Trying to Teach MVP
I have found that MVP (Minimal Viable Product) is such an interesting topic to discuss with large groups of leaders. Everyone has an opinion about the term (many of which are not positive ones). The consensus is that the fear around MVP is how do you convince the end-user that they are going to get more and how do you keep the focus on the ability to continue delivering. In some cases, this fear is tied back to funding, prioritization, and a traditional model of X went live, so now everyone needs to shift to work on Y. The answer to this concern is to create a world where the team keeps working and building and iterating to make it better. As for fear of end-users being disappointed that they are getting a suboptimal product, you must show them that it is continually improving.
Given these fears, I started working with teams a few years ago on a simulated game to help them experience the potential benefits of breaking work down and delivering a part of the result. It was fun to see how they applied the concept.
Basic approach — divide the room into multiple teams no matter how small your groups is you need multiple teams because you want to be able to highlight the differences. An important lesson of an MVP discussion is to acknowledge that there are a lot of ways to get down the path, and not everyone will pick the same journey.
Once the teams are organized, you can give them something to create. I have made a repeatable game using the topic of an opening a coffee shop, but you can come up with whatever item it is you want the teams to create. The key lesson is learning how they are going to break this into smaller releases. We play this game with a set of core features that must be developed to open a coffee shop, and everyone in the room gets the same core set. The goal is to show that even with the same backlog and the same amount of time to think and discuss the task, teams will tackle the problem in different ways.
Some teams start with a drive-thru, and some start with counter-service, and occasionally, I have teams that begin with a marketing-only release — to them, this means billboards, coupons, promotions all in advance of the store opening. We talk about these differences when we have the whole group back together. I ask questions like “how many of you drive-thru to get coffee?” or “who always goes inside to order.” Next, we talk about the correlation between these answers and the approach of the team. What is funny is that sometimes a team can have the majority of people who like to go inside to order, but one person convinces them that “it will be easier to build a drive-thru only to launch a business.” We talk about how individuals can influence the outcome by having a theory instead of looking at the data.
There are lots of great lessons and conversations that originate from playing the coffeeshop game, but I always love to pull it back to MVP. I like to highlight that no matter which one you do first — drive-thru or counter-service, you must be able to know your plan to get the other one going and decide a reasonable amount of time. For instance, you can start with a drive-thru only, but it would be great to be able to see progress on the counter-service which would allow people to know that it is coming and that they should check back if that is what they want. We talk about the need to continually be bringing new features out to show that you are ever-changing, and the best would be to tie it back to customer feedback. We heard you say that offering breakfast foods would be good, so now we are doing it. Put the sign up to say, “We heard you, and now we do this.” This helps to prove two things as a business — one, we listen to your feedback, and two, we are continually adapting what we offer. This is how you battle that fear of MVP. Create a customer base that expects that you are never really done and that you are willing to try something new.
The best output of playing the coffeeshop game with leaders is the acknowledgment that there isn’t just one way to get things done. As a team, these are great moments to talk about what you can be building towards in the future you want to have. It is also valuable to get customer feedback and real data along the way to make sure we are still building the right solution. The key to me is that MVP is less about delivering in smaller chunks and more about creating an iterative solution that makes sure you build the thing that people are going to use and love.
Sara Eaton — Technology Director at Slalom
Slalom
Slalom is a modern consulting firm focused on strategy, technology, and business transformation. In over 30 markets across the US, UK, and Canada, Slalom’s teams have autonomy to move fast and do what’s right. They’re backed by regional innovation hubs, a global culture of collaboration, and partnerships with the world’s top technology providers.
Founded in 2001 and headquartered in Seattle, Slalom has organically grown to over 7,500 employees*. Slalom was named one of Fortune’s 100 Best Companies to Work For in 2019 and is regularly recognized by employees as a best place to work.
