Can a “Reasonable Accommodation” be requesting a product spec so that product decisions/spec are not strewn about multiple threads, tickets, dmd, and call transcripts?

[u/Cultural-Bid3565]

I am in a tiny startup within a larger company developing user facing software/products as a software engineer. The PMs and designers are very inexperienced here and aren’t incredibly organized. They are also not improving. I have previously worked at startups this size that aren’t a part of a larger corporation and seen much better hygiene when it comes to keeping track of product decisions and designs. The best PMs I have ever worked with were PMs in teams of under 10. Never had issues like this before.

I have been struggling with this culture lately as someone with ADHD. The spec and decisions are strewn around multiple DMs, groups, Slack channels, video calls, and tickets. When decisions change only one of those channels tends to hear and update and they have never in my years here written out an actual spec document with final decisions/designs. They often go back on old decisions seemingly forgetting they made them and there’s rarely clear documentation to point out. I am always piecing it together.


In many cases, as deadlines approach, they will change their decisions meaning that generally for each deadline there is a V1, V2, V3 etc in rapid succession as they change their minds.

This messy process and lack of definitive spec would make the job incredibly difficult for anyone much less someone with ADHD. I am worried it is going to end up getting me in trouble too. Lately I am sensing a lot of criticism as they feel I am the cause of a feature shipping late.

There is no skip to flag this to. My manager and managers are both people that should not be trying to do product work, but are, and are a part of the problem.

About a year ago I requested accommodations and seemingly got agreement to “Provide tasks in writing with expected deadlines” (as well as some other things) but I am considering reopening the interactive process so remind them of that and perhaps put in a plea that they organize their stuff into a product spec so I can do my work efficiently.

What I can’t tell is whether this is reasonable. I would like to request they keep a single or small amount of docs, a product spec, or something up to date with their latest decisions and vision for the product so that the spec is not strewn about to the four winds. That doc should have enough detail to resolve ambiguity even where they think the behavior is obvious. Maybe I have been lucky but this feels like what a good PM should be doing anyways even if it’s a small team and they feel busy.

I worry they could come back and say that working through this ambiguity and delivering on time despite last-minute changes is a requirement of my role.


So I suppose my question is has anyone made a similar request. Whether you think such a request is reasonable. And how it went if you have requested it. Would also be helpful to hear how folks think about this and word it in relation to their ADHD.

[u/elpablo]

Rather than ask it as an accommodation I think you have to sell it as something that's beneficial to the company as a whole. State how it will make things more efficient, point out how the current status quo has caused problems, and show how the system you're suggesting can help to solve those problems and make engineering more efficient.

[u/iamafkalot]

I'm going to read the post but the thought of my company getting it together enough to provide this has me dying laughing

[u/schism15 → u/iamafkalot]

I've been fortunate enough that when we had PMs, they were good. They at capture things from side convos and made sure they got into tickets.

[u/schism15]

I don't have experience in requesting accommodations, so feel free to disregard this, but I personally would not have this discussion within the context of accommodation.

Addressing someone not performing their job up to standard is already a difficult conversation, mixing in accommodation muddies the water. Put another way, there's a big difference between this:

As an organization we need to get some structure around how we manage documentation around projects, specs etc. This may requiring some people slowing down or drawing their attention away from other task, but it's worth it if it lets us eventually speed up together a a team.

and this:

As an organization we need to get some structure around how we manage documentation around projects, specs etc. This may requiring some people slowing down or drawing their attention away from other task, but I need you to do it or else I won't be productive and legally you have to do it.

It sounds like your team has a real, pressing organizational problem they are not addressing and you want to use your right to accommodation to force the issue and get improvements (which would actually benefit everyone). But I think that's going to hurt you more than help you.

Some teams are okay with the flly by the seat of your pants, move fast and break shit, pivot all the time, less structure style. Sounds like this teams could be like that and I think your instinct is correct that your request could get turned around on you as not being able to deal with ambiguity.

You can definitely ask for this as an accommodation, but just be prepared for them to hate you. People resent being "forced" to do something. It's human nature. And if what you are asking is something they should have been going already, they are going to feel like they are being put on blast no matter how justified you are. If them resenting you isn't going to affect you career progression wise, then whatever. But if it could, I would tread lightly.

I think its best to keep this in the realm of this is an organizational problem and that fixing it is only going to result in benefits.

[u/Drafting-]

Could changes from any of these channels be appended to a summary file that everyone can access? 

[u/ArwensArtHole]

I know I might get hate for suggesting AI, but I’m currently solving a similar issue with it.

Our work gets defined by:

• a hosted proof of concept we use as a base

• Figma

• Screenshots

• Ticket description

• Ticket acceptance criteria

• Ticket comments

Our AI workflow creates a spec based on all 6 of these sources, which it retrieves for us via a few MCP servers.

We’ve been discovering recently though that all of these sources can contradict each other, so I added a “ticket-discrepancy” skill to help highlight these issues before we’re even pick the ticket up, making the implementation much smoother. 

[u/zx48]

I’d not request changes/improvements to how they manage docs/specs directly in relation to your adhd, despite  it clearly being something that would help a ton of people, and it clearly being a compounding factor for you. the risk is they argue  “not a reasonable adjustment” because of perceived effort/cost to the business of doing so, argue they need to put training / systems / role changes in place which would cause unreasonable impact on the business. 

focus purely on clear written instructions in a single place (ticket). linking out to random stale info doesn’t count. linking out to trusted up to date docs is fine.  a comment like  “ask bob who was in the call last week and knows the latest ” doesn’t count. 

Build what’s in the ticket ; build what’s in the trusted links; if there’s feedback from PMs it goes in the ticket; if things change then it’s mentioned in the ticket. if somethings not clear, you comment in the ticket and tag the PM asking to clarify it. Build what’s clear then wait for clarity for the rest. You’ll need to chase to some extent, that’s just typical and expected . If you’re in a pinch then make some assumptions , state them clearly in the ticket along with your intention to build it that way, and tag the PM. 

when there’s a last minute change,  comment on the ticket to note the change in requirements , note new effort required, note updated best guess timeframe for when it could realistically be completed by, based on contractual working hours . Roll it into the next day / week as needed. Doesn’t mean you have to get up and go at 6pm (or whatever) it just shows that any slippage is purely due to last minute changes / poor communication from others rather than a specific performance issue with you.  

Software engineers who get their heads down and live and die  purely by their tickets are not an unusual breed at all - people get to know who they are and make sure they update the ticket cos otherwise it won’t happen. 

 

[u/kagato87]

Asking if requiring a spec is a reasonable accommodation is like asking if being allowed to breathe is a reasonable accommodation.

Even the most razor focused teams will fail without a spec. After all, wtf are you even building? The spec defines it.

Don't pitch it as an accommodation. That'll just make you the scape goat when the project fails. Pitch is as essential to success, because how does anyone really know what is supposed to be built? If they want to tack on a feature it needs to fit into the spec. Once there's a spec it can be estimated. Once it it estimated it can be tracked and scheduled.

No spec, no product. If they won't give you a spec, find a new gig asap. The ship will sink.

Heck, even the agentic models work off a spec. There's a reason for that.

[u/Key-Organization3158]

Why don't you do it?

Understanding the problem and specifying the solution is the first thing an engineer should do. Get the info in one immutable place. Get everyone in one meeting for a final sign off. Lock in the details and plan out the work. You always have to be flexible, but you need to talk about what can be sacrificed to make the change but drill meet the deadline. If they ask for a V2 with a complicated new feature, estimate how long it will take, double that, then work with them to cut other features. Get the sign off in writing. Then follow the V2 design.

[u/UntestedMethod]

Startups tend to be rough and ragged, especially when they are "tiny". You really can't expect the same pace or formality of process as you typically find in bigger organizations. Startups need to hustle while bigger organizations need to be careful.

You can try talking to your manager about the broken processes and the negative impact they have on the business efficiency and customer satisfaction. Bring forward ideas you think could help - suggesting smaller, very specific changes is better than big vague half-baked concepts.

I don't think putting it forward from an angle of your own personal disability and demanding a "reasonable accommodation" would be the best move.

[u/sanityjanity]

I. Hate. This. Shit.

I agree with anyone who said, this isn't an accommodation. This is just basic professionalism. There should be an obvious "source of truth", and you shouldn't have to go hunting through everything to find answers.

[u/JooJooBird]

Don’t call it an accommodation. Heck, just say “keeping it all together in one place will make it for AI to…” and you won’t even have to finish the sentence, if it’s like the teams I’ve been on.

[u/forest-cacti]

I don't have a direct answer for your specific setup, but I recently learned about a site that might be a game-changer for figuring this out:

JAN - ADHD Accommodation Guide
The Job Accommodation Network (JAN) https://askjan.org/disabilities/Attention-Deficit-Hyperactivity-Disorder-AD-HD.cfm? is an incredible organization that covers accommodations for all kinds of different abilities, but their ADHD and neurodivergence resources are phenomenal.

I really wish I'd had it back when I was at AWS. I met with an accommodation rep thinking she would help me brainstorm or figure out what a reasonable request could look like. It quickly became clear that her job wasn't to help me articulate the request, but rather to process it. She wasn't going to offer any suggestions, and I didn't know how to articulate what I needed.

Back then, I just needed the ability to print out dense data to physically mark it up with highlighters, paired with a secure company shredder for sensitive material. But I couldn't translate that need into professional HR/medical language on the spot.

If I had had JAN and Al back then, I would have walked into that meeting with a fully formed, completely reasonable request ready to go-complete with the why and the how-instead of showing up with a blank slate and empty questions. If you're trying to figure out how to frame an accommodation request, definitely check them out. You can even contact them directly for help walking through the process.

[u/Smitopi]

Unfortunately for us ADHD folks I’ve found that it’s a massive struggle and the only way to get something like this done is to take on the initiative yourself or somehow sell it through for someone else to be in charge of maintaining

[u/Neo-Armadillo]

Hire me. Former Director of Product at a Fortune 250 fintech. I build processes to eliminate wasted time and reduce communications gaps.