Why Are Input, Output, and Outcome Equally Important?
All three are essential for product success. Neglecting one or failing to connect them weakens the product’s chances of delivering true value to users.
Metaphor
Skipping input, output, or outcome is like trying to balance on a three-legged stool with a leg missing. Each leg is essential, and without all three, the whole thing collapses.
Only when inputs, outputs, and outcomes work together does a product remain stable and deliver real value.
Ignore inputs, and you’ll either burn through resources or starve your efforts. Overlook outputs, and you have no way to know whether those resources are being put to good use. Dismiss outcomes, and you’re turning your back on the customer, likely producing waste instead of value.
Works Consulted
In addition to any sources cited above, the following works informed my thinking:(1)