Adam Fisher Back to Home
Strategic Framework • February 2026

Enterprise Value-Driven Technology Investment Framework

A comprehensive approach to ensuring technology investments deliver measurable business outcomes through systematic value validation, cross-functional optimization, and ROI accountability.

Author Adam Fisher
Focus Technology ROI
Audience PMO & Leadership
50-70%
of product ideas fail to deliver expected value
537%
ROI achievable with disciplined value focus
46%
lead time reduction through optimization
67%
faster governance with unified approach
01 — The Challenge

Marty Cagan's Reality Check

Approximately 50-70% of product ideas fail to deliver expected business value. The path to success isn't avoiding failure—it's minimizing its cost.

In his influential work on product development, Marty Cagan highlights a sobering reality: roughly half of engineering efforts are ultimately wasted. Even the most accomplished product teams expect that most ideas won't work as initially conceived.

The Opportunity

By accepting that many ideas will fail and designing our processes to account for it, we can dramatically improve our return on technology investments through rapid experimentation, early validation, and quick iteration.

This framework provides a structured approach to ensuring technology investments deliver measurable business outcomes by embedding systematic value validation throughout the development lifecycle.

📊

Business Value Framework

Embeds value validation into each phase of development, from hypothesis to realization.

🔄

Value Stream Optimization

Eliminates cross-functional waste where customer journeys cross organizational boundaries.

📈

Project ROI Measurement

Tracks team-level value contribution with clear accountability and metrics.

✓

Initiative Assessment

Provides executive decision support with single-page value summaries.

02 — Business Value Framework

Five-Stage Value Lifecycle

A structured approach to identify, validate, engineer, track, and realize business value.

1
Identification
Value Canvas & Validation
2
Validation
Experiments & Refinement
3
Engineering
Prioritization & MVV
4
Tracking
Dashboard & Adjustment
5
Realization
Assessment & Enhancement
Example: Value Canvas
VALUE CANVAS: Auto Loan Payment Plans

PROBLEM: 30% of delinquent customers struggle to understand 
payment options, leading to higher default rates and increased call volumes

BUSINESS IMPACT:
• Revenue: HIGH - $2.5M/yr (15% reduction in defaults)
• Cost:    HIGH - $1.8M/yr (25% call reduction)
• Risk:    HIGH - $1.2M/yr (reduced regulatory exposure)
• Strategic: HIGH - Improved customer satisfaction

KEY METRICS:
1. 30-60 day delinquency progression rate
2. Payment-related call volume
3. Self-service payment plan completion rate

VALIDATION EVIDENCE:
• 42% of delinquent customer calls related to payment arrangements
• 3/4 collections agents identified this as top customer pain point
• Current self-service adoption only 22%

RESOURCES: 1 PM, 2 developers, 1 designer, 8 weeks

Value-Based Feature Prioritization

Focus development resources on the 20% of features that deliver 80% of value:

Priority Description Value Contribution
Must-Have Core value drivers—minimum viable value 80% of total value
Value-Enhancers Features that amplify adoption or impact 15% of total value
Nice-to-Have Secondary benefits with lower contribution 5% of total value
03 — Value Stream Optimization

Eliminating Cross-Functional Waste

When customer value streams cross organizational boundaries, significant inefficiencies emerge.

The Hidden Cost

Current technology delivery creates significant inefficiencies: redundant controls, unnecessary handoffs, and process gaps that impede value delivery. Typical process efficiency is only 23%—meaning 77% of time is waste.

Lean Waste Categories

  • Transportation: Unnecessary information movement between departments
  • Inventory: Requirements/code waiting between teams
  • Waiting: Delays due to cross-functional dependencies
  • Overprocessing: Redundant governance or documentation
  • Defects: Errors from miscommunication across boundaries
  • Skills: Underutilized expertise trapped in silos
Before & After: Cross-Functional Governance
PILOT RESULTS - UNIFIED GOVERNANCE:

Before: 4.5 weeks average review time
         • Same change reviewed by 3 separate Change Advisory Boards
         • Security assessments by 2 different teams
         • Data governance approval from 3 committees

After:  1.5 weeks average review time
         • Single cross-functional forum
         • Representatives with decision authority
         • Weekly cadence

Result: 67% reduction in review time
         Compliance effectiveness: No increased incident rate
         Customer value impact: 3 weeks faster feature delivery

AUTO LOAN JOURNEY TEAM RESULTS:
• Lead time: 26 weeks → 14 weeks (46% reduction)
• Handoffs: 12 → 5 (58% reduction)
• Customer feedback: +12 NPS points
04 — ROI Measurement

From Cost Tracking to Value Demonstration

Connect each team's activities to specific customer value streams with clear accountability.

Example: Team Value Contribution
TEAM VALUE CONTRIBUTION: Mobile App Development Team

VALUE CANVAS ALIGNMENT:
• Supports "Payment Plan Self-Service" value hypothesis
• Contributes to "Reduce delinquency by 15%" metric
• Enables "60% self-service adoption" metric

VALUE STREAM CONTRIBUTIONS:
Auto Loan Payment Journey: 30% of capacity
  • Supports $2.5M revenue impact
  • Enables $1.8M cost reduction
  • Primary owner of mobile experience

TEAM ECONOMICS:
• Quarterly budget: $675,000
• Value stream attribution: $2.5M per quarter
• Current ROI: 270%
• Constraints: Backend API dependencies, security reviews

Initiative Value Assessment Template

A single-page format for executive decision support, completable in under an hour:

Component Example
Problem 30% of delinquent customers can't easily make payment arrangements
Team Resources Digital Banking Team, 30% allocation, 6 months
Fixed Cost Utilization $360K team cost + $315K project expenses
Value Impact $1.8M call reduction + $2.5M default reduction + 7 NPS points
Resource ROI 11.9x return on team resource cost
30/60/90 Verification 40% adoption → 15% call reduction → 5% default reduction
05 — Implementation

Phased Rollout

A practical roadmap from pilot to enterprise integration.

Phase 1 • Months 1-3

Foundation & Pilot

Select 2-3 initiatives for pilot. Complete Value Canvas for each. Map 2-3 key customer value streams. Identify top 5 cross-functional bottlenecks. Validate approach and secure leadership buy-in.

Phase 2 • Months 4-6

Expansion

Expand to all major initiatives. Scale value stream optimization. Roll out team ROI measurement. Expected: 40-60% reduction in lead times, 25-35% reduction in delivery costs.

Phase 3 • Months 7-12

Enterprise Integration

Full integration with existing processes. Sustainable value-driven culture. Continuous optimization capability. Data-driven investment decisions across portfolio.

Success Requires Commitment

Executives must champion value-driven decision making. Product owners must embrace value-based prioritization. Teams must track and optimize for business outcomes. PMO must evolve from cost tracking to value optimization.

Transform from activity-focused delivery to outcome-focused value creation

With disciplined implementation, we can achieve the goal that has eluded many enterprises: ensuring technology investments consistently deliver meaningful business value.

← Back to Home Enterprise Intelligence →