If you look at the image below, you'll see an XY graph, along the Y axis is doing the right thing, i.e. building the right solution. Along the X axis is doing it right, i.e. building the solution well. There was some studies into these metrics, but I don't know what it is, so I'm just going to use pseudo numbers.
In the lower left quadrant, you'll see doing the wrong thing, and doing it badly. The cost of the project is greater than the average IT project, and the revenue is lower than expected. In the upper left quadrant your doing the right thing, but you're doing it wrong. Your costs are still larger than average but you are making more revenue as you're building the required product. In the bottom right you're doing the wrong thing, but you're doing it well so your costs are lower than average, but your revenue isn't as good as expected. In the top right, you're doing the right thing and you're doing it well. Your costs are lower than average, and your revenue is higher than expected.
Now, of course, this is abstract and to be taken with a large pinch of salt, but there are some interesting deductions to be made. Firstly, we were told that according to the study, it's near impossible to go from building the right thing badly to building the right thing well. Looking at the rest, it seems intuitive that if you were doing the wrong thing badly, you'd want to do the right thing badly before doing the right thing well, but in actual fact, it's less costly and more efficient to do the wrong thing well and progress to building the right thing well.
So, where's your project on the quadrant, where do you want to be and how to you want to get there?
3 comments:
If I'm not mistaken the top left quadrant is higher than average SPEND and lower than average REVENUE
What you say is clear enough that I can see that the diagram is wrong.
I think one way in which it is better to start doing the wrong thing right is that it involves the least friction. Most development teams want to do things the right way, regardless of what they are producing.
And managers need a lot of time to accept what they are doing is wrong, and regain a meanginful track. Also having the wrong thing functioning correctly gives a much clearer position.
I can remember boo.com going down in that dot.com crash; it finally had a workable interface that led most people to correctly question the atrocious business model.
@rags, yeah, I think you may be right, I do have a sketchy memory ;)
@de, most development teams we've encountered want to do the right thing, but I've not met all that many. There must be loads of companies that almost force the developers down a road of badness due to pressure to delivery, lack of allowing developers to learn and explore new techniques etc.
I think the point this raises isn't where's the best place to be, it's where's the best place to aim toward. This research shows (albiet I don't have the research) that it's fiscally better for a company to improve it's processes and the way it works, rather than trying to build the right thing with broken processes.
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