Technical decisions compound. A choice that saves a week today might cost months later—or it might become the foundation that enables rapid iteration for years. The challenge is identifying which decisions fall into which category.
We've found that decisions about data models, authentication patterns, and system boundaries tend to have outsized long-term impact. These are worth slowing down for, even when deadlines loom.
Conversely, many decisions that feel weighty—framework choices, UI library selections, deployment configurations—are more reversible than they appear. These deserve timebox, not deliberation.
The key is developing judgment about which category a decision falls into. This comes from experience, but also from explicitly asking: 'How hard would this be to change in two years?'