It Works
A tech lead absorbs hidden load to save a high-stakes demo. A systemic.engineering story about burnout, authority under pressure, and the burden of perpetual tech debt.
Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental. As Brené puts it: "Stories are just data with a soul."
The Lead
9:47 AM. Seven faces in the grid.
The board shows more tickets than the sprint can hold. I've known the number since Tuesday.
The capacity sheet says 11. Marco left in November. Nobody updated the sheet.
The PM opens: "Alright. Let's talk priorities. I want to be ruthless this sprint."
Someone puts a gif in the chat.
I do the math again.
When the PM asks for concerns I say which features can wait. I ask which stakeholders actually need what by when.
The PM says Hartmann. Says authentication is the gap. Says Hartmann won't ask about the dependency tree.
I watch Priya unmute.
They say: severity 7.8. It's not about Hartmann asking. It's about what happens if it gets exploited before the demo.
The PM looks at me.
Suggests Priya takes the dependency update.
I watch the ticket move into their column.
I think about Thursday. About Friday. About what I said I'd do.
I say: "I hear you. Both of you. How can we make this work without overstretching?"
Nobody answers.
The cursor blinks.
"We'll make it work."
After the call I open a DM.
"I'll handle the CVA."
Priya responds: "You wrote CVA."
Then: "Thank you. Seriously. But this is the third sprint."
Then: "I'm not going anywhere. I just need you to know I see it."
"Thank you," I write.
I put the phone down.
Saturday morning. 9 AM. The documentation is open on one monitor, the patch on the other.
It breaks.
I read the error. I fix it.
It breaks differently.
I read that error. I fix that too.
Done by 2.
I don't file a ticket. I don't send a message.
The sprint starts.
Day eight, Priya goes sick. I pick up their work without saying anything in the channel.
I just pick it up.
Two days before the demo I'm still writing tests. The sprint board looks clean from the outside. I know what's underneath it.
Night before the demo: an edge case in the authentication flow. Midnight. I write myself a message about it in bed. I stare at it for twenty minutes.
I fix it. Somehow.
Thirty minutes before the demo, I push the last commit.
It works.
Someone asks why I have a wolf on my laptop. 🌈
I close the laptop.
This was the last time we did that.
The PM sends a message to the team channel. I read it. I type a response — about the team, about Priya, about the dependency work that was actually the hardest part.
I hesitate.
..
I delete it.
I send my custom emoji.
The PM
Hartmann's email came in at 6:14.
"Looking forward to seeing the full flow in the demo. Authentication is the missing piece for us."
I read it four times before I open the planning doc.
8:55. The security ticket is near the bottom. I move it lower. One more sprint. The demo is in weeks and authentication is what closes this.
Sprint planning. I open: "Alright. Let's talk priorities. I want to be ruthless this sprint."
Someone puts a gif in the chat.
I watch the lead. I wait.
The lead asks which features can wait. Which stakeholders actually need what.
I say Hartmann. I say it like it settles something, because when I say it, it does. Eighteen months. The kind of account that changes trajectories. It's true when I say it.
Priya unmutes. She says a number. Severity 7.8. She says it's not about Hartmann asking.
I didn't know the number.
I knew there was a number.
I wait a beat. I think: she knows this better than I do. She can run the update. That's the right call. That's obviously the right call.
I suggest Priya takes the dependency update.
I watch the lead's face. I watch the ticket move.
The lead says: "We'll make it work."
Something releases in my chest. I don't examine it. I close the capacity tab without looking at the number.
"Great. Let's commit."
Monday the CVE ticket is closed. I see it in the board summary.
See. It worked out.
I forward the summary to my manager.
Sprint committed. Security item resolved. On track for Q2 demo.
The demo works.
I watch Hartmann's face on the call.
"Great work everyone. Huge W."
I mean it.
I already have the next planning doc open.
Hartmann
The email went out at 11:47 PM.
"Looking forward to seeing the full flow. Authentication is the missing piece for us."
I close the laptop.
The call starts on time. The sales lead is already on screen when I join. I notice something in their face. I can't name it exactly. Composure, maybe. Something held.
I have my notes open. I don't look at them.
The flow starts. Login screen. Credentials. The handoff I've been waiting eighteen months to see.
It works.
First try. Clean transitions. Data populates where it's supposed to. No stutter. No apology from the sales lead. No "let me just" or "bear with me."
I watch the screen.
It works.
I ask one question. I get a straight answer.
"Good. This is what we needed to see."
Three more calls that afternoon. I look at my calendar before the next one.
I open the recording. I forward it to my CTO.
Subject line: Authentication. Watch it.
No body.