How to scope an MVP on one page
Most first versions run late for one reason: nobody wrote down what's out. Here is the one-page method we use before we build anything. It works whether you build with us, with someone else, or yourself.
Step 1Start with who pays, not with features
Name the person who pays, what they pay for, and what they do today instead. “Parents of primary school kids pay for a trial lesson; today they message three tutors on WhatsApp and wait” is a scope. “An education platform” is not.
Step 2Pick one core flow
Write the single path a user takes from arriving to paying, in four or five steps. Everything that isn't on that path waits. If you can't choose between two flows, pick the one closest to money.
Step 3Write the “out” list first
List what you are not building in version one. It's the most valuable line on the page, because it's what stops the build from growing. Common entries:
- Native mobile apps (a web app that works on phones usually proves the idea first)
- Referral and loyalty programmes
- Dashboards nobody has asked for yet
- A second user type, unless the product can't work without one
Name the number that proves it
Pick one number to check thirty days after launch: paid bookings, teams on a paid plan, deposits taken. If you can't name it, you're not ready to build yet. You're ready to talk to more customers.
Step 5Put a price and a date on it
A fixed scope deserves a fixed price and a launch date. When something has to give, cut scope, not quality, and price any change before anyone starts it.
Step 6Keep the accounts in your name
Domain, hosting, payment provider and the code repository should belong to you from the first day. It costs nothing to set up that way and saves a lot of pain later.