Uncovering the hidden value

Agile software projects are more into setting the right expectations, challenging with key questions, analysing and converting business needs to user stories. The team gets more into grooming the backlog, delivering features and striving towards adding value to the end customer. But what’s the aftermath of adding value to the customer? Is the company in itself going to make profit? What would happen if the features we developed added value to customers but did not counterbalance/increase revenue to the company?

Glimpse through the article to understand the hidden value that should be explored apart from delivering value to the end customers.

Photo credit: Unsplash

What should be considered in the “Analysis” phase?

When it comes to analysis there are two main dimensions to focus on

1. What value do we add to the end customer?
2. What value do we add in terms of revenue to the company?

Balancing both is a challenging task where one without the other is useless. “Customer is the king” and we always work towards making things better for the customer and that’s the nitty-gritty. Catching sight of the other side of the coin, what changes in profitability are we going to bring to the company especially on a service based working model. Will the reflection of profitability be sooner or later?

Reasons for some of the projects to not go very well:

1. Not mapping the customer value matrix with the company’s revenue impact
2. Too many assumptions for delivering customer value leading to build a product which cannot be used and hence reduction in revenue for the company
3. Delivering the right customer value but still not counting on the revenue of the company post the new changes

Real time examples:

Amazon adds value to customers by delivering any product at doorstep, Swiggy adds value to the customer by delivering food from the customer’s favourite restaurant in a few clicks. Successful marketplaces like Amazon and Swiggy never fail to deliver customer value but also have their revenue model well planned in terms of profitability which gives them the stature they are at present.

Why is there a need to uncover the hidden value?

During the discovery phase of a software project we agree on goals and objectives with stakeholders and march forward for delivery. A yesterday’s solution can become obsolete tomorrow. It becomes useless to invest time and resources for something that cannot be utilised by the customer. There is no end to adding customer value by enhancing the features. But what’s the measure on the company’s stability and profitability and how right we can deliver is the key question.

How can we achieve the benefit of goodness by uncovering the hidden value?

Here are few ways that can help software projects to scale better and add the best value for the company/any organisation (apart from adding value to the customer)

1. Set KPIs to plan the revenue model of the company
2. Plan on the time that the product will take for providing financial stability
3. Set and align OKRs so that the team is destined to add value to the company in terms of revenue
4. Keep reflecting and making changes based on the delivery and feature aspects
5. Always connect with the stakeholders to understand their mindset and be open to change

To conclude

The feeling of adding customer value and also knowing that their work is going to benefit their company/organisation in terms of revenue will definitely boost the team’s motivation to scale better. Uncover the hidden value that we deliver (to the team & to the organisation) and that’s the finest way to connect better with a company/organisation.

Cheers! Happy reading :)