High-Stakes Escalation: Deal at Risk

Scope Analysis: Custom Reporting Request

Decision: OUT OF SCOPE (with conditional escalation path)

Confidence Level: Medium (pending deal validation)

Strategic Alignment Analysis

| Criteria | Assessment | Details |
|–––––|————|———||
| Supports Primary Goal | No | Primary goal is 40% admin task time reduction via UX improvements. Custom reporting is feature expansion, not efficiency optimization. |
| Required for Core Value | No | Core CRM refinement value (simplified workflows, bulk operations, automated processes) delivers without custom reporting. |
| Aligns with Success Metrics | No | Success metric is task time reduction. Custom reports don’t impact admin task efficiency—they’re a separate analytical capability. |
| Timeline Compatible | No | Custom reporting framework (query builder, export engine, permission layer, UI) is 6-8 weeks. February release is at risk. |

Resource Impact Assessment

Effort: Extra Large (6-8 weeks)

Components:

• Custom report builder UI/UX
• Query engine with permission filtering
• Export capabilities (PDF, CSV, Excel)
• Report scheduling/distribution system
• Performance optimization for large datasets
• Security review for data access patterns
• QA across permission levels and data volumes

Opportunity Cost: Would require removing or delaying core refinement features (bulk operations, automated onboarding, simplified navigation) or pushing release to late March/early April.

Timeline Impact:

• Best case: 2-3 week delay to late Feb
• Realistic: 4-6 week delay to mid-March
• Risk: Cascading delays if integration issues arise

Risk Factors

• Scope creep pattern: “Customer needs” expanding defined project scope mid-release
• Political pressure: CEO escalation creating urgency disconnect from strategic goals
• Revenue risk: “Deal at risk” framing may or may not reflect actual renewal conditions
• Feature bloat: Adding reporting undermines focus on task efficiency core value
• Technical debt: Rushed implementation of complex feature creates maintenance burden

Critical Questions Before Final Decision

Deal validation needed:

1. Is the renewal truly blocked, or is custom reporting a strong preference?
2. What is the actual renewal date and decision timeline?
3. What specific reporting capabilities are required for compliance/operations?
4. Can existing reporting + manual workarounds satisfy interim needs?
5. Would phased delivery work (basic Q2, advanced Q3)?
6. What’s the ARR value of this customer vs. timeline risk?

Decision Tree

If renewal imminently blocked AND no workarounds AND high ARR: Escalate to exec team for strategic decision (revenue vs. Q1 delivery timeline). Present full trade-offs.

If renewal timeline extends to March+: Commit to Q2 delivery (March-April), keep February CRM refinement focused on efficiency goals.

If basic reporting satisfies need: Build minimal viable reporting in scope (predefined reports only, no customization), defer advanced features to Q2.

If workarounds exist: Provide manual reporting support via customer success, add custom reporting to Q2 backlog.

Stakeholder Communication

Subject: Re: Custom Reporting Request - CRM Refinement Scope

Hi [Customer Success Lead],

Thank you for escalating the custom reporting request. I understand the urgency given the CEO-level escalation and renewal risk.

Decision: Before making the final call, I need to validate the deal context. Depending on answers, we have paths from interim workarounds to strategic escalation.

Why this isn’t straightforward: Our February release is scoped specifically to achieve 40% admin task time reduction through UX refinement. Custom reporting is a separate analytical capability that doesn’t serve that efficiency goal and would require 6-8 weeks of engineering effort—risking the February timeline entirely.

What I need from you by EOD Friday:

1. Renewal specifics: Actual renewal date? Is custom reporting explicitly blocking the deal, or a strong preference?
2. Reporting requirements: What specific reports/data do they need? For what use case (compliance, operations, analytics)?
3. Workaround viability: Would predefined reports work temporarily? Can CS provide manual reporting interim?
4. Business context: What’s the ARR value? Who’s the decision maker on their side?

Options depending on answers:

Option A - Interim Workaround (if timeline flexible):

• Provide manual reporting via CS team through March
• Commit to custom reporting in Q2 (March-May delivery)
• Position as “prioritized roadmap item” based on their feedback
• Keeps February refinement on track, satisfies customer medium-term

Option B - Minimal Scope Addition (if basic reporting satisfies):

• Add predefined reports to February scope (2-week effort)
• Defer custom query builder to Q2
• Trade-off: Remove one planned feature (e.g., automated onboarding)
• Gets them 80% of value, keeps most of timeline intact

Option C - Strategic Escalation (if truly blocking high-value renewal):

• Present to exec team: Revenue risk vs. timeline + scope goals
• Options: Delay February release, pull resources from other projects, or negotiate customer timeline
• Requires exec sign-off on trade-offs
• I’ll prepare full impact analysis for decision meeting

Next Steps:
Let’s schedule a call with the customer this week to understand the specific reporting needs and explore workarounds. Once I have answers to the questions above, we can make the call by Monday.

I’m committed to finding a path that works—just need to understand the constraints we’re operating under.

[Your name]

Trade-off Documentation

Preserved by keeping out of scope:

• February release date for CRM efficiency goals
• 40% admin task time reduction metric
• All committed refinement features (navigation, bulk ops, automation)
• Engineering focus on core value proposition
• Team capacity for post-release support/stabilization

Deferred:

• Custom reporting framework → Q2 (March-May)
• Advanced analytics capabilities → Q2+
• Report scheduling/distribution → Q2+

Potential trade-offs if added to scope:

• Timeline: 2-6 week delay to late Feb/mid-March
• Features: Remove 1-2 planned refinements (automation, bulk operations)
• Quality: Rushed reporting implementation creates technical debt
• Metrics: May not achieve 40% task time reduction goal

Conditions for reconsideration:

• Customer confirms renewal is blocked (not just preferred) by custom reporting
• Renewal date is before Q2 delivery timeline (March+)
• No viable workarounds (manual reporting, predefined reports, export assistance)
• ARR value justifies trade-offs (exec decision with full impact visibility)
• Customer accepts February delay in exchange for reporting inclusion

Internal Escalation Path

If this requires strategic decision:

To: [VP Product/Engineering, CEO]
Subject: Strategic Decision Required - Customer Reporting Request vs. CRM Timeline

Context: Top customer (escalated via CEO) requesting custom reporting for February CRM release. Request doesn’t align with scope but deal reportedly at risk.

The Trade-off:

• Add reporting: 6-8 week effort → February becomes late March/April, removes planned features, or requires additional resources
• Defer to Q2: Preserve February timeline and efficiency goals, risk customer renewal

What I need:

1. Validate deal risk (is renewal truly blocked?)
2. Strategic call: Revenue vs. timeline integrity
3. If we proceed, which features do we cut or do we accept delay?

Recommendation pending deal validation: If renewal isn’t immediately blocked, commit to Q2 delivery with interim workarounds. If blocked, exec decision required on timeline vs. revenue.

Decision meeting: Monday 10am once we have customer context.