Escaping The Build Trap

By Melissa Perry

Melissa Perri tackles one of the most common problems in software organizations: teams that measure success by how much they ship instead of the value they deliver. The "build trap" is the cycle of churning out features without validating whether they solve real problems, and this book lays out a clear path to escape it.

The book covers how to build an effective product management practice, how to align strategy with outcomes, and how to create a culture of experimentation over output. Whether you are an engineer frustrated by building features nobody uses, a product manager trying to shift your team's mindset, or a leader looking to connect strategy to execution, this book offers actionable frameworks to focus on what actually matters.