When should we stop building and start measuring results?
Unbounded output productionRelease or pilot a safe coherent outcome as soon as it can generate useful evidence. Define the learning question and measurement before adding more optional functionality.
What to do now
- Identify the smallest useful outcome
- Confirm safe readiness and support
- Define what evidence will inform the next decision
- Measure before expanding scope
When to escalate
Escalate when
The proposed release would expose users to unacceptable risk.
Who decides
The product or business benefit owner
Example
A team pilots one complete workflow and uses observed completion problems to guide the next release.
Mistake to avoid
Continuing development indefinitely because more features are possible.
Prevent a repeat
Compare observed outcomes with the baseline and separate forecast benefits from benefits actually measured.
Suggested ApprovedFlow setup
- Projects
- Tasks
- Documents
Keep the intended outcome and measurement plan with the project, and assign improvement work to an accountable business owner. See the platform
Related cases
- We measure adoption by logins. Is that enough?Vanity adoption metric
- How do we distinguish an output, an outcome, and a benefit?Value-chain confusion
- The minimum viable product keeps becoming a full product. How do we narrow it?Unbounded first release
- How do we track dependencies without building an unreadable chart?Dependency information overload