This article quotes some ideas from the book “The Nature of Software Development”. It’s a good value proposition and a bold advertisement. If you don’t already have the book, you can buy it online.

First, the characteristics of value

Every feature we might do is to add some value to the product. Each feature takes time to implement. We don’t know what these features are worth or how long it will take to implement them. But it’s still possible to have a pretty good sense of what to do.

Assume that the height of these features is their value and the width is their cost (cost or expense). Which one should be done first and which one should be done later? The assumption is clear, isn’t it?

The increase in value depends on what we choose to do

If we choose high-value, low-cost features first, and then implement low-value, high-cost features later, the difference in value growth is 3x versus 1x. And in most products, the best ideas are dozens of times better than the worst, if not more. But this result is hard to show on the page!

Some of the delayed features look pretty boring. What happens if we do something different, something more valuable, even for other products?

Third, we can even shift our investment to new products

The highest-value features are released first and frequently, and the ones that aren’t worth the time and money are released soon, which is a good thing. We can often do better by investing in new products.

What’s the next product we want to do? Who would be negative about product changes? How can we make this shift to the benefit of everyone? Can we focus on a portfolio rather than a single product with diminishing returns? Can we show more and more valuable software?

The best value comes from small, value-focused features that are delivered frequently.

Yes, we can see that small features deliver value faster. Next, let’s think about managing our project. Will smaller visible results help management? Or will it hinder us?

What about our team? Do they work that way? Are the people they need, the skills they need, the help they need met? Read on —— and we’ll talk about all these things.

The first thing to remember is that we get the best results by delivering every feature of our software.

Did you enjoy these quotes from The Nature of Software Development? Do you have one already? Maybe you have a lot of friends and colleagues who need one too!

By Ron Jeffries. By Nian Zhijun

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    This article was first published on Bob Jiang’s blog. Please contact Bob Jiang for republication