What you will learn
Work breakdown, Dependencies, Change requests, Product feedback, Handoff ownership.
Engineering the capability
Customer delivery involves sequencing dependencies and making scope visible. Break work into observable deliverables: access approved, connector verified, evaluation data ready, pilot deployed, and operator trained. A feature is not finished if the receiving team cannot use or maintain it.
Keep customer-specific configuration separate from reusable capability. Repeated requests may reveal a product gap; a one-off exception may belong in an adapter. Record the reason for custom behavior and its maintenance owner. Untracked custom branches accumulate operating cost and make upgrades risky.
When scope changes, explain the effect on time, dependencies, and acceptance criteria. Present options rather than silently absorbing extra work. This is an engineering planning exercise; formal commercial terms belong with the responsible business stakeholders.
Worked case
A pilot initially reads tickets, then a stakeholder requests automatic refunds. That introduces new permissions, side effects, approval flows, and acceptance tests. Treat it as a scope decision with alternatives, such as keeping refunds as reviewed proposals for the pilot, rather than adding a write tool during the demo.
Put it into practice
Continue with the next lab: write a delivery plan and change assessment. Build the artifact, record the failure cases, and explain the tradeoff before moving on.