📖 Interesting read on heise.de: "From Output to Outcome" argues that dev teams should stop measuring success by features shipped and start asking: what actually changed for the user?

[marcelschmall@infosec.exchange]

Interesting read on heise.de: "From Output to Outcome" argues that dev teams should stop measuring success by features shipped and start asking: what actually changed for the user?

The idea is simple but powerful — a feature is just output. Outcome is when a customer actually solves a problem faster, makes fewer errors, or needs less support. Developers are encouraged to ask "why are we building this?" before writing a single line of code.

But here's where it gets tricky for B2B software:

Your actual users and your paying customers are different people. The CFO signs the contract, the clerk uses the software daily — their definitions of "value" rarely align.

You often have no direct telemetry. On-premise deployments, strict data policies, and months-long update cycles mean you may never see how a feature is actually used.

Feedback is heavily filtered. It travels through support tickets, account managers, and customer success teams before it reaches the dev team — losing signal at every step.

Outcomes are slow. In B2B, the real proof shows up at contract renewal time — sometimes a year later.

So the question is: how do you build an outcome-oriented culture when the outcome is invisible to you?

Is opt-in telemetry the answer? Closer collaboration with customer success? Structured user interviews? Or something else entirely?

#SoftwareDevelopment #ProductManagement #B2BSoftware #AgileB2B