The Minimum Valuable Increment (MVI): Structuring Value, Requirements, and Backlogs for Effective Software Delivery

By Sandro Mancuso – March 12, 2025

Backlogs should drive business impact, not just manage tasks.


Traditional backlog management often leads to misaligned priorities, wasted effort, and a growing divide between product, engineering, and business goals. Teams struggle to balance feature delivery with long-term sustainability, leading to frustration and inefficiency.


The Minimum Valuable Increment (MVI) approach redefines backlog management by focusing on business value, clear prioritisation, and measurable outcomes—bridging the gap between strategic objectives and day-to-day execution.

 

  • Download eBook
  • Read Online
MVI SANDRO VERSION 2

 

 

The Power of MVI: Optimise Your Backlog for Maximum Impact

 

Why This Book Was Written

For years, Sandro Mancuso has witnessed how poor backlog management leads to frustration, inefficiency, and misaligned expectations. Sponsors want a strong return on investment, while development teams struggle with outdated systems, inefficient workflows, and constant firefighting.


This book introduces the Minimum Valuable Increment (MVI)—a practical, structured approach to backlog management that helps organisations move beyond a simplistic, feature-driven mindset to a holistic, value-driven strategy for software delivery.

 

Who Should Read This?

The MVI approach is designed for CTOs, Product Owners, VPs of Engineering, Agile coaches, and development teams looking to:

  • Redefine value beyond just customer-facing features
  • Write better requirements that align stakeholders and engineering teams
  • Prioritise effectively to maximise ROI and reduce wasted effort
  • Balance feature delivery with operational efficiency and long-term sustainability

 

Download the eBook now and take control of your backlog!

This e-book is the result of collaboration, insights, and constructive feedback from my colleagues at Codurance. I am deeply grateful for their time, thoughtful reviews, and valuable contributions, which have helped shape and refine the ideas presented here. In particular, I would like to extend my sincere thanks to:Abdul Al Tayib, Alan Jackson, Anna Barker, Augusto Oliveira, Lee Sanderson, Helder de Oliveira, Jennifer Torquato, Lesmes Lopez, Maciej Kowalski, Mashooq Badar, Matheus Marabesi, Matt Belcher, Nathalie Gavet, Rachel Lyons, Samuel Griffiths, Simon Shaw, and Steve Lydford. Your generosity in sharing your experience, perspectives, and expertise has been instrumental in bringing this work to life.

Sandro Mancuso

Software Craftsman and Co-Founder