Evidence based management is a framework developed by Scrum.org designed to enable technology leaders to develop a management approach based measuring value and evaluating the effect of change on that value. The framework seeks to emulate the tremendously successful approach that transformed medical science, a field that once relied on anecdotal evidence, superstition, hunches, and tradition. Evidence based medicine is a mature, scientific approach to decision-making in a messy, contradictory, complex field, and provided a framework to make balanced judgements on the efficacy of treatments and therapies.
Technology is also a messy, contradictory, complex field, and so taking a similar approach to measurement; hypothesising ways of improvement; then validating the results, is a good foundation for decision-making. The EBM framework starts by defining the overall value of a product or enterprise in four broad areas:
Current value – valuable things you already have. Measurements include:
- Customer satisfaction
- Employee satisfaction
- Revenue per employee
Time to market – the characteristics of your system. Measurements include:
- Release frequency
- Lead time
- Release stabilisation period
Innovation rate – your ability to deliver new features and functionality. Measurements include:
- Technical debt
- Time spent building new vs maintenance or fixing defects
- Number of simultaneous projects
Unrealised value – the room for growth in increasing the current value. Measurements include:
- Market share
- Customer / User satisfaction gap
