7 Steps Guide on How To Define Your Minimum Viable ...

It is a Product Management headache to be able to define the right MVP scope when many clients coming to your company simply don't know what ... DevelopingaMinimumViableProduct(MVP)isthefirststepofthebuild-measure-learnfeedbackloop,acorecomponentoftheLeanStartupMethodology.ItcouldbesomewhatchallengingtoworkoutwhatisyourMVP.Therearedifferentchallengesforproductsaimedattheconsumer(freetochoose)ortheoperationalstaff(captiveaudience)inthecorporates. ItisaProductManagementheadachetobeabletodefinetherightMVPscopewhenmanyclientscomingtoyourcompanysimplydon’tknowwhatanMVPisandhowvaluableitcouldbetothesuccessoftheirbusiness. ThebestwaytoaddressthischallengeistoapplyastructuredandobjectivemethodtodefineanMVPthatprovidestherightargumentstoyourclientsandexplainsthewhyandwhynot. Hereare7stepstohelpyoudefineyourMVPinanobjectiveandlogicalway.Thestepshavebeenexplainedusinganexampleproduct‘BookmyMovieTickets’. WhatisMVP—UnderstandtheDefinitionandkeyattributesofagoodMinimumViableProduct ThinkBIG—Workonanddefineyourbigboldvision ThinkCORE—FindouttherealcoreofyourProduct PRIORITISE—Prioritiseyourcoreinteractions,featuresandthemes ThinkMINIMUM—WorkouttheMinimuminteractions,featuresandthemes ThinkVIABLE—Validateyour‘Minimum’toensureitisviable DefineMVP—pulltogethertheoutcomeoftheabove6stepsanddefineMinimumViableProduct Whatis MVP Hereisa definitionfromWikipedia AMinimumViableProductisaproductwithjustenoughfeaturestosatisfyearlyusersandtoprovidefeedbackforfuturedevelopments Tofurtherdefine,agoodMVPmustbeabletosolveauserproblemandaddressauserneedandmustprovideuservaluefromDay-1.Ifitdoesnot,itisnotanMVP. ThereareafewfurtherconsiderationsforanMVPtobesuccessful: Firstly,itisimportanttoobtainfeedbackontheMVPtoiteratetheproductfurther.So,earlyusersshouldbehappytonotonlyuseitbutalsoprovidefeedbackandrecommendtheproduct.ThismeansthatitisimportanttoconductearlymarketanduserresearchtoidentifyearlyusersanddevelopastrategytomotivatethemtousetheMVPandprovidefeedback. Secondly,youmusthavemechanismstocapturethisearlyuserfeedbackeitherwithintheproductoroutsideit.Itisalsoimportanttocaptureusercontextdata.Thecontext,withinwhichtheuserismostlikelytousetheproduct.Suchas—device: Mobileordesktop,location: Athomeoron-the-go;Patterns: Evenings,morningsoranytime etc. Lastly,youmustalsobeabletocaptureandanalysetheuserinteractionswiththeproduct(obviouslywithintheapplicablelegalframeworksuchasGDPR).Thisdatawillprovideyouwiththeimplicituserfeedbackandhelpunderstanduserbehaviourwhenusingyourproduct. ThinkBIG NowthatweunderstandwhatisanMVPandwhatarethekeyattributesofasuccessfulMVP,letusshiftourfocustoourProductVision.Shiftintothetopgearandyourbrainisdoing200milesanhour! StartwiththeBIGproblemtobesolved,yourBOLDvisionforthecompleteproduct,tofulfilalluserneedsandalleviatealluserstruggles. Ifyoucouldhavealltheresources,timeandinvestment,whatwouldyourfinalproductoffertoitsusers?Perhapsaone-stopportalforeverythingrelatedtotheworldofCinema—incaseofourexampleproduct‘BookmyMovieTickets’. Tryandarticulate: WhatistheBIGproblemthatyouaretryingtosolve? WhatistheBOLDandcompellingvisionforyourproduct? Whataretheuserneedsthatyouaretryingtofulfil? Whatuserstrugglesyouaretryingtoalleviate? Whatjobsneeddoingthatyourproductwilldo,better,faster,smarter? Listdowneverything,everysinglevalidideathatcouldbepartofyourproduct. Nowletusstructurethisinformation: IdentifyallthefeaturesthatyourproductneedstosolvethatBIGproblemandachievethatBOLDvision. Identifyalluserinteractionsforthesefeatures,asmanyasyoucan Identifyalltypesofusers;Primary,SecondaryandTertiary Identifyallproductthemesandusethesetogroupyourfeatures CreateyourProductDefinition torepresentthisBoldvision Ifyouhavereachedthisfar,youhavejustarticulatedyourdreamproductwhichwillsurelychangetheworldforgood.But,atthesametime,youarealsowonderingwheredoyoustart? ThinkCORE Nowletusshiftthegeardownandstarttoworkoutwhatisthecoreofyourproduct? IdentifyCorefeaturesandinteractionsthatsolvethemostpressingproblems,addressthecoreuserneedsandalleviatethecoreuserstruggles. Tryandworkout,whatistheOneThingthatyourproductmustdoandmusttowellforittofulfilitsbigpromise? AnEmailproductmustbeabletosendandreceiveamail.AmusicplayermustbeabletoplaymusicandourExampleProduct‘BookmyMovieTickets’mustbeabletoallowyoutosearch,bookandreceiveaMovieTicket. Letusfollowthefollowing5stepstoworkoutthecore,remembertolistdowneverythingthatyouthinkiscore,noneedtoprioritiseorqualifyatthisstage,wewilldothatinthenextstep: Themesareorganisedaroundsolvingaproblemareaforyourusers.So,letusidentifythe corethemes thataddress themostpressingproblemareas foryourusers.Forour‘BookMyMovieTicket’product,themostpressingproblemareacouldbe: ‘Iwanttobeabletobookmymovieticketonline,inthreeclicksonmymobile, sothatIdonothavetoqueueupatthecinema.' Nowidentifythe corefeatures withinthecorethemesthataddressthe coreuserneeds.Forour‘BookMyMovieTicket’product,thecoreuserneedis ‘ Iwanttobeabletobookmymovieticketonline,inthreeclicksonmymobile,sothatIdonothavetoqueueupatthecinema.' Nowidentifythe coreinteractions withinthecorefeaturesthatremovethe coreuserstruggles.Forour‘BookMyMovieTicket’product,thecoreuserstruggleisindicatedby ‘Iwanttobeabletobookmymovieticketonline, inthreeclicksonmymobile,sothatIdonothavetoqueueupatthecinema.' Consideralltypesofusers;Primary,SecondaryandTertiary.InorderforthePrimaryUsertohaveagreatuserexperienceinsearchingandbookingMovietickets,TheSecondaryuser(contentcurator)mustalsohaveagreatexperienceincreatingengagingcinemaandmovielistings. Doyouruserandmarketresearchandconsidertheusercontextdata.Forexample;80%ofthemovieticketsarebookedusingmobile;70%arebookedfrom6pmto8pmonaSaturday;90%arebookedforthesamedayand75%arebookedforthelatestreleases.Thiswillhelpyoutoworkoutwhichfeaturesandinteractionsaddressthecoreuserneedsandremoveecoreuserstruggles. Noticethatwehavejustmapped Themes→Problemareas; Features→UserNeeds; Interactions→Userstruggles PRIORITISE So,bynow,youhaveanunderstandingofwhatdefinesagoodMVP,youhavedescribedyourBIGBOLDproductvisionindetailandyoualsounderstandtheCOREofyourproductintermsofthecorethemes,featuresandinteractions. Onlyworkingonthecoreinteractions,letus PrioritiseUserInteractionsthatprovidemaximumuservalueforleasteffort,costorinvestment Letusnowapplythe ProductFeaturePrioritisationmethod toprioritisealluserinteractionsandclassifyyourinteractionsinto : TOP-PRIORITY: HighUservalueANDLoweffort MEDIUMPRIORITY:MediumUservalueANDMediumeffort WISH-LIST:LowUserValueANDLoweffort RE-EVALUATE:HighUservalueandHigheffort PARKING-LOT: LowUservalueANDHigheffort (Thearticleon FeaturePrioritisationMethod maybeusefultounderstandhowtoworkouttheaboveclassification) LetuslookattheitemsinRE-EVALUATElistandseeifcertaininteractionscanbefurtherbrokendownorthereisaparticulartechniqueoftechnologythatmayreducetheeffortrequired.Asaresultofthisre-evaluation,someofthesemaymovetoTOP-PRIORITYlistaswereallydon’twanttomissanyHigh-Valueinteractionsfromourcoreproduct. Whileundertakingtheprioritisationexercise,don’tforgetto: Undertakeuserresearchtoworkoutuserreach,impactandvalue.Thisisimportantatthisstageasyoudonotyethaveaproductwhichwillallowyoutocollectuserfeedbackandanalyseuserinteractionsandbehaviours. WorkonlyontheCoreProduct→CoreThemes,CoreFeaturesandCoreInteractions Consideralltypesofusers;Primary,SecondaryandTertiary.YoumaydecideafterconsiderationthatyoudonotrequireanyuserinteractionsforyourTertiaryUsersforthecoreof‘BookmyMovieTickets’product.WhichisOK,butithastobeconsideredandaninformeddecisionismade. IncludefeaturesandcoreinteractionsrelatedtoMeasurements,InstrumentationandCustomerSuccessthemes.Thesewillallowyoutomeasureuserinteractionandactions,obtaini=userfeedback,helpyourusersandtomonitorthehealthofyourproduct. ThinkMINIMUM Nowletusshifttoanevenlowergear,LetustalkaboutMinimumandderiveitfromtheCore. IdentifyBestminimuminteractions,thatdeliverenoughvaluetoearlycustomerssotheyarehappytouse,providefeedbackandrecommendtheproduct Identifybestthemes,featuresandinteractionsfromtheTOP-PRIORITYlistthatprovideenoughuservalue. IdentifyMinimumInteractionsforeachfeaturethatprovidejustenoughvaluetotheusertoencouragehertousethefeature. Toillustratethisconcept,letusconsideranexampleofa News-Site. Oneofthethemesinthe‘New-Siteis‘LatestandBreakingNews’withtwofeatures:LatestNewsandBreakingNews ConsiderthebelowuserinteractionsforeachfeatureandtheMinimumuserinteractionsforeachofthetwofeaturesthatprovidejustenoughvaluetotheusertoencouragehertousetheproductandprovidefeedbackforfutureinteractionsanditerations. Inasimilarway,workouttheminimumfeatures,fromyourlistofcorefeaturesthatarerequiredtoaddresstheuserneedsforeachofthethemes.Thesearejustenoughfeatures(requiredwithinatheme)toaddressaproblemareasothatusersgetvaluefromtheproductfromDay-1. ConsiderthefollowingMinimumforourexampleproduct‘BookMyMovieTickets’ RemembertoFocusonmainconsumers(PrimaryUsers)andsupportingfeaturesforSecondaryUsers. Andfinally,don’tforgettoconductUserResearchandconsidertheusercontextdatainordertoidentifytheMinimuminteractionsrequiredforafeaturetoprovidevaluetotheuserandtestthatthe‘JustEnough’isnot‘NotEnough’beforeyoudecideonthefinallistoftheMinimumInteractions,featuresandThemes. ThinkVIABLE Atthisstage,letusrecapwhereweare: WeknowwhatdefinesMVPandwhatagoodMVPlookslike Wehaveaboldvisionofourproductandwehavedefinedit Weunderstandwhatisthecoreofourproduct,withoutwhichthecoreuserneedswillnotbeaddressed WorkingfromtheCore,weknowtheUserinteractionsthatprovidemaximumuservaluewiththelowesteffort Fromthese,weareclearwhataretheminimuminteractions,featuresandthemesthatwillprovidejustenoughvalueforourusersotheyarehappytotryourproductandprovidefeedback Letusvalidateeachoftheseminimumuserinteractions,featuresandthemestoseeiftheyareviablebyaskingasetofquestions: Canwedeliveritfastenough?Dowehavetheskills,expertise,timeresourcesandfunds? Isitjustenoughtoprovidevaluetoearlyusers?Haveweconductedenoughuserresearchandidentifiedpotentialearlyusers? Canwemeasureit?Dowehavemechanismsinplacetocaptureuserfeedback,collectuserinteractionandcontextdata? Canweiterateuponit?Rememberreworkiscostly,iterationisnotaseveryiterationmayprovideincrementalvalue Canwescaleit?IfanMVPfeatureispopularandwecannotscaleit,itmaydisengageourearlyusers.Considercontextdata;70%arebookedfrom6pmto8pmonaSaturday.CanourMVPcopewiththatsurgeinuseractivityduringthistime? Younowhavealistofqualified,validatedandviablelistofminimumuserinteractions,featuresandthemes. DefineMVP Thisisthefinalstepandprobablythemostsimple. YourMVPisthefinallistofqualified,validatedandviablelistofminimumuserinteractions,featuresandthemesasillustratedinthediagrambelowusingtheexampleproductof‘BookMyMovieTickets’ Ifyouhavereadhisfar,youmusthaverealisedhoweasyisittodefineanMVPforyourproductbyfollowingtheabovesteps.ThiswillallowyoutonotonlydefineagoodMVPforyourclientsbutalsodemonstratethepathyoutooktoarriveatthisdefinitionoreventakethemwithyouthroughtheprocessofdefiningtheMVP. Hopeyouenjoyedreadingit,feelfreetocomments,agreeordisagreeandevenimproveuponthisguidance. The fullslidedeckisavailableonSlideshare. 31 1Comment Like Comment Share LinkedInUser AfterreadingtenarticlesaboutMVPs,thisonefinallytalksabouthowtoreallyspecifyitinpractice.Notjusttheory.Thanks! Like Signintolikethiscomment Reply Signintoreplytothiscomment 1mo Reportthiscomment Tovieworaddacomment,signin Tovieworaddacomment,signin Digitalplatformsaretakingovertheworld-whatarethey? Aug11,2019 UserPersonas|Whydoweneedthem? Jul20,2019 FromInternalCombustionEnginetoAutomobiles|PoC→Prototype→MVP→Pilot|MadeSimple Jun23,2019 StartSmall-ThinkBig|DefineyourProductRoadmapin7SimpleSteps May5,2019 HowtoprioritiseyourProductFeaturesin5SimpleSteps-PracticalProductManagement Apr7,2019 6StepsGuidetocreateyourperfectProductDefinition-PracticalProductManagement Mar31,2019 AGILEDECODED|Chapter-4:ThePivot Dec10,2017 AGILEDECODED|Chapter-3:TheIntersection Dec3,2017 AGILEDECODED|Chapter-2:TheInspiration Jul16,2017 AGILEDECODED|Chapter-1:Introduction-TheNeed Jul12,2017 Othersalsoviewed SabbaticalJourneyofa48yearsoldbanker CharanjeetSinghBhatia 2w Miértmissionimpossibleújkollégáttalálnimaamunkaerőpiacon? 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