Scope Reduction Due to Technical Debt

Subject: E-commerce Checkout v3 - Scope Update for Q4

Hi team,

I’m writing to share an important update on our checkout v3 delivery for Q4.

WHAT’S CHANGING:
E-commerce checkout v3 is being reduced to MVP scope for Q4—approximately 60% scope reduction from original plan. Full feature set will be delivered in subsequent phases.

WHY:
During development, we discovered significant technical debt in our payment processing infrastructure that needs to be addressed before building advanced checkout features. Building the full v3 scope on this foundation would create maintenance and reliability risks.

The technical debt requires remediation work, which means choosing between:

1. Delay everything to Q1+ while fixing debt + building full scope
2. Deliver MVP in Q4 while addressing technical debt in parallel

We’re choosing option 2 to meet Q4 commitments while building on stable foundation.

NEW TIMELINE:

• Q4: MVP Checkout v3 (core checkout flow, basic payment methods, essential UX improvements)
• Q1+: Enhanced features (built on remediated infrastructure)

WHAT THIS MEANS FOR YOU:

Design Team:
Your full checkout vision remains the long-term plan—we’re staging delivery, not abandoning the design. MVP uses your design system and core UX improvements. The careful work you’ve done ensures MVP looks polished and sets foundation for enhanced features.

Your Q1+ design work will benefit from real user feedback on MVP.

Customer Success Team:
You’ve made promises to customers about Q4 checkout improvements. Here’s how to navigate:

Messaging: “New checkout launching Q4 with core improvements. Enhanced features rolling out Q1+ based on your feedback and technical improvements.”

For customers expecting specific features that moved to Q1+:

• Acknowledge the change directly and early
• Explain we’re prioritizing reliability and foundation
• Position as “Phase 1 in Q4, Phase 2 in Q1+”
• I’m available to join customer calls where this impacts key accounts

Marketing Team:
Q4 campaign needs adjustment from “full checkout v3” to “new checkout MVP”:

Positioning options:

• “Reimagined checkout experience launching Q4, evolving through Q1”
• “Modern checkout rolling out in phases, starting Q4”
• Focus messaging on MVP features (which are still meaningful improvements)
• Save advanced feature messaging for Q1 campaign

I can join campaign planning to help pivot messaging and ensure we’re positioned for success.

WHY THIS IS THE RIGHT CALL:
Building advanced checkout features on unstable technical foundation would create long-term problems—reliability issues, maintenance burden, slower future development.

Taking time to fix infrastructure = faster, more reliable feature delivery long-term.

Customer trust comes from reliable checkout experience. We protect that by prioritizing technical stability over feature count.

[Your name]

FAQ (for follow-up questions):

Q: How serious is the technical debt?
A: Serious enough that building on it would create reliability and maintenance risks. Nothing customer-facing is broken, but the foundation needs work before we build advanced features on it.

Q: Why didn’t we catch this earlier?
A: Technical debt becomes visible during development when you stress-test systems with new features. This is normal product development—you discover constraints when building.

Q: Does this mean our current checkout has problems?
A: No. Current checkout works fine. The debt affects our ability to build advanced features efficiently, not current functionality.

Q: Will MVP actually ship in Q4, or will this slip too?
A: Q4 MVP timeline is realistic—smaller scope with focused delivery. I’m monitoring weekly and will communicate immediately if timeline changes.

Q: How do we message this to customers who were promised specific features?
A: Positioning: “We’re delivering checkout improvements in phases. Q4 brings core experience upgrades. Q1+ adds advanced features on improved technical foundation. This approach ensures reliability while delivering value faster.”

Q: What specifically is in MVP vs. cut to Q1+?
A: MVP includes: core checkout flow improvements, essential payment methods, critical UX upgrades. Q1+ includes: advanced payment options, enhanced personalization features, complex workflow automations. (Adjust based on actual scope if you have specific details.)