Email Driven Development
Noun · Slang & Abbreviations
Definitions
A mocking term for engineering work steered primarily by email threads, escalation chains, and inbox noise rather than by clear planning or direct product signals. In engineering slang, it suggests reactive work shaped by whoever last wrote loudly enough.
In plain English: Doing engineering work mainly in response to email chains rather than clear planned priorities.
Example: "The roadmap had devolved into email driven development, with priorities changing whenever a sufficiently senior complaint thread landed overnight."