* Build the right thing. The technical staff needs to understand what the rest of a business needs to succeed. That takes a specific skill: listening. I've been successful in establishing and keeping good communication going - success based on listening.* Build it the right way. It doesn't mean that you build everything up front in version one. It does mean that you think carefully, leave yourself options, and build on your success vector while delivering value on the way. Delivering value continually, quickly, in pieces. * Build it for inevitable change. Software debt needs to be managed to attain architectural agility and allow software to be built for ever-changing conditions, and let’s keep the code simple so it is easily maintainable and doesn’t require a PhD to make enhancements or changes. Meyer's Law: “It is a simple task to make things complex, but a complex task to make them simple.”