Struggling with MVPs!

I was recently chatting with a group of students about the concept of MVPs (Minimum Viable Products) in product design. It’s something I struggled with when I first entered the product world, especially coming from journalism and in-house roles. The idea of releasing something “just enough” goes against my nature of always trying to do better.

At first, the students had a negative view of MVP. Their comments included things like: “What’s the least I can do?” “How do you get away with not doing more?”

In some ways, they’re not wrong, but the key is in the mindset and philosophy behind MVP.

Here’s how I broke it down for them:

Step 1: How do I move the needle? What will make a real difference?

Step 2: How can I deliver those improvements to users more quickly and efficiently?

The problem with a perfectionist mindset is that if you’re always allowed to keep refining, you may never finish. Does a user want the promise of the best app ever, something they may never actually see because new technologies or societal shifts keep changing priorities?

In an ideal world, MVP is a process of iterative improvement. Move the needle → Deliver → Get feedback → Repeat.

The concept was starting to take hold, but I could tell that there were those in the room who were still thinking, “I was taught to be the best, create the best, and always aim for 100%”.

This is where some real-world storytelling helped to establish the concept.

Your client has an e-commerce app; it looks nice, the IA is good, but it doesn’t have a search function, and there is user feedback that a search function would make it quicker and easier to find products.

The ideal scenario is to develop an intuitive search function with the ability to search, sort, filter, and display results in a visually appealing way. Users could also save key search criteria to speed things up for return visits.

This would create a great user experience, but could take a lot of design, development, and testing time, which means the end user has to wait. While the user is waiting for improvements that they may not know are coming, they could look elsewhere, and you risk increased customer churn.

Eventually, when you release the enhanced experience, the app users have spent an extended period of time with no search function, some have left, and for others, damage to brand perception has occurred.

In the world of MVP, this enhanced search function could be introduced faster and iteratively.

Initial launch — In a relatively short period of time, users are given a basic search function. The user experience has been improved, customers are more likely to be retained, and whilst it may not be enough to improve brand perception, it doesn’t cause a negative impact.

Launch number 2 — The results view is improved, made more visually appealing, and the groundwork is set up behind the scenes for future enhancements.

Launch 3 — The ability to sort and filter results is launched. The user experience has improved, and the customer is starting to notice a philosophy of continual improvement. Brand sentiment and perception pick up “this brand is constantly making the experience better”.

Launch 4 — Advanced features such as saved searches and personal filters are introduced, adding an element of personalization to the search process.

The non-MVP approach may have reached its end goal faster, but the user and the client face a longer time without seeing any improvements. Whereas with the iterative MVP approach, the user feels like they are being catered to.

With this metaphor, the students were able to see that MVP was not about the least amount of effort, but a fine juggling act of what we can do, what is needed, and how we keep the user happy during the process.

The takeaway? MVP isn’t about cutting corners or doing the bare minimum. It’s about asking:

• What’s the most valuable thing we can deliver right now?

• What’s the smallest step we can take that makes a meaningful difference?

• How do we keep users happy whilst we’re building toward the full vision?

With that mindset shift, the students started to see that MVP isn’t a shortcut; it’s a strategy.