and resources, with quality caught in the middle. Squeeze one side, and another has to give.

And if nothing visibly gives, quality pays quietly: rushed work, lost orders, bugs you discover in March.

You

So which lever is which here?

Alex Tutor

Question 1

Match each side of the iron triangle to what pulling it would mean for CatChow's warehouse and the clinic pilot.

Tap an answer, then tap the row it belongs to. You can also drag.

Scope
Time
Resources
Quality

Answers left to place

You

Quality is out: lost clinic orders are exactly the stock-outs we're trying to get rid of.

Alex Tutor

Right. And time alone doesn't help Brandon. What about scope: does everything have to move at once?

Lucy

Not really. We could move clinic orders first. They'd run on the new system by mid-January; subscriber orders would follow, and the whole move would finish at the end of March.

You

A month later overall, but the clinics get what they need about six weeks sooner.

Alex Tutor

A trade-off worth making, because the clinic theme is what's waiting. Pick the lever by what matters most: here, a date for clinics, not a finish date for the whole move.

You

And the pilot grows only once clinic orders are on the new system.

Alex Tutor

Question 2

Which lever should Sofia pull for the warehouse and the pilot, and why?

Choose one answerQuality: expand the pilot now; a few lost orders are acceptable at this stageResources: hire the contractors, since Ian has already offered the moneyScope: move clinic orders first, so clinics are served by mid-January and the full move finishes laterTime: keep the original plan and tell Brandon that nothing changes before March

You

Ian's offer is still on the table, though. Two contractors can't hurt, can they?

Lucy

They would. Nobody ever documented the old system. My two people would spend January teaching instead of moving data.

Alex Tutor

It's an old observation, often called Brooks's law: adding people to a late software project makes it later. Newcomers need training, and every extra person adds coordination.

You

So resources is the lever that looks easiest and works worst.

Alex Tutor

For this kind of work, this late, yes. Extra people help when they join early, or on work that splits cleanly into separate parts.

Alex Tutor

Question 3

Adding two experienced contractors to the warehouse replacement now would finish it sooner.

TrueFalse

You

Now I have to tell Brandon that January won't happen.

Alex Tutor

Start from what he needs, not from what you're refusing. What does he actually need?

You

Something firm to tell PurrPoint, and not to look as if he over-promised again.

Alex Tutor

Then give him the reason in PurrPoint's terms: expanding now risks the very stock-outs they want gone. Then a real next step, with a condition.

You

Clinic orders move by mid-January. If the December review holds up, all 14 clinics start in February.

Alex Tutor

That's a no he can sell: a reason, a date with a condition, and nothing he'll have to take back.

Alex Tutor

Question 4

Which message to Brandon is the best way to say no to January?

Choose one answer“January isn't possible. The warehouse isn't ready, and that's Lucy's call, not mine.”“Sorry, the roadmap says two clinics. We have to stick to the plan.”“Let's say yes to January and deal with any lost orders as they come.”“Expanding before clinic orders move could cause the stock-outs PurrPoint wants gone. Clinic orders move by mid-January; if the December review holds up, all 14 clinics start in February.”

Ian

The founders saw the RICE scores. They think the model is set up against loyalty points. They want points in Next, at least.

You

It isn't rigged: there are a few comments behind points and eight person-months of work. But they aren't a bad idea either.

Alex Tutor

Then say not now, and make it a real one: the reason, and the condition under which the idea comes back. A vague “later” is just a slow no.

You

The condition: if churn is still above 8% at the June review, once the Now themes have had time to work, points come back, starting with a small test.

Alex Tutor

Good: checkable, dated and tied to the objective. Add what would bring points back sooner: evidence, such as cancellation surveys where people name the price.

You

So a “not now” list, where each item has its reason and its way back.

Alex Tutor

Exactly. It also shows the founders their idea wasn't lost, only queued behind evidence.

Alex Tutor

Question 5

Which of these belong in a good entry on a “not now” list? Select all that apply.

Choose all that applyA promise to do it next quarter, to keep everyone happyThe reason, tied to the criteria, such as weak evidence or high effortA condition for coming back that can be checked, such as a number or a test resultA note saying “low priority”, with no further detailWhen it will be looked at againWhat evidence would bring it back sooner

Brandon

One more. A partner clinic director wants a stock tracker for every brand on her shelves, not just ours. Can we build that?

You

A tracker for every brand is a different product. Only the CatChow part serves our key results.

Alex Tutor

So the answer is no to the tracker, but not to her. What's the problem underneath?

You

Knowing what's running low before the shelf is empty. That's one of our clinic subthemes.

Alex Tutor

Then a good no has four parts: restate the need so she knows she was heard; say plainly what won't happen and why; offer what you can do for that need; say when things might change.

You

The same four parts work for the founders and for Brandon.

Alex Tutor

They do. Refuse the request, not the person, and people keep coming to you with the next one.

Alex Tutor

Question 6

Put the four parts of a good “no” in order.

Tap an item, then tap where it should go. You can also drag or use the arrows.

You

Ian wants something about loyalty points that he can forward to the founders.

Alex Tutor

Use the four parts, and keep the tone warm: it's their company, and the idea may yet come back.

You

The need, the reason in plain numbers, what we're doing about churn now, and the June condition.

Alex Tutor

And no RICE jargon. The founders care about subscribers, not formulas.

Alex Tutor

Question 7Short answer · AI-checked task

Write the message Ian can forward to the founders (3–5 sentences): loyalty points won't be in Next for now. Say why, what CatChow is doing about the same goal, and the condition under which points come back. No RICE jargon.

Write your answer and get a score with feedback from our AI reviewer.

Log in to get AI feedback

You

And the clinic director's stock tracker? Brandon needs words he can use.

Alex Tutor

Write it the way Brandon would say it to her. Remember that she's a client: she can always buy from someone else.

You

Couldn't Brandon just say it's on the roadmap for later? It sounds kinder.

Alex Tutor

Kinder today, worse in spring, when she asks where it is. A clear no with a real offer is the kind version.

You

What can we offer her, though? Her clinic isn't in the pilot.

Alex Tutor

Once the form works for PurrPoint, it can reach other partner clinics, and knowing what's running low is part of the clinic theme. Offer her an early place in that.

Alex Tutor

Question 8Short answer · AI-checked task

Write what Brandon can send to the partner clinic director (3–4 sentences): CatChow won't build a stock tracker for every brand, but it takes her underlying need seriously. Don't promise a date.

Write your answer and get a score with feedback from our AI reviewer.

Log in to get AI feedback

Alex Tutor

Time to put the module together. Version 4 adds what was missing: how the decisions were made. Criteria, scores, the order and what's not now.

You

The reminder emails went live on the 19th. Too early to see churn move, but they're out.

Alex Tutor

Good. Their effect will show in the cancellation reasons first. Now, the capacity for next quarter.

You

Lucy gave me twelve person-months from January to March, five of them for the warehouse.

Alex Tutor

Dataset · 9 rows

CatChow candidate solutions, scored in November

Nine candidates from CatChow's roadmap with the RICE inputs Sofia and Lucy agreed in mid-November. Reach is per quarter; effort is in person-months for everyone involved. Synthetic data made for this course.

Download CSV

Columns
id: Candidate ID
candidate: Candidate solution
theme: The roadmap theme it serves (none = no theme)
objective: 1 = grow subscription revenue by keeping subscribers longer; 2 = grow the vet clinic channel
reach_per_quarter: How many customers it touches in a quarter
reach_unit: Who is counted in reach
impact: Effect on each customer towards the objective's key results: 3, 2, 1, 0.5 or 0.25
confidence: How sure we are about reach and impact: 1.0, 0.8 or 0.5
effort_person_months: Total work for everyone involved, in person-months

Data

id	candidate	theme	objective	reach_per_quarter	reach_unit	impact	confidence	effort_person_months
C1	One-click reorder	Subscribers never run out	1	1200	subscribers	1	0.8	1
C2	Flexible delivery dates	Subscribers never run out	1	1500	subscribers	2	0.8	4
C3	Food-picker quiz	New owners pick the right food	1	1800	first-time buyers	1	0.5	2
C4	Loyalty points	Long-term subscribers stay beyond price	1	5000	subscribers	1	0.5	8
C5	Apple Pay and Google Pay at checkout	none	1	3000	buyers	0.25	0.8	0.5

Show 4 more rows

C6	Online order form for clinics	Clinics restock without phoning	2	54	clinics	1	0.8	1
C7	Automatic reorders for clinics	Clinics restock without phoning	2	54	clinics	2	0.5	3
C8	Clinic ordering portal	Clinics restock without phoning	2	54	clinics	2	0.5	6
C9	Warehouse system replacement	Every clinic order picked and delivered correctly	2	54	clinics	0.25	0.8	6

Then the order has to fit into seven. Check every “not now” for a reason and a way back, and date the disclaimer today.

Alex Tutor

Question 9Case · AI-checked task

Write version 4 of CatChow's roadmap: the ranking.

It's 30 November, the first monthly review. Sofia is writing version 4 of CatChow's internal roadmap, the one that shows how priorities were decided.

Vision: every cat eats the right food, and neither owners nor vet clinics ever have to worry about running out.

Objectives and key results (targets for the end of next year)

Grow subscription revenue by keeping subscribers longer: monthly churn from 9% to 6%; cancellations citing running out or delivery timing from 30% to 15%; second orders within 60 days from 38% to 45%.
Grow the vet clinic channel: all 14 PurrPoint clinics retained; prescription-diet stock-outs from 6 a month to 1; partner clinics from 54 to 80.

Candidates (RICE inputs agreed in November, also in the dataset; reach per quarter; effort in person-months for everyone involved)

ID	Candidate	Obj.	Reach	Impact	Confidence	Effort
C1	One-click reorder	1	1,200 subscribers	1	80%	1
C2	Flexible delivery dates	1	1,500 subscribers	2	80%	4
C3	Food-picker quiz	1	1,800 first-time buyers	1	50%	2
C4	Loyalty points	1	5,000 subscribers	1	50%	8
C5	Apple Pay and Google Pay (no theme)	1	3,000 buyers	0.25	80%	0.5
C6	Online order form for clinics	2	54 clinics	1	80%	1
C7	Automatic reorders for clinics	2	54 clinics	2	50%	3
C8	Clinic ordering portal	2	54 clinics	2	50%	6
C9	Warehouse replacement (enabling)	2	54 clinics	0.25	80%	6

November

Reorder reminder emails went live on 19 November.
Both pilot clinics now order through the online form without calls; the pilot's first review is in early December.
Lucy's migration test worked. Staged plan: clinic orders on the new system by mid-January, the whole move by the end of March. Until clinic orders move, the pilot stays at two clinics.
Capacity: December is full (warehouse, pilot, reminders). January to March: about 12 person-months, 5 of them for the warehouse.

Requests on the table

The founders want loyalty points in Next.
PurrPoint wants all 14 clinics on the form in January.
Ian offered two contractors for the warehouse; Lucy says they'd slow it down.
Brandon suggested letting clinic orders skip the warehouse queue, which would delay subscriber deliveries.
A partner clinic director asked for a stock tracker covering every brand.
Still left off: dark mode, birthday greetings for cats, the photo contest, a mobile app.

Write version 4 (250–450 words):

Your prioritization criteria (3–5), taken from the objectives.
A scoring table: RICE scores ranked within each objective.
The order for Now (to the end of December) and Next (January to June) that fits the capacity and dependencies, including the trade-off you chose for the warehouse and the pilot.
A “not now, and why” list: each item with its reason and the condition under which it comes back.
An updated disclaimer.

Dataset for this task: CatChow candidate solutions, scored in November

Write your answer and get a score with feedback from our AI reviewer.

Log in to get AI feedback

You

Brandon has February with a reason, Lucy's team keeps its focus, and the founders know what would bring points back. Nobody got a flat no.

Alex Tutor

Every yes costs something. When the cost is visible, people can accept the no.

Alex Tutor

That wraps up module 4. In module 5 the roadmap has to live: winning buy-in, presenting it to the board, sales, engineering and PurrPoint, and the rhythm and rules that keep it current.

Alex Tutor

That’s the lesson. You answered every task — nicely done.

Next lesson: Alignment and buy-in with stakeholders