I hear all the time, in agile we focus on value generation. Any viable business focuses on producing value for its products or services. Saying that is a tautology. There can be no viable business without some kind of value proposition that is acceptable to some number of customers to produce enough revenue to cover the costs of producing that value.
But not knowing the cost of that value, the cost to produce that value, managing the cost to produce that value, and controlling the costs during the value production process - There is not sustainable business.
And by the way, the date on which that value will appear, since revenue stream or benefit stream needed to pay for the cost of that value needs to start on the planned time to produce the planned business performance needed to stay in business. Nice products late or nice products for too much cost is a going out of business strategy.
The next time you hear, we focus on value first, call BS. Focusing on value in the absence of focusing on cost of that value is a going out of business strategy (unless you're a sovereign).
In the bottom line management of any viable business you get a divide by zero error if you don't know the cost of the value produced.
Since both value and cost are random variables in any development business - and random variables on production business as well - we need to have estimates for both cost and value at the same time. These estimates need confidence levels, cumulative probabilities of being at or below and on or before conversations. And an understanding of how the work processes drives these random variables as the project or service proceeds.
It can't be said any more clearly
Both Value and the Cost of that Value are needed for any hope of staying in Business
So don't let those asserting we focus on value to get away with that weak statement. Producing products for money is driven by the business processes first. Those producing those products need to get paid.
And when we here, don't estimate budget, then we're fixing one for the three variables of all projects, and the other are still free to vary in random ways. These ways need to be estimated as well, otherwise that fixed budget, may or may not be enough to deliver the needed capabilities on the needed date to deliver that needed value.
