How to define MVI (Minimum Value Increment)

[JS]

Hi -  My Group is rolling out Jira Portfolio and trying to standardize on terms.  

The current plan is to set up 10 Portfolios build across Business functions.  Under each Portfolio we have between 10 - 60 different software applications.  These teams current use Jira for User Stories and Epics. We want to bundle Epics into MVIs and map the MVIs to Milestones.  The goal is to better prioritize work and ensure we are working on things that map to long-term goals.

We are not in agreement on how to define what an MVI is.  Some say an MVI can only relate to a single application and ties to a release.  Others say that an MVI can relate to a strategic objective that crosses multiple applications and can have many releases at the Epic or Story level before the MVI completes.

I thought I would poll the "Wisdom of the Crowd."

[Jimmy Seddon]

Hi @JS

Welcome to the Community!

I'm going to try and answer this with as little personal bias as possible. MVI from a scrum definition perspective must be “Done,” which means it must be in useable condition and meet the Scrum Team’s definition of “Done.”

So with that in mind, an MVI is dependent on what you have defined as your definition of done as well as having something that can be used to some extent.

If you are having troubles trying to get everyone on to come to a collective agreement on how to define what MVI means to you, maybe you should consider looking at some of the plays in the Atlassian Playbook which might help align everyone.

I hope that helps!

-Jimmy