Outcome

The results you expect from Product development.

The observable change in the world after delivering the output of a product development effort/value stream. Ideally, it is observed with a change in the behaviours of the stakeholders.

Outcome is crucially more important than Output, in that while we need some sort of Output to deliver value, what customers and users want to receive is valuable Outcome, and not all Output is equally valuable. It is mainly the job of the Product Owner to guarantee a development organisation focuses on what is relevant and valuable Output, i.e. Outcome.

It is unfortunate that many organisation focus their energy on producing Output, often under the paradigm that more Output means more Outcome. While this paradigm is true in a production environment and with an infinite market, i.e. everything we produce is sold at the same price, in product development or when providing services, this is not true, and the quest for value is of paramount importance.