Why – The Business Benefit
Why “Why” Is Crucial
The “Why” is the soul of your software project. It answers the most critical question that every stakeholder, developer, and product manager must understand: Why are we building this? Without this clarity, development efforts can quickly become aimless, feature creep sets in, and investment loses justification.
Too often, this section is rushed or skipped entirely. But when done right, defining the “Why” creates a powerful alignment between business goals and technical execution. It allows teams to make smart decisions, deprioritise the irrelevant, and drive measurable impact.
What You Define Here
The strategic purpose behind each feature or system
The measurable outcomes and KPIs expected
The link between technical effort and business value
The stakeholders or departments benefiting
How value is delivered, sustained, or scaled
The Role of “Why” in the 6W Model
If “Who” is the audience and “What” is the story, then “Why” is the reason the story needs to be told. It provides:
Context for prioritisation
Evidence for investment
Motivation for teams
In agile teams, this might show up in epics or initiatives. In more traditional models, it maps to the business case. Regardless of format, the outcome is the same: clear, compelling justification for building something.
Benefits of Defining “Why”
Improves prioritisation – Teams can focus on what delivers the most value.
Supports stakeholder buy-in – A well-reasoned Why helps justify time, money, and people.
Creates traceability – You can track from idea to value delivered.
Enhances measurement – Clear outcomes help define success.
Inspires motivation – Engineers are more driven when they understand the impact of their work.
Techniques for Capturing “Why”
1. Value Proposition Mapping
Define how your product benefits each user or stakeholder type.
Template:
User: [Persona name]
Problem: [What they struggle with now]
Benefit: [What will be better for them if this feature exists]
Example:
User: Project Manager
Problem: Loses hours each week chasing staff for timesheet approval.
Benefit: Automated reminders reduce admin time and improve submission rates.
2. Feature-to-Value Traceability
Template:
| Feature | Business Value | Metric/KPI | Frequency of Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Automated report emails | Saves time on manual exports | 20% reduction in manual report generation | Weekly |
| SSO integration | Lowers barrier to adoption | Increased user activation rates | One-off per user |
3. OKR Mapping (Objectives & Key Results)
Link your feature set to broader business objectives.
Example:
Objective: Improve operational efficiency in client reporting.
Key Result 1: Reduce average report creation time from 45 mins to under 15 mins.
Key Result 2: Automate 70% of weekly report exports.
Feature alignment:
Scheduled report automation
Reusable dashboard templates
Bulk export tools
Real-World Example: Why for a Leave Management System
What we’re building: A module that allows employees to request and manage their annual leave.
Why we’re building it:
Reduce HR overhead by 30% in managing requests manually
Improve employee satisfaction by making processes transparent
Ensure compliance with leave policy tracking
How we’ll measure it:
Decrease in internal HR queries
Increase in leave requests processed via system
Reduction in approval time
Common Pitfalls
Too vague: “To improve efficiency” doesn’t tell anyone what success looks like.
Too narrow: Focusing only on technical benefits, ignoring business impact.
Disconnected from metrics: No way to measure the claimed value.
Ignored after the plan: “Why” should remain visible during development.
Summary
“Why” is where planning becomes purposeful. It turns roadmaps into business tools, and engineering tickets into value-creating steps. When you write a compelling Why, you do more than justify a feature, you inspire the team to build something that matters.
“People don’t buy what you do; they buy why you do it.” – Simon Sinek
Make the “Why” clear, measurable, and human. It’s the difference between building busy software, and building something people care about.
Rhys Morgan
Enterprise Automation Services specializes in AI, automation, SaaS development, and digital transformation. We help businesses across the UK leverage technology to drive growth and efficiency.
