I have heard finance organizations in particular argue against the product
measurement perspective discussed in the previous paragraph. Their arguments
sounded shortsighted to me. When pushed to answer why they want
to measure costs functionally, the best answer I have received is:
Because we have a validated bid system and we bid future costs based on past
experience.
The argument is that it would just cost too much to change. But this line of reasoning
sounds deadly to me. Continuing with it leads one to conclude we can
never change because we have to work as we bid, and we always must bid
based on how we worked in the past.
Can you see how this logic will lead an organization to destruction? Certainly,
change must be carefully managed. But without change, the eventual
demise of an organization is just a matter of time