Glossary term
Outcome vs output
The difference between completing work and creating the customer or business change the work was intended to produce.
Also known as: outputs vs outcomes, outcomes not outputs
An output is something a team produces: a feature, project, campaign or release.
An outcome is the change that happens because of that work, such as higher adoption, lower churn, faster task completion or increased revenue.
Shipping an output does not guarantee an outcome.
The distinction matters because teams can complete everything on a roadmap while the customer behaviour or business result remains unchanged.
