Context:

As workload increased, development teams became overloaded with a growing volume of tasks.
Despite constant activity, progress on meaningful outcomes slowed.

The task pipeline had become cluttered with:

• Duplicate requests
• Repetitive manual work
• Low-value tasks that obscured real priorities

Teams were busy, but focus was diluted, and decision-making suffered as a result.

Constraints:

• No reduction in business demand
• Multiple departments feeding work into the same pipeline
• Manual processes embedded across teams
• No shared criteria for what work should or should not be done
• Teams already operating near capacity

This was not a productivity issue.
It was a work intake and decision problem.

Leadership Focus:

Work Simplification & Decision Filters

• Eliminating unnecessary and duplicate work
• Automating repeatable tasks
• Resetting what work qualified for execution

What Changed:

The task pipeline was audited end-to-end

Incoming tasks were reviewed across the development pipeline to understand where volume was coming from and why.

• Patterns of duplicate and repetitive work were identified
• Manual steps were mapped across teams
• Tasks with unclear or low business value were flagged

This created a clear picture of how work was accumulating without delivering proportional value.

Solutions were designed collaboratively

Instead of forcing a top-down process change, managers were brought in to design solutions together.

• Brainstorming sessions focused on automation opportunities
• Process adjustments were proposed and pressure-tested
• Product stakeholders were engaged to validate trade-offs

This ensured buy-in and avoided shifting hidden work elsewhere.

Changes were piloted before scaling

A pilot was run to validate the new approach before full rollout.

• Automation and process changes were tested in a controlled scope
• Impact on workload and delivery was measured
• Adjustments were made based on real usage

This reduced risk and surfaced unintended consequences early.

The new process was institutionalized

Once validated, the solution was rolled out across teams.

• Training was delivered to all involved departments
• New intake rules and workflows were documented
• Decision filters were applied consistently across requests

Work entered the system only if it met clearly defined criteria.

Results:

After implementation:

• Monthly task volume reduced by 66%
• Average tasks dropped from 180 to 60 per month
• Development focus shifted to higher-value work
• Task volume also decreased for Art and Accounts teams
• Execution became more predictable and less reactive

Teams delivered more meaningful outcomes while handling significantly less noise.

Why This Matters:

Most overloaded teams don’t suffer from too much work, they suffer from too little filtering.
Without clear decision criteria, low-value tasks quietly crowd out important ones.

When this goes unchecked:

• Teams stay busy while progress slows
• Priority work competes with trivial requests
• Leaders misdiagnose overload as a capacity problem

This case demonstrates leadership through simplification:
removing work so teams can focus, execute, and deliver consistently.