As freelancers, developers and project managers working on a project, it’s easy to get blinded by outcomes. Tasks on a project are often defined by the specific thing that we expect to build or present to the client or customer. But what if our assumptions are wrong? Or the scope changes along the way? What if there was an easier way to produce a desirable, user-friendly end-product without specifically defining what that end-product is? (Spoiler: There is!) This talk will discuss how to shift your focus from outputs to outcomes and how that little mental shift, changes everything. Really!
9. DEVELOPMENT
PLANNING
OUTPUT-BASED
➡ Add an image gallery
block to posts
➡ Create a case study
post type for sharing
work
➡ Load more button is
broken
➡ Site search does not
work
➡ Email alert issues
➡ Social media feed
needs to be
10. DEVELOPMENT
PLANNING
OUTCOME-BASED
➡ Posts have the ability
to add image
galleries
➡ Encourage sharing
work on the site
through case studies
➡ Load more button
should load more
posts on the archive
page
➡ Site search should
show relevant results
11. OUTCOMES VS OUTPUTS
Car safety features
➡ Accident injury
prevention
Outcome
➡ Seatbelts
➡ Airbags
➡ Child car seats
Output
Image Src Vectors by Vecteezy
12. BUT WHY?
➡ Accept the unknowns
➡ We don’t know the best
implementation
➡ Focus on the need
➡ Refrain from locking into a
specific implementation
13. BUT HOW?
➡ Ticket titles!
➡ Ticket descriptions!
➡ Don’t propose solutions
in ticket creation and
refining
➡ Clear requirements,
clear acceptance criteria
➡ Context about needs
➡ Keep the descriptions
up-to-date
Agile projects
Complexity-based (Fibonacci, t-shirt sizes, planning poker)
Embrace the unknown and be honest with what we don’t know
Development planning
Creating tickets
Feature-based
What do you want it to do?
How does it work?
How urgent?
Bugs
What’s broken?
What needs to be fixed?
Output-based
Add an image gallery block to posts
Create a case study post type for sharing work
Load more button is broken
Site search does not work
Email alert issues
Social media feed needs to be accessible
Outcome-based
Posts have the ability to add image galleries
Encourage sharing work on the site through case studies
Load more button should load more posts on the archive page
Site search should show relevant results
Email alert issues — Epic, Needs discovery
Social media feeds needs to be accessible — Epic, needs discovery
Outcomes vs. outputs
Car safety features
Output
Seatbelts
Airbags
Child car seats
Outcome
Accident injury prevention
Over time, outputs may change, but the outcome remains the same as technologies or needs change and evolve
But why?
What difference does outcome based development planning make over output?
Accept the unknowns
Software development is about building things for the first time
We don’t know the best implementation
Focus on the need
Refrain from locking into a specific implementation
This can lead to developing for something other than what might be the best solution for a problem
But how?
Ticket titles!
Framing the title of a ticket with an outcome-based solution helps to frame the conversation
Ticket description
Don’t propose solutions in the ticket creation and refining process
Focus instead on what the outcome is, let the development team figure out the output
Clear requirements, clear acceptance criteria
Again, AC needs to be outcome-based, not output based
Context in the ticket about why and what the needs are
This helps development target the actual need, based on stated conclusions rather than developer assumptions
Keep the description up-to-date
It’s less mental overhead if all the relevant information and context is in the description rather than forcing developers to read the entire thread
Longer term planning
Stop planning on timelines Use time horizons, instead
Current
Near Term
Future
Focus on outcomes and objectives over specific features
Even if features might be part of the conversation, steer discussion toward desired outcomes