Don't Cook a Recipe That's Not on the Menu: A Project Manager's Recipe for Prioritizing What Matters

Imagine walking into a restaurant where the chef is frantically cooking a dish no customer ordered. The kitchen is in chaos, regular orders are delayed, and ingredients are wasted on an off-menu concoction. Sounds absurd for a restaurant, right? Yet in the business world, project teams do this all the time - pouring time and money into features or projects nobody asked for or needs. This book is about avoiding that trap. "Don't cook a recipe that's not on the menu" is our guiding metaphor for focus and prioritization in product and project management. We'll explore how product managers, startup founders, and project leads can deliver value by sticking to the "menu" - the prioritized backlog of work aligned with business goals - and not chasing every shiny idea that comes along.

On a casual and humorous journey through kitchens and backlogs, we'll learn to blend the art of storytelling with the science of project management. We'll meet over-ambitious chefs (teams) who try to "boil the ocean" with too many ingredients, and wise restaurateurs (product owners) who know success comes from serving what's needed and doing it well. Along the way, we'll sprinkle in real-world frameworks (Agile, Lean, OKRs, etc.), relatable metaphors, and a dash of industry stats to add flavor and credibility.

Why is this topic so important? Studies have found that the majority of software features delivered are rarely or never used by customersagilevelocity.com. In fact, roughly only 20% of features end up being used often, while about 66% are hardly ever or never usedagilevelocity.com. That's like a chef spending weeks perfecting a dish that almost no patron ever orders - a colossal waste of effort. Such "extra features" are considered waste in Lean project management, falling under the category of overproductionagilevelocity.com. The lesson? Building stuff nobody wants is as pointless as cooking a meal nobody will eat. It drains resources, delays real progress, and can even cause projects to fail.

Through the chapters ahead, we'll learn how to identify what's "on the menu" for your business (your strategic objectives and product backlog), how to prioritize the right "recipes" (features/tasks) that deliver value, and how to resist the temptations of unplanned scope creep or "gold plating." We'll see how sticking to the menu - with room for smart specials (innovations) - leads to happier customers, better ROI, and saner teams. So tie on your apron, sharpen your knives (or rather, your project plans), and let's cook up some productivity!

(In the spirit of a lighthearted, metaphor-rich journey, prepare for kitchen puns, storytelling, and practical tips served in equal measure. Bon appétit!)