Anti-pattern 7.1
The Technical-Merit Pitch
Engineers argue for their work on its technical merits, to people who hold budgets.
In This Context
A platform is challenged on its cost. The financial controller wants to know why it costs so much, why it isn’t generating revenue, and what the return on investment is. The engineers know it is good work, and that it saves the organization effort. But freed-up capacity doesn’t appear on anyone’s P&L: the same engineers are paid the same salaries and go on to do something else.
Therefore
The engineers argue that “it’s well engineered,” “teams will reuse it,” and “it will make everyone faster.”
Consequently
- The arguments may well be true, and they persuade nobody who holds a budget.
- By the budget holder’s measures, the platform is all cost and no benefit.
- If faster delivery lets the business units take on more work, the platform can even look as though it made them spend more.
- A better approach: The Deletable Cost Line, Translate the Question.
Seen In
Chapter 1, “Hitting the Wall”; Chapter 16, “Win the Right Arguments” (no section anchor); Chapter 15, figure “Jan’s platform metrics and Zack’s, with nothing joining them”; Chapter 1, “Invisible Profit and Loss Benefits”.