Glossaries
Feature Driven Development
What is Feature Driven Development (FDD)?
Feature Driven Development (FDD) is an iterative and incremental software development process that emphasizes designing and building features. It is a customer-centric approach that organizes development work around delivering tangible, working features in short time frames.
Synonyms: FDD, Feature-Based Development, Feature-Centric Development
Key Principles of Feature Driven Development
Feature Driven Development is built on five key activities:
- Develop an overall model
- Build a feature list
- Plan by feature
- Design by feature
- Build by feature
These activities ensure that the development process remains focused on delivering value to the customer through functional features.
Benefits of Feature Driven Development in Product Management
- Customer-Centric Approach: FDD prioritizes features that directly benefit the end-user, ensuring that the product remains aligned with customer needs.
- Improved Time-to-Market: By focusing on individual features, teams can deliver working functionality more quickly and frequently.
- Better Quality Control: The iterative nature of FDD allows for continuous testing and refinement of each feature.
- Enhanced Project Visibility: The feature list provides a clear overview of project progress and priorities.
Implementing Feature Driven Development
To implement FDD in your product development process:
- Start by creating a comprehensive model of the product's domain.
- Develop a prioritized list of features based on customer value and technical dependencies.
- Assign feature sets to small, cross-functional teams for design and implementation.
- Conduct regular design and code inspections to maintain quality.
- Deliver completed features to the main build on a regular basis, typically every two weeks.
Frequently Asked Questions
- How does Feature Driven Development differ from other Agile methodologies?: FDD is more structured than some Agile methods, with a stronger emphasis on the upfront domain modeling and feature planning phases.
- Is FDD suitable for all types of projects?: FDD works best for projects where features can be clearly defined and prioritized. It may be less effective for highly experimental or research-oriented projects.
- Can FDD be combined with other development methodologies?: Yes, many organizations combine elements of FDD with other Agile or traditional methodologies to create a hybrid approach that suits their specific needs.
