Software by Numbers | Book Series

Overview:

Ultimately, software development is about creating value—yet, all too often, software fails to deliver the business value customers need. This book will help you change that, by linking software development directly to value creation. You’ll learn exactly how to identify which features add value and which don’t—and refocus your entire development process on delivering more value, more rapidly.

Software by Numbers shows you how to:

  • Identify Minimum Marketable Features (MMFs)—the fundamental units of value in software development
  • Accelerate value delivery by linking iterative development to iterative funding
  • Optimize returns through incremental architecture techniques
  • Effectively involve business stakeholders in the development process
  • Sequence feature delivery based on “mini-ROI” assessments
  • Quantify financial risk at every step throughout the development process
  • Manage “intangibles” throughout the software development process

Whatever methodology you’re already using—whether it’s RUP or XP—this book shows how to achieve the goals that matter most to your business: reduced risk, better cash flow, and higher ROI.

Author:   

Mark Denne

Published In:

18 October 2003

Minimum Marketable Product | Glossary

Definition

A Minimum Marketable Product (MMP), is a product with minimum functionality that meets the selected customer needs.

This is an idea of delivering small set of features quickly and enhancing the product incrementally which is considered to be an evolutionary delivery method as mentioned by Tom Gilb in 1998. Creating minimal product provides us with a number of advantages. The product is launched more quickly and time to market is reduced; functionality is released in a more timely manner. The product is developed at a lower cost and generates a higher return of investment. Improves the cash flow as payments are received earlier. Learning is accelerated, as we are able to listen and respond to the marketplace more frequently. MMP also improves risk mitigation, less money is lost if product underperforms and has to be withdrawn from the market early.

Further Reading

BOOK: Software by Numbers by Mark Denne and Jane Cleland-Huang

Agile Product Management with Scrum by Roman Pichler