IFO4
Loading...Investment in software capabilities that are built but not adopted, or adopted but unused at a level that justifies the build cost. Capability waste is the product side of waste, distinct from infrastructure waste, and is often the most expensive waste category by total dollars over a program. The federation requires every Tier-1 capability investment over a federation-defined threshold to publish a target adoption metric and to report against it on a quarterly cadence under UFMS-001:2.4(g). Failed capability investments are formally retired with a documented post-mortem.
A compound of capability, from Latin capabilis, and waste; the product management sense entered modern usage via lean startup vocabulary in the 2010s.
Federation members publish adoption metrics for capability investments above the threshold. Investments missing adoption targets for three consecutive quarters trigger a retirement review under MEV-Annex:3.2. Lessons learned feed the next capital allocation cycle.
@misc{ifo4_glossary_capability_waste,
title = {{Capability Waste}},
author = {{IFO4 Federation Editorial Board}},
howpublished = {{IFO4 Federation Glossary, slug \texttt{capability-waste}}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://ifo4.org/glossary/capability-waste},
note = {Category: Waste; key: CapabilityWaste}
}Federation members and accredited practitioners may challenge any entry under TGS-002:1.7. Filed challenges are routed to the editorial board, triaged into the revision register, and resolved in writing on the public docket. The slug remains stable through any revision.