Evidence-Based Management (EBM): Steering by Evidence
Replacing intuition with concrete data to measure and steer your transformation
How do you know your agile transformation is working? Through general feeling? The number of sprints completed? Satisfaction expressed in retrospectives? Evidence-Based Management (EBM), developed by Scrum.org, proposes a radically different approach: measuring the value actually created for customers and the organization, with concrete and actionable indicators.
What doesn't get measured doesn't improve — but measure value, not activity.
The four value areas of EBM
EBM structures value measurement around four complementary areas:
Current Value: what value does the organization deliver today to its customers and stakeholders? This measures customer satisfaction, revenue per employee, or retention rates.
Unrealized Value: what value potential remains untapped? This is the gap between what customers get and what they would like. A key indicator is the "satisfaction gap."
Time-to-Market: how quickly can the organization deliver new value? This is measured by release frequency, cycle time, or time from idea to production.
Ability to Innovate: is the organization capable of creating new solutions? Here we measure technical debt ratio, time spent on innovation vs. maintenance, or the number of experiments launched.
Why EBM changes everything
Most organizations measure activity (stories delivered, velocity, meetings held) rather than value (customer satisfaction, business impact, adaptability). EBM reverses this logic. Instead of asking "were we productive?", we ask "did we create value?". This perspective shift is fundamental as it realigns the entire organization on what truly matters: impact on the customer and the business.
Implementing EBM in your organization
EBM implementation starts with a diagnostic: what indicators do you measure today? Are they activity-oriented or value-oriented? Then, for each value area, select 2 to 3 relevant indicators for your context. The key is not having many metrics, but having the right ones. Finally, integrate these metrics into your steering rituals: strategic reviews, retrospectives, management committees. EBM data becomes the common language of your transformation.
EBM in the ATMOS method
The "Numbers" pillar of the VISION method directly integrates the EBM approach. ATMOS uses the four value areas as a measurement framework to evaluate transformation status and adjust course. The ATMOS application provides dashboards that translate these metrics into visual and actionable insights. EBM bridges strategic vision and operational reality: it verifies that transformation produces expected results.
Key takeaways
EBM measures value created, not activity produced
Four areas: Current Value, Unrealized Value, Time-to-Market, Ability to Innovate
2 to 3 indicators per area are enough to steer effectively
EBM metrics should become the common language of transformation
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