Product··1 min read
The hardest part of an MVP is deciding what to leave out. A practical way to cut scope without cutting the point of the product.
Almost every MVP starts too big. That is natural, because you can see the whole product in your head. But every extra feature adds time before real users touch it, and real users are what tell you whether you are right.
Start from one sentence
Write down who the product is for and the one thing it lets them do that they cannot do well today. If a feature does not serve that sentence, it is a candidate for version two.
Map the single main path
Sketch the steps a new user takes from landing to getting value. Sign up, set up, do the thing, see the result. Build that path properly. Everything off the path can be manual, rough or missing.
Fake what you can
- An admin dashboard can be a spreadsheet for the first few months.
- Onboarding can be a call with the founder.
- Payments can be an invoice before they are a checkout flow.
Do not cut the things that build trust
Scope cuts should never land on security, data handling or the quality of the core interaction. Users forgive missing features. They do not forgive losing their data or a product that feels broken.
Cut features, not quality.
A good MVP feels small and solid. If yours feels big and shaky, the scope is wrong, not the team.
Written by Agentive Team