MVP or Masterpiece? Knowing When to Scale Back in Product Development
Ah, the age-old conundrum of MVPs — Minimum Viable Products — that are anything but ‘minimum’. It’s akin to brewing a cup of tea and ending up hosting a full-blown English high-tea party. A delightful extravaganza, indeed, but perhaps all you needed was a simple sip to start your day.
We see apps and software products being labeled as MVPs, but they’re bursting at the seams with features and polish.
In the tech world, there’s a tendency to brew not just a cup, but an entire ceremony’s worth of tea. We see apps and software products being labeled as MVPs, but they’re bursting at the seams with features and polish. It’s like a Swiss Army knife when all you needed was a plain old screwdriver. Here’s the thing: if the business model or product fit isn’t in question, go ahead, knock yourself out with the bells and whistles. But let’s call a spade a spade — that’s not an MVP.
It’s about finding out if your idea can walk before you try to make it run a marathon.
MVPs are the bare bones, the basics, the “just enough to get by.” It’s about finding out if your idea can walk before you try to make it run a marathon. Imagine you’re trying to sell a new kind of shoe. You don’t need diamond-studded, self-tying sneakers to see if people are interested in walking more comfortably. Just a good old comfy sole would do.
If you’re sure about your market and you’re just scaling or adding features to something that already works — great, that’s not an MVP phase…Throw that plain paper boat into the water before you start building a yacht.
The trick is in knowing the difference. If you’re sure about your market and you’re just scaling or adding features to something that already works — great, that’s not an MVP phase. That’s evolution. But if you’re still testing the waters, trying to see if your idea will float, keep it simple. Throw that plain paper boat into the water before you start building a yacht.
In the digital product arena, this distinction is crucial. You don’t want to burn resources — time, money, and sanity — on developing features that your users might not even need or want. It’s like preparing a Thanksgiving feast for someone who just wanted a snack.
So, when you’re working on a new product, ask yourself: Am I making an MVP, or am I just avoiding calling my fully-fledged product by its name? MVPs are about discovery, not grandeur. Remember, sometimes all you need to brew is a perfectly steeped cup of tea.
