134: Business Outcomes and Software Development - Benjamin Harding

Within software projects, there are lots of metrics we could measure. But which ones really matter. Instead of a list, Benjamin Harding shares with us a way of thinking about business outcomes that can help us with every day decision making. 

We talk about:

• Business outcomes vs vanity metrics
• As a developer, how do you keep business outcomes in mind
• Thinking about customer value all the time
• Communicating decisions and options in terms of costs and impact on business outcomes
• Company culture and it's role in reinforcing a business outcome mindset
• And even the role of team lead as impact multiplier 

I really enjoyed this conversation. But I admit that at first, I didn't realize how important this is on all software development. Metrics are front and center in a web app. But what about a service, or an embedded system with no telemetry. It still matters, maybe even more so. Little and big decisions developers face every day that have impact on costs and benefits with respect to customer value and business outcome, even if it's difficult to measure.

Special Guest: Benjamin Harding.