> Defining and tracking the progress you've made eating the elephant allows you to know when you've fully consumed it.

You can also simply keep track by keeping tabs on the work you are doing, which also leads to a better product as you're familiar with what the product does rather than simply knowing that X, Y, and Z issues are closed.

Non-technical stakeholders will not be able to follow it that way, having their focus on other important parts of the business, but that's why you have project managers who can follow what the technical side is doing and provide the necessary non-technical communication to them.

Ultimately, you're both right. There is just some conflation going on. What is useful for some segments of an organization does not make it useful for everyone.