The importance of producing a valuable product Increment

Valuable product Increments improve the outcomes that its users and customers experience. Each Sprint can be thought of as an experiment that tests a hypothesis about value, and the product Increment is the means by which a Scrum Team tests that hypothesis. Until the Scrum Team actually delivers a product Increment and measures the result, they can’t be sure that they really understand what customers want or need.

A useful way to think about whether a product Increment is valuable is the Evidence-Based Management concept of Unrealized Value, which is the “satisfaction” gap between the outcomes that customers currently experience and the outcomes that they would like to experience. 

Valuable product Increments reduce the size of the satisfaction gap, reducing the Unrealized Value of the product. They also help a Scrum Team know that they are moving in the right direction toward their goals.

Group of customers, Satisfaction gap

 

 

Resources:

Module
An Increment is a concrete stepping stone toward the Product Goal. Each Increment is additive to all prior Increments and thoroughly verified, ensuring that all Increments work together. In order to provide value, the Increment must be usable.
4.6 from 16 ratings
Learning Series
The Increment is the latest version of the product that conforms to the Definition of Done. During each Sprint, the Developers work toward the current Product Goal by implementing Product Backlog items (PBIs) and integrating their individual work together. Learn about the Increment and its commitment, the Definition of Done. Investigate some common myths about the Increment.
Guide
Evidence-Based Management is a framework organizations can use to help measure, manage, and increase the value they derive from their product delivery. EBM focuses on improving outcomes, reducing risks, and optimizing investments.
4.5 from 96 ratings

 

Blog Post
Picture for Christiaan Verwijs Christiaan Verwijs
A critical, evidence-based reflection on a hunch that Scrum Masters may often be more concerned with the quality of the process than the value of its outcomes.
5 from 13 ratings
May 18, 2022

 

 

 

Book:

Unlocking Business Agility with Evidence-Based Management: Satisfy Customers and Improve Organizational Effectiveness (The Professional Scrum Series) by Patricia Kong, Todd Miller, Kurt Bittner, and Ryan Ripley; Addison-Wesley Professional, October 31, 2023. ISBN-13: ‎ 978-0138244576

 

 

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Learning Series
This learning series discusses the importance of developing and delivering valuable product Increments in order to improve the outcomes that its users and customers experience. Scrum Teams deliver product Increments and measure the results to understand what customers want or need.