Outcome Centricity: The next frontier for agile organizations (Part VII)

Note: This is Part VII of the series on Outcome Centricity, focusing on agile vs. outcome-centric delivery. You'll find the first part of the series here, the second part here, the third part here, the fourth part here, the fifth part here and the sixth part here.

When I first started thinking about Outcome Centricity I saw it in mainly in contrast to agile organizations, and specifically in contrast to agile delivery. Now as I have discussed in my latest articles, the notion of Outcome Centricity extends well beyond delivery and/or solution design. As I have shown, you find outcome-centric practices in all business realms - strategy, business model, leadership, commercial management, technology and more. Check out especially my last post for concrete examples of outcome-centric practices across a wide variety of organizations.

In what follows, however, I'd like to go back a bit and dive deeper into the difference between agile and outcome-centric delivery. Obviously, as for any model or framework, you'll lose some of the nuances and details, but it should give you a good overview of the similarities and differences between the two.

So let's dive right in and check out the framework below, which is structured along the four guiding principles of outcome-centric delivery:

Relentless focus on design solutions...

...which are meaningful for our customers...

...and deliver real outcomes and behavior change...

...which drive our business forward.

By the way: As you can tell, it's possible to map no less than 10 popular methodologies & frameworks along those four guiding principles (Kanban, Scrum, ODI Innovation, Design Thinking, Evidence-Based Management, OKRs, Lean Startup, Osterwalder on Biz Model Canvas/VP development, VC² and Outcome Centricity of course). That's pretty neat, if you ask me.

So, coming back to my original point, here's how agile delivery and outcome-centric delivery differ - or, to be more precise: How outcome-centric delivery goes beyond agile delivery.

Focus of agile delivery:

• Building & shipping output as fast as possible
• Eliminating waste and designing solutions which are relevant for customers
• Prioritization based on customer relevance
• Identifying Problem-Solution fit (which occurs "when you have evidence that customers care about certain jobs, pains, and gains")
• Primary methods used: Kanban, Scrum, elements of Design Thinking & Jobs to be Done
• Creating value

Focus of outcome-centric delivery:

• Building & shipping output as fast as possible and measuring & learning whether you are in fact delivering meaningful outcomes for both customers and the business
• Eliminating waste and designing solutions which are relevant for customers and which actually trigger behavior change and deliver against desirable outcomes
• Prioritization based on customer relevance and customer-driven validation of key hypotheses
• Identifying Problem-Solution fit and Product-Market fit ("when you have evidence that your value proposition is actually creating value for customers") as well as Business Model fit ("when you have evidence that your value proposition that creates value for your customers is embedded in a profitable and scalable business model that creates value for your organization")
• Primary methods used: Kanban, Scrum, elements of Design Thinking & Jobs to be Done, and evidence-based management as well as instruments such as OKRs
• Creating value and capturing value

As always, I'd love to hear your thoughts and feedback. And thanks Nicolas and Torben for your help with this article!