Prioritise customers

The first thing to check is that we are not reading the principle too quickly, but actually reading it and absorbing the written detail.

Our highest priority is to satisfy the customer through early and continuous delivery of valuable software

1. Our highest priority is to 

2. satisfy the customer 

3. through early and 

4. continuous delivery 

5. of valuable software

The 1990s

We occasionally heard that the "project was a success, the outcome not".  This was OK, you see we employed managers to make sure we kept to time and budget and that seemed reasonable.  Then, we employed test people to ensure all the testing was ticked off, ect etc.  The customer was rarely considered as businesses saw all projects, including software, as an expense.  Then what started happening was the customer actually started seeing the software companies were building, starting with websites and so at the turn of the century something had to change.

The intent of this principle

The customer matters, the whole team is creating value for the customer. Also, just like a restaurant in a kitchen, the experience matters also and so make the product good and timely.  Above all focus in on the first word "our", all of us, that is why we are here.

Today (+20 years on)

Lots of people still see their roles as something else.  Our and us don't always exist and the purpose of some team members is sometimes blurred and more often than not it is because of a concern for cost.  The most obvious patterns are

• Focus on cost above value,

• Attention on measuring ROI and not customer advocacy,

• Risk or other factors lead to holding back from releasing to customers,

• A fundamental belief that design can better customer feedback.

Consider this, all restaurants, well at least the better ones, ask for feedback during the meal, not after.  Those that didn't are extinct.