Abandoning what is not working.
WHY IT MATTERS
Continuing failed development consumes resources needed elsewhere.
WHY IT IS DIFFICULT
Money and effort already spent create reluctance to stop.
WHAT TO RECOGNISE
That past expenditure is irrecoverable and it should not influence the decision.
WHAT THE ONLY QUESTION IS
Whether future spending will produce a return.
WHAT TO ESTABLISH IN ADVANCE
What would cause you to stop.
WHY IN ADVANCE
Criteria set afterwards are adjusted to justify continuing.
WHAT CRITERIA LOOK LIKE
No demonstrated willingness to pay after a defined effort Cost to deliver exceeding what customers will pay Technical problems that cannot be solved within the budget A defined period without progress
WHAT TO REVIEW AT DECISION POINTS
What has been learned What uncertainty remains Whether the original assumptions still hold
WHAT TO ASK
Whether you would start this project today, knowing what you now know.
WHY THAT QUESTION
It removes the influence of what has been spent.
WHAT TO DO IF THE ANSWER IS NO
Stop.
WHAT TO AVOID
Continuing in reduced form indefinitely Keeping it alive to avoid admitting failure
WHY
It consumes attention and resources without producing anything.
WHAT TO DO WHEN STOPPING
Record what was learned Preserve anything reusable Tell people, with the reasoning
WHY THE REASONING
It preserves willingness to attempt the next thing.
WHAT TO ESTABLISH
That stopping a project is not a failure of the people involved.
WHY
Otherwise nobody proposes anything.
