At EndGame we use Agile software development methodologies to deliver software in incremental stages — with continual learning and improvement.

But we find it’s just as important to think about what we’re building and why, rather than just focussing on how it’s built. The how is critical for achieving a great outcome. But even with a perfectly delivered project (on time, on budget) it’s too easy to build the wrong thing because you thought it was right when you started.

That’s why we often use an ‘Impact Driven Development’ approach to our products. And why we love to collaborate with customers who are passionate about their vision.

You will champion the vision. We will champion the impact.

But building towards a vision isn’t always enough.

The diagrams below show the relationship between vision and impact. The end game is to achieve both i.e. achieve your vision in a way that impacts a lot of people.

Traditional software development and Agile methods are commonly used to build the vision first and then think about the commercialisation later. ‘Impact Driven Development’ takes smaller steps towards achieving both impact and vision.

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It makes sense that the first phase of your product development should involve some users. But the big question is how to engineer impact for those users when you’ve only released a small increment.

The first few steps won’t look like the grand vision. But if you aim for the whole vision, it can be hard to bring customers along that journey.

Give your users a path: from where they are now to where you want them to be.

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As the last panel in the illustration above shows, the goal is to get customers to the top of the ladder — to the vision. The end game however, is to impact lots of people by having them reach the vision.

What often happens though is shown in the first panel. People focus on their vision and start building towards the end state. But they but don’t provide any way for the users to get there. Or, they build towards the vision without any regard for a profitable business model…until the cash runs out. And then they’re reliant on other people’s investment in an unproven vision.

Impact Driven Development is the second panel, where we build one rung at a time — assuming that every rung offers some value to the user while they’re climbing toward the vision.

As champion of the vision, your focus will be on what life looks like at the top of the ladder. As champion of the impact, our focus will be on how users take the next step from where they are now. Together, we’ll achieve a better outcome — creating a product and a company that will be more attractive to customers and investors.

Why Impact Driven Development?

EndGame is a long-term business and software product partner. And that’s why Impact Driven Development makes a lot of sense to us.

We know that software businesses take time to build and there’s always limited funding available to prove a product/market fit. To prove a business model. And to create really useful software that addresses a problem worth solving.

Impact Driven Development helps us keep the end game in perspective while we ship working software sprint by sprint. It’s why we love software and why we’re in this for the long haul.

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EndGame is a boutique software company based in Wellington…

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Thanks to Elliot Strange.

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