Functional Debt

ByMike Liskow

Future cost associated with past-and-present shortcuts taken from a functional perspective, including lack-of-investment in: sufficient analysis of business risk, change management, business rules, process modeling and full understanding of customer needs

Manifests as a cost in the present, beared by functional practitioners, the payments of which come in the form of limitations on innovation and implementation beyond the current product iteration to meet customer needs, often born from sacrificing functional analysis in lieu of delivery speed.

Similar Posts

The “Why”

ByMike Liskow

The justification for embarking upon an organizational development effort (i.e. to work on the business), which determines the resources and priority allocated to the breadth (the “what“), depth (the “how“) and the urgency (the “when“) of delivering a solution. The “why” is often driven by a combination of stakeholders, including functional practitioners, visionary practitioners and…

Strategic Effort

ByMike Liskow

Effort focused on analyzing a sought future state or outcome and then evaluating, reasoning and selecting the potential way(s) that this outcome could be reached. This type of effort requires a analytical cognitive context for a person developing the outcome while working alone; and entails participation in collective reasoning and decision-making rituals when working as…

The “When”

ByMike Liskow

The timespan between the moment that a need has been defined for a human endeavor (the “what“) and the moment that technology has been fashioned (the “how“) to serve that endeavor. The “when” is most often executed by sequential practitioners.

Tactical Effort

ByMike Liskow

Effort focused on executing against a known challenge or adversary. This type of effort is concerned with the effectiveness of execution using tools, skills and methods. The cognitive context involves a focus on details and fundamentals as opposed to the bigger picture.