Accountability Guidelines

These guidelines exist so we can plan our work, deliver on time, and avoid surprises or delays. The goal is simple: we all know what we’re doing, when we’re doing it, and we follow through.

1. Weekly Planning

Every Monday:

Features are published into development and assigned to developers. Feature in this step is in status 100.
Each developer reads feature requirements and writes down questions and clarifications.
Questions are discussed and clarified on the 12pm CET standup
Developer writes down the plan for the week.
Developer moves features to status 120 and puts the features on calendar for the week.
The resulting plan is a commitment for the week.

Work should not start unless you understand what needs to be done.

2. Feature Status Workflow

We use three main statuses during planning:

Status 100 — Planend for current sprint

Specs are written and shared with developer.
The feature is ready to be reviewed.

Status 120 — Confirmed by dev

A feature only moves to 120 if the developer can say:

I fully understand the feature.
I know how I’m going to implement it.
I can deliver it within the scheduled time.

If something is unclear, the feature stays in 100 until questions are answered, or moved to 109/108 if BA/Senior dev help needed.

Moving a feature to 120 means:

I understand the feature and I take responsibility for delivering it.

Status 130 - Dev Work Started

This means that actual work has started. You should at all times have 1 feature in status 130. No features in status 130 means no work is currently being done.

3. Daily Standup

Every standup, answer:

What were you supposed to finish yesterday?
What did you finish?
If something slipped, why?
Do you need help?

Standup is where problems get surfaced early. No surprises at the end of the week.

4. Communication Rules

Delays happen. They’re acceptable as long as:

You flag them early,
You explain why,
You propose a new delivery date,
You ask for help if needed.

Not acceptable:

“I forgot”
“I didn’t get to it”
Staying stuck without saying anything

5. What Counts as a Missed Commitment

A commitment is missed if:

A feature in Status 120 isn’t done on the planned day, and
You didn’t flag it early or adjust with approval.

6. When Things Go Wrong

This isn’t about punishment. It’s about fixing problems early and improving.

First time:

We talk about it and understand what happened.

Second time:

We review how the feature was planned and make adjustments.

If it keeps happening:

It becomes a performance issue.

Examples of patterns that are not okay:

Moving features to 120 without understanding them.
Repeatedly missing committed timelines.
Not communicating blockers.

Patterns matter more than one-off mistakes.

7. When Schedule Changes Are Fine

It’s okay to change deadlines or scope if:

The reason is valid (blocker, dependency, unclear requirements),
You flag it early,
The new plan is clear.

It’s not okay if the first time we hear about a problem is after a deadline is missed.

8. How Performance Is Measured

We look at:

Following through on commitments,
Clear communication,
Asking for help early,
Taking ownership of features.

Hours worked aren’t the metric. Reliability is.

9. When Termination Becomes a Topic

Termination is never about one missed deadline.

Termination is considered only when:

Someone consistently fails to meet commitments,
The same issues continue after feedback and support,
The behavior impacts the team and delivery,
There’s no improvement after we’ve worked on it together.

Before termination, we always go through:

Feedback and coaching
Written expectations
A clear plan for improvement
If there’s still no change, termination may follow

Every case is reviewed individually.

10. Summary

Only move features to 120 if you fully understand them.
Weekly schedules are commitments.
Report delays early.
Missed commitments should lead to adjustment and learning.
Repeated issues become a performance conversation.

The goal is reliable delivery and open communication. We all succeed when problems are raised early, commitments are kept, and everyone is aligned.