The scope cut that still ships something real

---
name: the-scope-cut
description: "For when the date won't move. Sorts the plan into what ships, what waits, and what quietly gets cancelled — and names what breaks for users in each case. Use when the user asks for help with product tasks like product, planning, scope."
license: CC-BY-4.0
metadata:
  source: https://promptsbuddy.com/prompts/the-scope-cut
  author: "Lena Fischer"
  version: "1.0"
---

# The scope cut that still ships something real

For when the date won't move. Sorts the plan into what ships, what waits, and what quietly gets cancelled — and names what breaks for users in each case.

## Inputs to collect first

Ask the user for anything below that they have not already given you. Do not
invent values for these.

- `SCOPE` — Everything currently in the plan. A bulleted dump is fine. (e.g. Paste the epic list or the PRD's requirements section.)
- `DEADLINE` — The fixed date and what makes it fixed. (e.g. March 14 — it's tied to a conference keynote, so it genuinely cannot move.)
- `CAPACITY` — Who is actually available, honestly, including partial allocations. (e.g. Two engineers full time, one designer half time, and me at maybe 30%.)

## Tools this works with

Do not require any of these. If one is unavailable, use the stated fallback and
say which input is missing rather than inventing it.

- **Linear** — The actual scope, with estimates, rather than the version in your head.
  - Without it: Ask the user to paste their list; note it may be less complete than the tracker.
  - https://linear.app/
- **Jira** — The same at larger companies.
  - Without it: Ask the user to paste their list instead.
  - https://www.atlassian.com/software/jira

## Instructions

The date is fixed and the scope is not going to fit.

SCOPE:
{{SCOPE}}

DEADLINE: {{DEADLINE}}
WHO'S ACTUALLY AVAILABLE: {{CAPACITY}}

Produce:

**1. The spine.** The smallest set of items that still delivers a coherent
experience — something a user could complete end to end without hitting a dead
end. Not the highest-value items; the ones that make the others make sense.

**2. Three buckets.** Sort everything else into: *ships if it goes well*,
*explicitly deferred*, and *quietly cancelled*. Be willing to put things in the
third bucket — a plan where nothing is cancelled is not a cut.

**3. What breaks.** For each deferred and cancelled item, one sentence on what
a user cannot do, and who will notice first.

**4. The conversation.** What I have to tell each stakeholder, in their terms,
including the one who will be angriest and why they are not wrong.

**5. The tell.** The specific signal, two weeks out, that even the spine is
not going to make it.

Rules:
- Do not propose adding people. Do not propose moving the date.
- Do not suggest "reducing polish" as a cut. Name the actual thing that goes.
- If the spine still does not fit the capacity I gave you, say so directly and
  say what a smaller coherent product would be.

## Notes from people who use this

- 'Quietly cancelled' is the bucket that matters. Deferring everything is how backlogs become fiction.
- Section 4 is what makes this shippable politically — a cut nobody has been told about isn't a cut.
- Run it before you're behind, not after. It reads as planning in January and as panic in March.

---

The scope cut that still ships something real · by Lena Fischer · v1.0
From PromptsBuddy — https://promptsbuddy.com/prompts/the-scope-cut
Licensed CC BY 4.0.

Every prompt is also available at /prompts/the-scope-cut/skill.md — see all install options.