Claudio Lassala's Blog

We talk a lot about “business value.” In the world of software consulting, it’s the holy grail. We’re told to prioritize it, measure it, and deliver it. But if you look at the typical corporate dashboard, “business value” is often reduced to abstract metrics: ROI, churn rate, or quarterly growth.

While those numbers matter to a balance sheet, they don’t tell the whole story. In fact, focusing too much on “the business” or “the organization” can actually blind us to what value really is.

I’ve spent the better part of three decades sitting in the gap between vision and execution. And if there is one thing I’ve learned, it’s this: a business is not a legal entity or a set of spreadsheets. A business is just a group of people turning inputs into something of value for other people.

When we stop looking at the logo and start looking at the humans, everything changes.

The Four Lenses of Human Value

If you identify the people behind the machine, “value” is no longer a generic term. It gets filtered through four specific lenses:

Identity: Who do these people believe they are? Are they “disruptive innovators,” “reliable veterans,” or “precise craftspeople”? Value must align with this identity, or it will be rejected by the culture.

Values: What are their non-negotiables? If a group values “transparency” above all else, a high-profit solution that requires black-box logic will be perceived as low-value.

Aspirations: Where are they trying to go? Value is often a bridge. If their aspiration is global scale, a solution that only fixes a local, manual process has limited value, even if it saves money today.

Needs and Problems: What is the immediate friction or obstacle preventing them from fulfilling their needs and reaching those aspirations? This is the most functional layer — the need that the solution must address.

From Corporate Strategy to Shared Intent

By focusing on people, you move from managing requirements to understanding intent.

In most organizations, what is officially called “Business Value” is often just the consensus of the loudest or most influential people’s needs. When you map out the individuals involved, you find that value is multi-faceted:

• For the Executive: Value might be risk mitigation or market perception.

• For the Manager: Value might be predictability or team retention.

• For the Individual Contributor: Value might be flow or reduced cognitive load.

When we understand these different intents, we stop building features and start building solutions that resonate across the whole group.

Why “The System” Is Never the Persona

This is why I am so adamant about how we write user stories (and have even started referring to them as “human stories” instead). For years, I’ve been beating the crap out of the idea that a user story can start with “As the system…”

The system doesn’t have needs. The system doesn’t have aspirations. The system doesn’t care if a database table has duplicate entries.

There is always a person: a Marketing Manager who doesn’t want to waste money on duplicate mailers, or an Accountant who is tired of staying late because the month-end close is a manual nightmare.

When we write stories like “In order to [Value], as a [Persona], I want to [Action],” we are forcing ourselves to acknowledge the human being. We are shifting from requirements talk to storytelling.

The Wildcard: The Market Mirror

While focusing on the people inside is essential, we can’t forget the people outside: the customers and other stakeholders. A business is often caught in a tug-of-war between the founders’ aspirations and the market’s needs. Sometimes, the “value” a business thinks it provides is completely different from the value the customers actually buy.

I saw this recently with a renewal email that never came. The internal “business value” was likely focused on automated efficiency, but the customer’s lived experience was one of neglect. A truly deep understanding of a business involves reconciling the identity of the people inside the building with the reality of those outside it.

Moving From Outputs to Outcomes

If we only focus on “the Organization,” we focus on outputs: more features, faster code, prettier buttons. But if we focus on the people, we focus on outcomes: reduced cognitive load, increased confidence, better relationships.

I’ve seen it happen in UAT (User Acceptance Testing) war rooms and Sprint Reviews. When a developer shows a feature and says, “I built this screen so that Sarah doesn’t have to manually cross-reference these two spreadsheets anymore,” the energy in the room shifts. You’re no longer just a coder; you are a problem solver.

Stop Looking for the Business

Next time you’re in a meeting, and someone mentions “Business Value,” pause. Ask yourself: which person or group of people is this valuable to?

Value isn’t an abstract concept that floats around a corporate office. It’s the feeling of relief when a task gets easier. It’s the excitement of a founder seeing their vision come to life. It’s the trust that builds between a developer and a stakeholder when they realize they’re on the same team.

Stop looking for the business. Start looking for the people.