Last week I had a flash meeting called by a user (the most important one) about a project I'm on. The project makes a replacement for existing software, modernizing it and adding some new tools. The new input was a bunch of wishes that basically diverted from the whole concept, going to another style of working. Screen shots of competitors came on the table.
Fear and panic spread amongst us. Older and a bit wiser, I started analyzing (using the user present) the new requirements. It turned out that the new requirements could fit in with the existing ones nicely, by changing the design slightly and adding a new subclass to an existing factory structure. It took some work to keep calm and see through the initial mood of 'the old stuff is simply not good enough' and go to a state of 'the old stuff is still useful in some parts, but we also want a new way of handling another part'.
Avoiding the threat of a sudden Toy Shop situation is a good test for your nerves. But it pays to keep calm and analyze immediately. In this case, the meeting ended peacefully, and all went their way happily.
In other situations, you may not be so lucky. In such cases you often have no other resort than to pull up an overview of already existing commitments - early. Ask what should be canceled to be able to do the things just mentioned. That often helps to shield against the rest of the list to be presented. Because remember, every impossible wish with its hidden expectations is an attack on everyone's motivations.
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