Stop Estimating the Ivory Tower: Why Engineers Need to Ask “Should We Build This?”

As software engineers, we’ve trained ourselves to respond to requests with estimates, architecture plans, and implementation strategies. Product comes to us with a list of features, and we say, “Here’s how long it will take.”

But here’s the uncomfortable truth: far too often, we don’t ask the most important question—“Should we even build this?”

We assume it’s not our place to ask. That strategy and value judgment belong to product managers, business leads, or stakeholders, and should already have been answered in the affirmative by the time that it gets to engineering. Our role, we think, is execution. But that kind of thinking leads to bloated backlogs, expensive dead ends, and what I call Ivory Tower engineering—elegant, complex systems that don’t solve a problem anyone actually had.

In reality, pushing back is a form of stewardship—of our time, our company’s money, and our users’ trust. Good engineers aren’t just builders; they’re partners in solving the right problems. And sometimes, the most impactful thing we can do is say, “Why are we building this? What problem are we solving? What outcome are we chasing?”

It’s not about being combative—it’s about being curious and aligned. It’s about being more than a builder or order taker, it’s about being a check and a balance in the machine.

The next time a feature lands on your desk, don’t just reach for your IDE. Ask the question “why”. You might save your company months of effort—and build something that truly matters instead.