Velocity = Speed = Marketing Success?

Look up velocity in Wikpedia,  the free dictionary.

Velocity is a quantity in physics which is related to speed. The word may also refer to:

  • Velocity (novel), by US author Dean Koontz
  • Velocity (newspaper), a weekly alternative newspaper in Louisville, Kentucky published by The Courier-Journal
  • Velo-city, a series of bicycling conferences held biannually in Europe
  • Apache Velocity, a Java template engine
  • USS Velocity, one of several U.S. Navy warships
  • Velocity SE, homebuilt entry level canard pusher aircraft from Velocity Aircraft
  • Velocity XL, homebuilt high performance canard pusher aircraft from Velocity Aircraft
  • Velocity of money, a monetary economics equation
  • Velocity (comics), a comic-book character
  • Velocity Tower, a tower in Sheffield
  • WWE Velocity, a professional wrestling television show
  • VELOCITY Broadcasting, a broadcasting network in the United States
  • Velocity (album), debut album of The Vels
  • Velocity = Marketing Success

In physics, velocity is the rate of change of position.

It is a vector physical quantity; both speed and direction are required to define it. In the SI (metric) system, it is measured in meters per second: (m/s) or ms?1. The scalar absolute value (magnitude) of \bar{\mathbf{v}} = \frac{\Delta  \mathbf{x}}{\Delta t}.velocity is speed. For example, “5 meters per second” is a scalar and not a vector, whereas “5 meters per second east” is a vector. The average velocity v of an object moving through a displacement (?x) during a time interval (?t) is described by the formula:The rate of change of velocity is acceleration – how an object’s speed or direction changes over time, and how it is changing at a particular point in time.

From the VersionOne Whitepaper The Agile Project Manager By: Mike Cottmeyer:

In Agile, velocity is measured by the time interval and represents the throughput of the team or the rate at which the backlog can be completed. Ideal velocity describes the rate at which the team must complete features to deliver the project within the time and cost constraints determined by the project stakeholders. Actual velocity is determined by measuring the true throughput of the team during each time interval. The difference between the ideal velocity and the measured velocity is a primary indicator of how well the project is progressing relative to the expectations of the business. The closer the measured velocity is to the ideal velocity, the more likely the project will deliver the entire backlog within the time allowed.

Teams with predictable velocity can reasonably calculate when they will fully deliver the project backlog. If time and cost are fixed constraints, they can determine what features can be delivered within those constraints. Teams with unstable velocities are not predictable and typically result in varying project outcomes. Measuring team velocity over time allows the Project Manager to understand how likely various project outcomes might be to occur.

In the Agile Product Marketing concepts that I have evaluated it seems to me that Velocity is the single most important way to measure your marketing and sales efforts. So if that is the case, I may have to start at the beginning.

The instant velocity vector v of an object that has positions x(t) at time t and x(t + ?t) at time t + ?t, can be computed as the derivative of position:

\mathbf{v} = \lim_{\Delta t \to  0}{{\mathbf{x}(t+\Delta t)-\mathbf{x}(t)} \over \Delta  t}={\mathrm{d}\mathbf{x} \over \mathrm{d}t}.

I have defined velocity as well as I can without discussing marketing. But first, do you think velocity can be the key ingredient to Marketing success?

Related Blog Posts: Throughput Search on Business901 Blog

P.S. I added the last entry in the Wikpedia list!