How to Build an MVP and Define Its Scope – Soaked by Slush

How do you define the scope of your MVP? · #1: Know what you're measuring · #2: Scale down the amount of things you test to add clarity · #3: If ... SearchfromSoakedbySlush Search Quicklinks NodebySlush SoakedbySlush SlushHelsinki About ContactUs Skiptocontent slush_soaked_logo_top slush_soaked_logo_bottom_02 Artboard1 BySlush Reading:HowtobuildanddefinethescopeofanMVPwithMonikaOcieczek10min slush_soaked_indicator Next:6BestProductLessonsfromSlushStages 15min HowtobuildanddefinethescopeofanMVPwithMonikaOcieczek SOAKEDATSLUSH2021–ARTICLE2/10 HimekaUehara Contributor,SoakedbySlush January13,2022 Share 10min FoundedinJanuary2020,Primeristheworld’sfirstno-codeautomationplatformforpayments.Theyenablecompaniestoconsolidatetheirpaymentsstack,andbuildend-to-endpaymentflowswithacheckoutdeveloperslove.TheyraisedtheirSeriesBinOctober2021,withacurrentteamofover100,workingacross20differentcountriesonfourcontinents–fullyremotely.Inthisinstalment oftheSoakedbySlushinterviewsatSlush2021,wetalkedtoMonikaOcieczek,HeadofProductDesignatPrimer.Shetoldusaboutwhatmakesagoodproductperson,andgaveusherbestinsightsintobuildingandscopingMVPs.    Expecttolearn: Theproductmindset:keyqualitiesofagoodproductperson  AbouttheprocessofbuildinganMVP  HowtodefinethescopeofanMVP Theimportanceofdesignthinking   Theproductmindset:keyqualitiesofagoodproductperson Monika’sroadtohercurrentroleatPrimerwasfullofinterestingpitstops;startingfrombusinessstudies,spontaneouslymovingontodesign,thenmarketingandcommsstrategy,toeventuallyworkingwithandforstartupsSquidnews,Tink,andGimi.Beforeherworkwiththesestartups,Monikaworkedataproductdesignagency,helpingincumbentslikeSASandDanskeBankbuilddigitalproducts,whichwaswhenshegotdrawnintotheworldofproduct.  “Duringbusinessschool,Iwasboredwiththeone-dimensionalperspective.Ineededtocomplementmyfinanceandmanagementclasseswithsomethingmorecreative…soIlearneddesign.Iwasneveragreatdesigner,butmybusinessbackgroundcombinedwithdesign,aninterestintech,andmyloveforbuildingthingsgotmeajobataproductdesignagencywhereIhadtheopportunitytousebothhalvesofmybrain!Here,Idiscoveredthatbuildingproductswasmycalling.” LikeMonikaherself,productpeoplecancomefrommanydifferentbackgrounds. “Ithinkthebestproductpeoplearegeneralists,andtheycancomefromdifferentperspectivesorangles.Itcanbetech,itcanbebusiness,itcanbedesign.Intheendit’sreallyabouthaving‘theproductmindset’.” Whataretheintrinsicqualitiesthatmakesomeoneagoodproductprofessionalthatyoushouldlookforwhenhiring?  Abilitytoshiftbetweenmentalmodels.“Anessentialskillforaproductpersonisalternatingbetweensmallandbigthinking,alternatingbetweentech,design,business,andunderstandingthem.Thisalsomeansalternatingbetweentalkingtousersandfeelingempathy,butalsolookingattechstackandtheJIRAticketsandmakingsenseofhowtobuildsomethingthatwouldansweruserneeds.”  ForPrimer,shiftingbetweensmallandbigthinkingwasessentialwhentacklingoneoftheirbiggestissuesinthedevelopmentoftheirworkflows.  “Oneinterestingchallengewe’vehadatPrimerwas3-DSecure.It’saregulationonhowbankshavetoauthenticateuserswhenthey’repayingwithcards.Consumerssometimesgetpromptedtoauthenticatetheirpurchase,andit’sreallynotagreatuserexperience,anditbringsalotoftechnicalcomplexity.”  Putthebigthinkinghatonandit’sjustadetail,somethingthatwillsoonbecompletelyseamless.  “It’snotgoingtoworklikethisinthefuture.Butrightnowit’samess,it’sreallyimportantwithahugeimpact,andwehavetozoominandfigureouthowtomakeitworkforallusecases.”   Acombinationofcreativityandanalyticalskills.Thesetwocansometimesfeelcontradictory,buthavingboth,andbeingabletoswitchbetweenthemiswhatmakesforstrongproductpeople.“Creativityisneededtoconnectunexpecteddots,tofindnewsolutionstoknownproblems,andinmakinginterestingproductsthathavepersonality.Ontheotherhand,analyticalandcriticalthinkingareneededtoevaluatethingsandmakesurethatthey’llwork,tomakedifficultdecisions,andtoextrapolate.Theyhelpyouseethelongtermimplicationsofchoices.”    Visualizationskills:beingabletopicturetheproductinfrontofyou.“Seeingwhattheproductlookslike,howitworksandwhatitfeelslikeusingit.Whatitwoulddo,andhopefullybeabletomakewordsofit.Youdon’tneedtobeadesignertosketchoutsomethingsimplethatallowsotherstoseewhatyou’reseeinginyourhead.Asimpleillustrationhelpsyouhaveastartingpointfortheconversationabouttheidea,whichyoucanthenevaluateandimprove.”   Curiosity.“Ifyou’reinaninterview,andsomeonetellsyouwhatPrimerdoesinfiveminutes,obviously,youhavetoaskquestions–itisimpossibletounderstandwhatwedoinfiveminutesandnothaveanyquestions!Curiosityisreallyimportant.Thisgoesbeyondtheinterviewsituation,ofcourse;curiosityaboutthemarket,yourusers,thetechnology,andtrendsinthespherearealsocrucial.”    Observationalskills.Whenyou’retestingproducts,theseskillswilldeterminewhetheryou‘getit’ornot,whetheryougetenoughofittobeabletoimproveanexistingconceptorcomeupwithsomethingnewinstead.Theseobservationsbreednewideas,asyoustartnoticingthingsandmakingnewconnections.  “Ilovewhenpeoplesay,‘Inoticedthisdetail.Inoticedyousaidsomething,Inoticedthatyouhavethisthingonyourwebsite,andIconnectedthatwithsomethingyousaid,orsomethingthatI’vedonebefore,somethingthatI’veexperienced,orsomethinganotherproductisdoing.What’stherelationship?”    BuildinganMVP Monikasaysthatshelikesto‘createthings,ideallystartingwithnothing’.Howdoyoubuildsomethingwhenyouonlyhavetheproblemyouwanttosolvetostartwith?Acentralpartofthisprocessis,ofcourse,theminimumviableproduct(MVP).AtSlush,MonikawalkedusthroughthewholeprocessofhowPrimerbuilttheirworkflowMVPattheBuilders’Studio.Forthewholestory,keepaneyeoutforMonika’sSlushtalkinFebruary,butfornow,herearesomeofherlearningsonthedifferentphasesofbuildinganMVP.    1. Understandtheproblem  Understandingtheproblemisobviouslyallaboutknowingyourmarket,users,andtheproblemyou’resolving.Inthisphase,Monikahighlightstheneedtoalternatebetweensmallandbigthinking;collectingallthesmallproblemsyourusersarecommunicatingtoyou,andorganizingthemintoabiggerentitytogobeyondtheobvioussolution,beyondsolvingsmallproblemsinisolation.  Therearelimitationstouserresearch,itwilltellyouwhatiswrongbutnotnecessarilyhowtosolveit–userresearchrarelyleadstoagreatproductbyitself.There’sadifferencebetweenreallygettingtoknowyouruserandempathizingwiththemandconductingartificialfocusgroups.    2.Exploresolutions Don’tjustlookatwhatyourcompetitorsaredoing.Tryoutavarietyofsolutions,eventheonesthatmayseemcounterintuitivetobeginwith.Whenyouexploresolutions,trytostayopenminded,creative,havefun,andmaybelookforinspirationinunexpectedplaces.Forexample,forPrimertheinspirationwasfoundinLEGOandLittleBits.    3.Validateyoursolution Youneedsomevalidationforyourproductbeforeimplementingit.AtPrimer,theycontinuouslyshowourworktocustomersforfeedback.Youcanalsoconductinternalusabilitytestsonteammemberswhohaven’tbeenasexposedtotheproductforafreshsetofeyes.Lastly,anopenandhonestfeedbackcultureiscentralforcontinuousreflection. Butkeepinmind:therearesomanydifferentwaystovalidatedifferentaspectsofyourproductbeforeyouimplementit,butyoucanneverbe100%sure–youalsoneedtohavesomeintuitionandconvictionaboutwhatyou’rebuilding.   4.Implementanditerate AsMonikaemphasizes,inphases1-3youwanttokeepthe‘bigthinking’haton,soyoumightnoteventhinkoftheMVPitselfyet.Inphase4youwanttodefinetheMVPscope,andyouwanttobereallysmartabouthowyoudothat.  Overalltheprocessisneverlinear;youstartimplementinginthevalidationphase,keepvalidatingduringtheimplementationphase,andtheexplorationandgettingtoknowtheuserneverstops.Primer’ssuccesshasn’tcomefromfollowingaby-the-bookprocess,butfromhavingintuitionandconvictionaboutabigvision,andcertainvaluesyounevercompromiseon.ForPrimerthesevalueswereextensivemarketunderstandingandcustomerfocus,open-mindedandcreativeapproach,andmovingathighspeeds.    HowdoyoudefinethescopeofyourMVP? Fromphase4wegettothequestionofhowyoudeterminethescopeofyourMVP.InourinterviewMonikasharedherinsights.    #1:Knowwhatyou’remeasuring  Thereisnosecretformula.Itmayseemrudimentary,butthemostimportantthingistoknowwhatyouaremeasuring. “Youneedtomakeadecisionofwhereyoucut,ormakeacompromiseinallareas.Noaspectisgoingtobeperfect.Scopeitinawaythatyouknowwhatyou’retesting.TheMVPisgoingtobesofarfromwhatyouactuallywanttobuild;beawareofthethingsthatyou’recompromisingon,andifitdoesn’twork,youwillknowwhy.Beawareofwhatitisthatyou’veshipped,andwhatyouhavenotshippedandnotincluded.”   #2:Scaledowntheamountofthingsyoutesttoaddclarity Don’tlaunchsomethingjustbecausethatiswhatyouhaveatthepresentmoment–scaledownifyouneedto,ifthatmakesthescopeofwhatyou’retestingmoreclear. “Theworstthingyoucandoistonotknowwhattoreflecton,notknowingwhetheryouaretestingtheUI,orthevalueproposition,ortheinteractivity,orwhatthecommunityislike.Thisdoesn’tallowyoutoactuallyevaluatewhatyou’velaunched.Itmightsimplybebettertoevenfurtherscaledown,andratherbeverypreciseinwhatyou’retesting.” WithPrimer’sMVP,theteamknewthattheyweretestingthevalueproposition,andtheunderstandingoftheUIwhentheycarriedouttheview-onlyversion.  “MerchantswerestillusingourcheckoutandourpaymentsAPI,buttheyweren’tactuallyabletoedittheirworkflowsthemselves.Soweknewthatweweretestingthevalueproposition,andtheunderstandingoftheUIwhenwedidtheview-onlyversion.Laterwhenweaddededitingcapabilities,weweretestingtheinteractivity.”   #3:Ifyoudon’tknowwhatshouldbeincluded,getintouchwiththeusers Obviously,it’sadifficultbalancetostrike;ifyourproductissomethingthatsimplydoesn’tworkwithoutasetofcertainfeatures,theyhavetobeincludedintheMVP.  “It’sverydifferentdependingonwhotheproductisfor,B2CandB2Bandindifferentverticals; someproductsarejustnotgoingtoworkuntilyouhaveasetoffeaturesthatactuallyworkandarewelldesigned.Otherwise,there’snopointinshippingit.” Ifyoudon’tknowwhetheracertainfeatureshouldbeincludedintheMVP,beopenaboutit.Keepaddingthingstothelistbybeingintouchwiththeusersandfindingoutwhattheyreallyneed.Explorethisineveryphaseofproductdevelopment;remember,theprocessisn’tlinear.    #4:Don’tcompromiseonthedesign(atleasttoomuch)  Everytimeyoulaunchaproductoranewiteration,therewillbeacompromise.Designwillbejustasmuchasacompromiseastheengineeringsideofthingsortheproductvalueproposition.Asanadvocateofthedesignperspective,Monikainsiststhatithastobetherefromthebeginning.  “Thetruthis,youmissoutonsomuchwhenyoutrytoincorporatedesigninthelaststepto‘makethingspretty’.Productdesignisreallysomethingthatstartsattheverybeginning.It’spartofcominginandunderstandingtheproblemfromadesignperspective.Youneverhavethetrade-offof,‘dowelaunchsomethingundesignedversussomethingthathasbeendesigned’–thedesignisalwayspresent.” Designoffersawhollydifferentwayoflookingattheproductthatcanrevealwhat’snotworking. “Designersmightbeinabetterpositionthananyoneelsetolookatothertoolsandseewhythingsarenotworking.Youmightbeabletofindissuesinthedesign,whichisnotjusttheUI,butalsohowtheflow,interactions,andcomponentsareimpactingtheuserexperience.”  …anditiskeytofunctionality. “Itdoesn’tmatteriftheproductactuallydoeswhatyouwantittodoifyou’reunabletofindabuttonthatdoesthething,right?Designisverymuchaboutmakingsomethingneededintosomethingusable,enjoyable,andloveable.”  Share slush_soaked_logo_top slush_soaked_logo_bottom_01 SoakedbySlushisashamelesslyfounder-focusedstartupmediathatdeliverstimelesscompany-buildinglessons,hands-onoperationaladvice,andintriguingstoriesfromthestartupecosystemtothepeoplewhobuildandoperatehigh-growthcompanies. 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