Granted some benchmarks are useful for purposes of comparison. But others are simply shortsighted. Just yesterday I was asked, as I often am, how to determine what a company should invest in creating or growing a software product. The problem with making a strategic decision using a broad standard is the total lack of context. Figuring out how to fit the work into a smaller bucket forces you and your team to find creative ways to get things. Obviously you want to invest less than that investment will return. Revenue from new customers. This factor accounts for the revenue you will receive from new customers that will use your service, either because it is a new product or because you plan to add features to an existing product that will attract new customers. The math is straightforward.