The Handoff Is a Lossy Compression Algorithm: How Meaning Disappears Between Business and IT

A business request rarely reaches implementation in its original form. It passes through meetings, documents, tickets, models, estimates, and approvals, with each handoff simplifying the message. By the time IT delivers what was written, the organization may have lost why the request mattered, which assumptions shaped it, and what outcome was actually expected. This episode examines handoffs as a form of lossy compression: useful information is removed, ambiguity is normalized, and nobody notices until the result fails in production or frustrates users. Mirko Peters looks at the issue from both sides. Business leaders will hear why repeating a request is not the same as transferring intent. IT professionals will hear how technical precision can still preserve the wrong meaning. The episode offers a practical handoff method built around intent, decisions, boundaries, examples, and feedback loops—without turning every conversation into bureaucracy. The goal is not perfect documentation, but fewer expensive misunderstandings between people who believe they already agreed.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/business-it-it-business--6867401/support.To continue the conversation, follow Mirko Peters on LinkedIn, where more insights and real-world examples are shared from both business and IT perspectives.