Teams that don’t verify the outcome of their work, are playing roulette. It does not make sense to manage on assumed value, defined upfront. Don’t rely on assumptions. In our complex world, assumptions are only guesses. It’s like where the ball will land next. The odds that you are wrong with your assumptions are typically very high.
Have a clear measurable outcome-focused goal and inspect regularly if you are heading towards meeting the goal. Examples of such goals are:
“Increase our user base for the product from 500,000 to 1,500,000 by the end of the year.”
“100% of our flow is being monitored on potentially fraudulent transactions by the end of the year. Currently, we are at 85%.”
“Decrease downtime from 15 minutes each month to 1 minute each month by the end of the year.”
This allows you to adjust the course and try other things to achieve the goal. You can ask questions, like:
Does what we create bring us closer to our goal?
Are we adding value?
What did we learn to focus on next to add value and bring us closer to our goal?
You are no better than a bad waterfall team when you don't verify the outcome. As — although often ignored — even with waterfall projects, you should confirm your assumptions regularly.