Innovation Advisory · Framework 05
The Kill Criteria
Eight questions about how to know when it is time to stop. They are for programme managers, venture builders, and anyone who suspects the honest answer is “we should have stopped six months ago.”
The criteria
What did you say would count as failure before the results arrived?
If you did not write it down at the start, write it down now. Criteria set after the results arrive are justifications.
The beneficiary
Who benefits from this continuing, the users or the team?
If the answer is “the team” more than “the users”, the project is being kept alive for the wrong reasons.
The opportunity
What would you build if you stopped this?
The cost of continuing is more than money. It includes the thing you are not building instead. Name it.
The drift
Has the problem changed since you started?
Problems move. If the problem you set out to solve has shifted, the solution may have become irrelevant while you were perfecting it.
The metric
Are you measuring progress or activity?
Meetings held, reports filed and workshops conducted are activity. Change in the lives of the people you set out to help is progress.
The fresh start
Knowing what you know now, would you start this project from scratch today?
If the answer is no, the only reason to continue is sunk cost, and sunk cost is no basis for a strategy.
The real cost
What is the full cost of one more year, beyond what the budget shows?
Count the cost to the team, to the users and to the opportunity. Write down a number that includes all three.
The room
Can you say “this is not working” in a room full of the people who funded it?
If you cannot, the project will continue until the money runs out, and it will end by default without anyone deciding to end it.
If more than three answers made you uncomfortable, have an honest conversation about the project this week, without waiting for next quarter.