Hardly Easy

Words like "easy" and "hard" can be surprisingly exclusive. Telling someone a task is easy can make them feel ashamed or inadequate if they struggle, while simply labeling something hard fails to provide the context engineers need to understand the task needs at a glance.

Instead of easy, try conveying that sentiment with more detail. Saying that something is straightforward or small in scope, even if it requires effort, will be clearer and help engineers feel empowered. As an example the phrase "Implementing this feature will be small in scope” is clearer than “Implementing this feature is easy” giving some context that we might not have dependencies on other teams. Replacing "This bug is easy to fix" with "This bug has a straightforward fix." implies that the task has a clear start and end.

When it comes to describing something challenging, be specific and descriptive! Rather than saying a task is "hard," explain why. Is it challenging because it requires critical thinking? Is it complex because it involves many different factors? Or perhaps it's demanding and requires a lot of effort or mental load.

This opens up a lot of new possibilities! We wouldn't say something is easy and hard, but we can say something is straightforward and demanding!

By choosing our words thoughtfully and providing more descriptive context, we empower people to take ownership and provide room for growth. Engineers will still need help, but being more descriptive and switching out a few words makes them feel in control and not incompetent. By avoiding these negative feelings, they are more likely to ask for help when they do run into trouble which leads to an inclusive and faster team.