Called Shots... a cautionary tale
…as possible. Combined with the pull of the "dark side" ( [[Continuous Value Delivery: Dark Side vs Light Side]] )). I have a belief that if you just "do it…
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Wouldn’t it be grand if there was a pure right and wrong to everything?
In modern Product… It is Dark Side to be output-focused. Story points, sprints, Called Shots, velocity, SAFe, Waterfall… all evil.
In modern Product… It is Light Side to be outcome-focused. Opportunity-solution trees, Launch Effectiveness , Continuous Discovery, empowered product teams, solution-less OKRs, outcome-based roadmaps… all purely good.
It would truly be amazing if these were facts.
However, the reality is a lot messier. Reality is that output-focus is like using lightning powers. Useful, but when overly used, it can be very bad. But, the same is true of the light-side. Depriving yourself of love (let’s be honest… it is fun to think of solutions) is also not the “right” thing.
The right thing is… well the Right Thing.
The right thing requires you to have your guiding principles (ideally they grow as you experience more) and you have context. Armed with guiding principles, a respect for your current context, and an unquenchable thirst for continuous improvement… THIS IS THE WAY.
So is Output-focus Dark Side? Is Outcome-focus Light Side? Yes. But neither should be our goal. Our goal should be the Right Side… which IMO is:
Continuously Deliver Value that Customers Love – and Works for the Business – while pursuing Continuous Improvement of Daily Work – guided by a Culture of Continuous Learning
– The Continuous Value Delivery form of the Product Operating Model