MMP
The minimal marketable product (MMP) is a different type of product. It is based on the idea that less is more. The MMP describes the product with the smallest possible feature set that addresses the user needs, creates the desired user experience, and can hence be marketed and sold successfully. The MMP is a tool to reduce time-to-market: It can be launched more quickly than a fat, feature-rich one.
Creating a product with just the right amount of features sounds like common sense. Why would we create more features than necessary? Sadly, I have seen many projects develop over-engineered products with lots of shiny features that provided little value to the users, but cluttered the product and increased the maintenance cost. And it’s not just the others: I am constantly tempted to add just another cool feature to a product or to write a few extra lines in a blog post. Using the concept of an MMP helps me focus on what really matters, and remove unnecessary features (and lines).
A great example of an MMP is Apple’s original iPhone launched in 2007. I know that the first iPhone was a complex product and that many people worked incredibly hard on it. But I find it amazing how many features the phone did not provide compared to its competitors: no copy-and-paste, no Outlook integration, and no voice recognition, to name just a few. Nevertheless, the phone was still a staggering success. How come?
The key to creating a successful MMP is to “develop the product for the few, not the many,” as Steve Blank puts it, and to focus on those features that make a real difference to the users. To discover the right features, the MVP is a fantastic tool.
Definition
A small, self-contained feature that can be developed quickly and that delivers significant value to the user. The full term Minimum Marketable Feature (MMF) is not used widely in practice, however the concept lines up nicely with the first principle behind the Agile Manifesto: “Our highest priority is to satisfy the customer through early and continuous delivery of valuable software.” The concept supports the idea that software you release to your customer, even if you’re doing it frequently should provide some added benefit and allow your customer to accomplish something they weren’t able to before.
The term marketable describes the idea that the feature provides value to the customer. Because value can be defined in a variety of ways including increasing or protecting revenue and reducing or avoiding costs, the MMF concept is applicable to both external products (intended for sale outside the organization) and internal products (for use inside the organization to support the delivery of the organization’s products and services).
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