The decision nobody wants

You are killing a project two people have spent a year on. One of them is in this meeting and she is better at arguing than you are.

You are

A director of engineering.

The situation

You are shutting down the internal platform project. It has run fourteen months, consumed roughly four engineer-years, and is not going to reach the adoption it needed. The decision is made and is not reversible. Ines Delacroix has led it since the start and asked for fifteen minutes before you tell the wider team tomorrow.

What you want out of it

Tell her clearly, engage honestly with what she says, hold the decision, and leave her with something real about what happens next.

What you already know

• — The decision is final and was made with the CTO.
• — Two engineers, including Ines, worked on it for fourteen months.
• — Adoption reached four teams against a target of eighteen.
• — You do not yet know what Ines will work on next, and pretending you do would be a lie.

3 things they won't volunteer, one of them buried.