Category: The Boutique Edge

What kind of results can you guarantee?

In a past post I referred to some podcasts on value, value pricing and software development. Michael had a few questions about the podcast. These are deep questions so I thought it would be fun to answer them in a video format where I can talk through the considerations and my response.

The second question from Michael:

What kind of results can you put in your proposals in a way that lets you put your guarantee under it and be 99% sure you will hit the results?

What if there are factors contributing to the the results that are not under your control? Do you usually measure the results in units like hours saved, new customers aquired etc. or more like “employees are able to do X with an effort no more that Y per week while processing Z number/percent of widgets more than before”.

Here’s my response:

When does a paid discovery project make sense?

In a past post I referred to some podcasts on value, value pricing and software development. Michael had a few questions about the podcast. These are deep questions so I thought it would be fun to answer them in a video format where I can talk through the considerations and my response.

The first question from Michael:

How and when do you recommend charging for a value conversation like in a payed discovery phase?

I am afraid that in the beginning with little practice, conversations digging for the value will lead to repeated long meetings (noooo!) and potentially a big loss of time/money. Sure qualification of prospects is a key factor but still I feel that DISCORVERING the value brings a lot of value in itself for the prospect.

Here’s my response:

How a team can develop its responsibility

I had a great question come up in the comments of my post about how Handoff erodes trust: You have a team of developers, and a large project, and you need to break up responsibility. Instead of a “hand-off” strategy for development, does each developer take responsibility for a set of features beginning-to-end? Are there other alternatives? Even if you…

Handoff erodes trust

When work is partitioned into intermediate results, results that may or may not lead to a desired outcome, responsibility fractures. In a chain of intermediate results, individuals do their part, like working an assembly line to produce a desired outcome. When the desired outcome involves the application of knowledge in a creative fashion, quality is no longer objective. The work…

Budgeting should follow, not lead

Most organizations are ensconced with the specious practice of budgeting. It works well as a means to estimate costs and allocate money to make sure costs are covered. In addition to estimating costs, budgeting is often the means by which capital is allocated for potential investments. Often, budgets are established on a yearly basis and capped. Individuals or groups within…

Absorb Responsibility

Direct responsibility affords effectiveness instead of the elusive efficiency gains supposed in slicing and dicing responsibility. But, when bureaucracy slices and dices responsibility into many intermediate pieces, it can be difficult for those at the bottom of the ranks to affect change. It would seem that changing the slicing and dicing would require buy in from the top. While establishing…

Direct Responsibility

Direct responsibility means an individual, or a team, is responsible for everything necessary to turn a customer need into results for the customer. Results should have a measurable impact on the customer. An impact that those that are responsible should be a part of measuring and understanding, such that they seek to achieve the impact. Direct responsibility avoids splitting up…

Customer request is not customer value

Just because a customer asks for something, does not mean that what they ask for is actually valuable to them. And even if it’s valuable, it’s another thing to be worthwhile. To be worth more than it costs. When a customer makes a request, they’re starting a conversation. The first part of that conversation needs to be about why and…

Prioritize based on customer value too

Very few organizations involved in software development, and in many other industries, get to the point where they prioritize the work they do based on the value it will create. Most work is prioritized based on one person’s opinion about what should be done next. It might be something they perceive as important, something that will solve a problem they’re…