The majority of software delivery sits in an uncertain space. It could be the products we are building and we aren't sure how the customers would like it. Or it could be the architecture that the products sit on. Either way, we are dealing with imperfect information and uncertainty. How should we respond?

We buy information. By buying information, we reduce uncertainty and increase our chance of success. But how much should we pay? And how do we determine the actual cost of buying the information?

This session walks through the concept of buying information and the impact of 'perfect information' from information theory. We will walk through examples in product and architecture which tells us how much information is worth. Sometimes, that information is worth multiple parallel solutions - we will see how to determine that.

From there we will walk through calculating the costs of acquiring the information. We will talk about context in an organization and understanding that while the cost of acquiring information in one organization may be cheap, it may be prohibitive in another...because of the organizational system. We will also cover how changing technology landscapes (AI!) can change the cost of buying information.

We will leave the session with how to address your organizational cost if it is inhibiting your ability to buy information.

If you like math, economics, and using them to help you make better software decisions, this session is for you.