Developing products using Agile requires determining the smallest set of features that offer value to users. This is the essence of the Minimum Marketable Feature (MMF) concept in Agile product development.
For Agile teams, identifying and implementing MMFs allows for faster time-to-market and incremental value delivery. As a subset of the Minimum Marketable Product, MMFs represent standalone chunks of functionality that can be quickly developed and released.
In this article, we’ll explore what MMFs are, provide a framework for implementing them, and contrast them with Minimum Viable Products. Understanding how to leverage MMFs as part of your Agile development process enables continuous value delivery.
What is a Minimum Marketable Feature in Agile Development?
A Minimum Marketable Feature (MMF) is the smallest set of functionality in a product that can provide value to users. MMFs represent standalone, self-contained chunks of a product that can be quickly developed and released to garner feedback and potentially generate revenue.
MMFs are considered the most granular units that comprise a Minimum Marketable Product (MMP). While MMPs contain the smallest set of features required to successfully take a product to market, MMFs represent individual subsets of an MMP that can act as value-adding increments.
MMFs allow Agile teams to break down large product features into smaller, more manageable chunks that can be developed iteratively. Teams prioritize MMFs that offer the maximum business value. By identifying the marketable aspects of larger features, teams can focus on shipping MMFs that align with strategic goals.
MMFs should be small enough to complete in a single development cycle or sprint. The goal is to produce a fully functional slice of a product that provides value independent of other features.
By frequently releasing MMFs, Agile teams can get feedback early and often. This supports the continuous delivery of value throughout development. Adopting MMFs also facilitates customer collaboration by involving them in validating the usefulness of each minimum marketable feature.
Minimum Marketable Feature Framework
The Minimum Marketable Feature framework provides a process for identifying, prioritizing, and implementing MMFs as part of an Agile development approach.
There are four key steps in the MMF framework:
1. Discover
The first step is to fully understand the vision for the product and identify larger features or epics that support that vision. This involves customer research, gathering requirements, and crafting user stories to clearly define the functionality expected in the product.
Larger features should then be decomposed into smaller chunks that could potentially act as standalone MMFs.
2. Prioritize
Once a list of potential MMFs is identified, the next step is to prioritize which ones to build first. Factors like business value, development effort, and dependencies should guide the sequencing.
Teams should focus first on MMFs that offer the most value, can be built quickly, and do not rely on other features to accelerate ROI and reduce risk.
3. Implement
With a prioritized roadmap, developers can start building MMFs iteratively according to the schedule. The goal is to complete each MMF within a single Sprint and meet the Definition of Done.
MMFs should be fully tested, validated, and potentially shippable. Automated testing and continuous integration help ensure quality.
4. Measure
The final step is to measure the impact of each MMF after release. Metrics related to customer adoption, usage, revenue, and satisfaction help quantify the value. User feedback also provides qualitative insights. This data can be used to guide adjustments and inform future prioritization of MMFs.
Adopting this simple, structured process enables Agile teams to regularly deliver value through incremental MMFs aligned to overarching product goals. The framework facilitates cross-functional collaboration and shared ownership throughout the development lifecycle.
With the MMF framework, product teams can take an iterative, customer-focused approach that accelerates time-to-market and continuously incorporates user feedback.
Minimum Marketable Feature example
Let’s look at an example of how a ridesharing app might leverage Minimum Marketable Features (MMFs) as part of Agile development.
The overall vision for the app includes functionality like driver profiles, real-time ride tracking, fare estimates, payment processing, and customer support. The product manager works with the dev team to break these larger features down into smaller, testable MMFs.
One high-priority MMF identified is real-time maps showing nearby available drivers. This self-contained feature offers tremendous value to riders by reducing wait times. It also benefits drivers by helping route them to riders efficiently.
The developers implement this MMF in a focused 2-week Sprint. They use continuous integration to ensure the feature works reliably across platforms. Once the MMF is production-ready, the app releases it in its next incremental update.
The product and marketing teams closely monitor usage and feedback on the new real-time mapping feature. Key metrics show high customer engagement with faster wait times and more rides completed per driver. However, some users report confusion around driver ETAs.
Based on this feedback, the product manager adds a new MMF to display the actual driver ETA after a ride request is made. The dev team prioritizes this for the next release since it enhances a popular existing capability.
Releasing MMFs like real-time mapping and driver ETAs in small increments allows the ridesharing app to get rapid customer feedback. Over multiple Sprints, the team can continuously deliver value and improve upon previous MMFs. This Agile, iterative approach helps validate product direction while accelerating time-to-market.
The MMF framework ensures the team focuses on the functionality that offers the most business value first. Each increment brings them one step closer to their vision of a seamless, user-friendly ridesharing experience.
Minimum Marketable Feature vs Minimum Viable Product
MMFs and MVPs are concepts in Agile product development that are often confused and erroneously used interchangeably.
While they both involve releasing early versions of a product, there are some key differences between Minimum Marketable Features and Minimum Viable Products such as:
Purpose
The purpose of an MVP is to test a product hypothesis and get customer feedback with minimal development effort. MVPs are designed to validate product direction, not deliver value.
MMFs, on the other hand, are meant to provide demonstrable value to users. The goal is to produce something users will pay for or find useful. MMFs focus on solving real problems for customers.
Scope
MVPs represent the absolute bare minimum product that enables validated learning and often lack refinement and polish. They solve only the core problem and exclude any unnecessary features.
MMFs have a larger scope and a higher level of completeness. While still minimal, MMFs include enough functionality and quality to be production-ready. MMFs deliver a subset of the full solution.
Process
MVPs are usually created early in product development before most requirements are known. The goal is to start testing hypotheses and assumptions quickly.
MMFs come later after more discovery has occurred. MMFs require some product vision and understanding of customer needs to identify the minimum marketable subsets.
Audience
MVPs emphasize learning. and are targeted at early adopters who are eager to engage and provide feedback on unfinished products.
MMFs apply more to mainstream customers focused on concrete value, and they convert interest into paid usage and revenue.
Metric
The success of an MVP is measured by the actionable insights it provides through customer engagement and the focus is on qualitative learning.
MMFs are measured more quantitatively by usage, conversions, revenue, and related business metrics with an emphasis on tangible results.
Conclusion
Minimum Marketable Features (MMFs) represent a granular, iterative approach to building products quickly. By identifying standalone chunks of value, Agile teams can accelerate time-to-market and obtain continuous feedback.
Leveraging MMFs enables a focus on the functionality that matters most to customers right now. With each small release, the product becomes more useful while risks are minimized.
Adopting MMFs ensures your Agile process concentrates on real-world utility over unspecified new features. Keep the MMF framework in mind as a way to regularly deliver value and direct ongoing product refinement.
