The iron triangle has been used in software development as a reference for the tradeoffs between quality, speed and cost when building software products. Simply put, a product owner assumes they cannot get all three value dimensions but needs to pick two of those, and leave one behind. For example, they can pick low cost and high speed, but they would relegate product quality. This simplification has been wildly used by software professionals for decades.
Secondarily, another popular axiom is that a software development project cannot be accelerated linearly by adding more professionals to the team. The productivity of new professionals being added to a software development team decreases. “The Mythical Man-Month” book by Fred Brooks (1975) lays out these concepts. De-linking software product development from headcount continues to be an opportunity in the technology sector.
With the new LLM and GenAI capabilities we learn of these days, it seems there can be a path towards satisfying the multiple needs of software product owners. If in the past it was not possible to achieve all three value dimensions concurrently: high quality, fast development and low cost in software, with AI the industry may be able to deliver on all.
The tech services industry is beginning to have an opportunity to evolve from a pure execution role to starting to impact business in more strategic ways. The boundaries between software and services may continue to blur further.
At Alten Capital we invest in tech services businesses. Please reach out to us to explore potential partnerships.