Next Best Action – Phase 3 of the Value Flywheel: Focusing on Business Value
In the Value Flywheel model, we move through four key phases: Clarity of Purpose, Challenge, Next Best Action, and Long Term Value. Today, we’re focusing on the third phase—Next Best Action.
In the Value Flywheel model, we move through four key phases: Clarity of Purpose, Challenge, Next Best Action, and Long Term Value. Today, we’re focusing on the third phase—Next Best Action—which is all about driving business value forward.
Start with Your North Star
With a well-defined North Star and a clear purpose, the question becomes, “What’s the best way to start?” The simplest way to break inertia and move forward is by identifying the next best action—the first small step you can take today to add value. We recommend a serverless-first approach, as it allows you to focus on business value rather than setting up complex infrastructure. Instead of spending months creating a platform strategy, take small steps that add value quickly.
A Bias for Action and Feedback
A bias for action is vital here. To improve, you need feedback, and feedback only comes from taking action. This approach takes courage, but each action helps confirm your ideas and allows you to adjust as needed. A supportive environment, as discussed in our last article, is key to enabling these next best actions, giving you the room to test ideas and adjust based on feedback.
A Frictionless Developer Experience
A clear purpose aligns your team with a specific value proposition, and a frictionless developer experience is essential for delivering on that value. A serverless-first mindset means choosing managed services whenever possible, so you can “rent” capabilities rather than build them from scratch. This keeps your team agile, reducing time spent on custom infrastructure.
For compute needs, you might start with serverless options like AWS Lambda and use fallback options like Fargate, Kubernetes, or EC2 if necessary. Starting with serverless isn’t about eliminating other options; it’s about moving quickly by minimising custom configurations.
Serverless-First, Not Serverless-Only
Serverless-first doesn’t mean every solution must use serverless. As your team grows more proficient, you’ll find most use cases can work within a serverless architecture. However, you may later replace certain components with more dedicated options if performance or scaling needs change. The objective is to achieve rapid feedback, giving your team more autonomy to experiment and reducing dependencies on other teams.
Bringing Value to Customers Faster
Organisational constraints often slow down time-to-market. With a serverless-first approach and a frictionless developer experience, your team can deliver value to customers more quickly, removing bottlenecks that prevent developers from reaching production. The “next best action” approach is about reducing the time it takes to add value, not simply speeding up code writing.
Avoiding the “Framework Mentality”
A focus on action can prevent the “framework mentality,” where teams build unnecessarily complex solutions that later slow them down. Instead of creating one-size-fits-all frameworks, focus on modular, agile solutions. AWS, for instance, offers individual building blocks rather than enforcing a single framework, allowing teams to use only what they need, when they need it.
Minimising Code Liabilities
Mapping your tech stack to identify redundancies and potential liabilities lets you avoid creating unnecessary custom solutions. Adopting managed or serverless services reduces the risk of outdated systems slowing down future innovation.
Using Your Cloud Provider as the Platform Team
By viewing your cloud provider as the platform team, you benefit from ongoing updates, enhanced security, and better scalability. This frees your team to focus on delivering value and outcomes, rather than on maintenance or infrastructure scaling.
In short, the Next Best Action phase is about maximising the speed to value. With a serverless-first mindset, a frictionless developer experience, and rapid feedback, your team can achieve impactful outcomes faster—keeping the focus on business value.
Serverless Craic from The Serverless Edge
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