The Lies Engineers Tell PMs

A developer who previously worked as a PM reflects on why engineers often understate complexity when responding to 'simple' requests. Using a real example of what appeared to be a minor logging format change, the post reveals the hidden chain of work involved: tracking down Protocol Buffer contracts, regenerating classes, checking backward compatibility, validating downstream consumers, and updating tests. The core insight is that developers compress complexity in conversations not to deceive, but because explaining every dependency would derail meetings. The author argues that good PMs become more valuable when they understand where hidden complexity lives, and that the most senior response to a 'small' request is often 'let me investigate first.'