How to Make the Business Case for Slowing Down, and When Not To

An engineering writer addresses a reader's question about defending process steps that prevent risky changes but don't show up in metrics. Such safeguards are often cut because their value is a hard-to-quantify risk, while visible gains like shipped features look more compelling to leadership. The author argues that the solution is to translate experience-based concerns into comparable numbers, such as time or cost now versus later. Engineers already hold this kind of evidence, like watching teams suffer from neglected dependency updates. The same analysis can also show that a proposed pause isn't worth it. The author adds that engineers should weigh broader business priorities, such as customers and revenue, not just technical concerns.