Once a year I make a point of re-reading the Dummies guide to Agile Project Management. The audio book is a nice companion to bring me back to some of the core Agile principles.

Today I was reminded of the concept of Minimum Marketable Product (MMP). If you’ve spent any time in a business doing or trying to run Agile projects you will have heard MVP bandied about at least twenty times a week. The MVP being seen as the first release and a clear milestone for the project. Both those points are true, but all too frequently the MVP is seen as the point where the product can really be promoted as something users get value from. That’s not true – the important point is the Minimum Marketable Product (MMP), which might not arrive until Release two or three of your product.

The MVP provides a means by which user feedback, analytics and data can be collected to then refine the product towards creating the MMP. The MMP is the point at which you have functionality in place to actually deliver a changed experience and value for the user and wider stakeholders.

By all means talk internally about your MVP, but be careful about promoting externally until you’ve got your MMP, that’s the point of value for creation.