Outcomes over Output

In the old days, when we made physical products, setting project goals wasn't that hard. But in today's service- and software-driven world, "done" is less obvious. When is Amazon done? When is Google done? Or Facebook? In reality, services powered by digital systems are never done. So then how do we give teams a goal that they can work on?Mostly, we simply ask teams to build features — but features are the wrong way to go. We often build features that create no value. Instead, we need to give teams an outcome to achieve. Using outcomes creates focus and alignment. It eliminates needless work. And it puts the customer at the center of everything you do.Setting goals as outcomes sounds simple, but it can be hard to do in practice. This book is a practical guide to using outcomes to guide the work of your team.

1. What Are Outcomes?
2. Using Outcomes
3. Outcomes-Based Planning
4. Organizing for Outcomes
5. Outcomes for Transformation

This small and unassuming books are a breath of fresh air and it makes you think and challenge the status quo.

Outstanding reading and very much recommended reading. The only caveat is that the reader must be at least rudimentary familiar with the concepts discussed in the book (like OKRs, Design Thinking, Project and Program Management, etc.)