Definition
A delivery approach where just enough paperwork is produced to ensure the outcome is no longer your responsibility.
Explanation
A “Kafka” delivery is characterised by the creation of sufficient documentation to avoid genuine ownership of delivery. Rather than focusing on outcomes, effort is directed towards ensuring responsibility is diluted or transferred. The aim is to demonstrate that the work has been passed on appropriately, so that when issues arise, accountability sits elsewhere.
In practice, this results in multiple parties positioning themselves as intermediaries rather than owners. Work is handed off repeatedly, with each step supported by documentation designed to show that due process has been followed. The emphasis shifts from delivery to defensibility, where the primary concern is being able to evidence that it is not your fault, not your responsibility, and not within your remit.
Ultimately, this becomes an exercise in structured buck passing, supported by just enough paperwork to withstand scrutiny when accountability is questioned. The result is a delivery that appears active on paper, but lacks clear ownership and, often, meaningful progress.
Disclaimer: As always these posts are not aimed at anyone client or employer and are just my personal observations over a lifetime of dealing with both management and frontline associates.