Going to a restaurant and paying the bill can really help us understand value and what defines “done”. Imagine….for your birthday you may choose to go to a high end restaurant…picture it….white linen table cloths, heavy cutlery, quiet but pleasant music, smooth well-dressed waiters who know the menu, refined glassware, great menu, outstanding food. When the bill arrives after your meal and it is big, do you complain? No….you got what you expected and it was valuable to you.
Let’s look closer…. The meal took time to make, but there was no stress for you. You were comfortably seated, water arrived without request, bread and butter arrived, maybe even a complimentary amuse-bouche, the environment was pleasant and the service seamless. When the meal arrives the food looks and tastes amazing.
Now close your eyes and imagine going to Maccas…….the same outcome is achieved, you had a seat, your got food, you may have even had music….but it is a very different experience with a very different price point! But you also get what you expected and what you paid for.
Back to our restaurant…Look closely at the bill, the only items on it are your food and your drinks, nothing there about floor washing, linen laundering, veggie peeling, kitchen scrubbing, waiter training, music purchase, restaurant fit out etc….but these were all part of your experience, your high-end value-driven experience. You pay for them, you just don’t see them listed on the bill. Which ones would you want to not pay for? Which ones impact the most on the quality or value proposition that was the team's target?
The definition of done is like the restaurant activities, items and events that happen but at not articulated on the bill. Their costs are not itemized but they are included in the final price of the meal. They define the value of the experience.
Our problems in delivery occur when people want fine dining but want the turn around time and price point of Maccas. Both are valid value propositions, but both have very different attributes and features. They do have common elements – cleaning of restaurant, training of staff, purchase of produce, but they would be done in very different ways with very different outcomes. Both are valid – but which is right for your definition of value? What sort of value proposition does your organisation want?
Flip this over, from your organisation’s perspective, what sort of items are they paying for but not seeing on the bill? What work is being done by the team that is adding cost but not value to the delivery? Drill down into all the work needed to deliver all your items (definition of done) and understand what value each of them provides. This value may be immediate or strategic, but we do need to understand it and articulate it. Are we a once a year fine dining experience or are we a monthly Maccas experience? What does your organisation want? What does your organisation need? What does your organisation pay for?
Post by Sharon Robson