How many approvals does it take to launch one simple feature?
One?
Three?
Five?
Or does it feel like every decision has to survive an endless chain of "Can someone else review this first?"
Most companies believe more approvals reduce mistakes.
In reality, too many approval layers often create something far more expensive than bugs.
They create slow teams, frustrated employees, delayed launches, and missed opportunities.
The cost isn't always visible on a balance sheet.
But your customers notice it.
Your competitors benefit from it.
And your team feels it every single day.
The Approval Trap
It usually starts with good intentions.
- Better quality
- Better security
- Better compliance
- Better accountability
So another approval step gets added.
Then another.
Then another.
Eventually, a simple UI change needs approval from:
- Product Manager
- Tech Lead
- Design Team
- QA
- Security Team
- Marketing
- Operations
- Senior Management
What should have taken one day now takes two weeks.
The feature didn't become better.
It simply became slower.
Every Approval Has a Cost
Approvals are not free.
Each additional layer introduces:
- Waiting time
- Context switching
- More meetings
- More documentation
- Decision fatigue
- Reduced ownership
Developers stop building.
Designers stop designing.
Everyone starts waiting.
Speed Is a Competitive Advantage
Companies don't just compete on features anymore.
They compete on how quickly they can learn.
A feature released today provides user feedback today.
A feature released next month provides feedback next month.
Every unnecessary approval delays learning.
Read more about Lean Product Thinking:
Small Delays Become Big Problems
Imagine this workflow.
Developer finishes the feature on Monday.
Manager is busy until Wednesday.
QA reviews it Friday.
Security reviews it next Tuesday.
Marketing signs off next Thursday.
Deployment happens the following week.
Nothing was technically difficult.
The process was.
Innovation Slows Down
When every experiment requires multiple approvals, teams stop experimenting.
Instead of asking:
"What if we try this?"
People begin asking:
"Is it worth the approval process?"
That's when innovation quietly disappears.
Developers Lose Momentum
Every interruption has a hidden productivity cost.
A developer waiting for approvals rarely stays idle.
They switch to another task.
When approval finally arrives, they need time to:
- Remember the code
- Reload the project
- Rebuild context
- Test everything again
Ownership Starts to Fade
Too many approvals create a dangerous mindset.
Instead of saying:
"I'm responsible for this."
People begin saying:
"It was approved."
Responsibility shifts from ownership to paperwork.
That's never good for product quality.
Customers Don't Care About Your Approval Process
Users only notice one thing.
"Why is this taking so long?"
They don't see:
- Internal meetings
- Approval emails
- Review chains
- Status updates
They only experience delayed improvements.
Better Doesn't Mean More Approvals
High-performing teams usually optimize for clarity rather than bureaucracy.
They define:
- Clear responsibilities
- Decision boundaries
- Coding standards
- Automated testing
- Continuous integration
- Fast feedback loops
Instead of adding more people to approve work, they improve the system that validates it.
Learn about Continuous Integration:
https://martinfowler.com/articles/continuousIntegration.html
Automation Can Replace Many Manual Approvals
Instead of waiting for someone to manually verify every change, automate repetitive checks.
A simple GitHub Actions workflow can automatically run tests whenever code is pushed.
name: CI
on:
push:
branches:
- main
jobs:
test:
runs-on: ubuntu-latest
steps:
- uses: actions/checkout@v4
- uses: actions/setup-node@v4
with:
node-version: 20
- run: npm install
- run: npm test
Automation doesn't eliminate human review.
It removes unnecessary waiting for predictable checks.
GitHub Actions Documentation:
https://docs.github.com/actions
Signs Your Approval Process Needs Attention
Ask yourself:
- Does a simple change require approvals from multiple departments?
- Are teams waiting more than they're building?
- Are releases delayed despite completed development?
- Do employees spend more time explaining work than doing it?
- Are customers waiting weeks for small improvements?
- Does everyone assume someone else owns the decision?
If the answer is "yes" to several of these, your approval process may be slowing your business more than protecting it.
A Better Question to Ask
Instead of asking:
"Who else should approve this?"
Try asking:
"What risk are we trying to reduce, and can we solve it in a faster way?"
Sometimes the answer is:
- Better documentation
- Better automated testing
- Better monitoring
- Better ownership
Not another approval layer.
Final Thought
Growth rarely slows because teams stop working hard.
It slows because every small decision becomes difficult to make.
The fastest organizations aren't reckless.
They're intentional.
They remove unnecessary friction, automate repetitive work, trust capable teams, and reserve approvals for decisions that genuinely require them.
The result isn't just faster software.
It's faster learning, happier teams, and better customer experiences.
💬 How many approval layers does a simple feature go through in your organization?
Have you seen too many approvals improve quality—or just slow everything down?
Share your experience in the comments.
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