LEARN. PRACTICE. GROW.Concept and mechanism
An investment justification is a hypothesis about future value, costs, risks, and conditions. When a condition changes, reassess the remaining options instead of using spent budget as sufficient reason to continue. A canvas can expose the problem and intended outcomes; the business case supports discussion of whether investment remains justified. Do not confuse completed deliverables with realized benefits. A release may be usable while reaching only a small population, so evaluating its effect requires a comparison baseline and clear measurement boundaries. Explain what has been observed and what remains a hypothesis.
Guided application
Clarify who decides priorities across products, directs investment, coordinates delivery, and provides assurance. A coach can facilitate a discussion without authority to decide budget. Specific mandates in this path are stated in the scenarios; proprietary responsibility tables are not reproduced. Also examine commercial incentives. If a milestone requires only documentation while the project needs usable integration, prepare a negotiation with observable criteria and clear responsibilities. Do not change a contract unilaterally. Partial acceptance may be reasonable when the appropriate authority approves boundaries, value, and remaining work; a signature without evidence does not demonstrate capability.
A reconciliation milestone requires processing a whole file. Showing only the header does not satisfy that condition, even with approved design.
Common pitfalls
Past cost as future benefit; coach as universal authority; story count as value; document as integration evidence.
Related topics: Adaptive planning and verifiable quality · Risk, issues, and progress evidence
Connect value and evidence with the authority needed to make the commitment.
Reference: PRINCE2 Agile Practitioner syllabus · Version 2; inspected syllabus 2.0 (May 2025); revision 2.1 comparison pending