Minimum Valuable Process: A Mental Model for Anyone Who Wants to Work More Effectively

A modification to the infrequently discussed and underused “Minimum Viable Process”.

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After working in marketing for a few years, I noticed a mental model had formed in my mind that has become so ingrained in my worldview that I would see it almost everywhere.

The concept, for me at least, goes something like this:

• First, when tempted to optimize a process — resist. Take a step back and consider waiting to observe and understand the potential problem more.
• Second, if a change is determined to be necessary when improving a process or adding a new process, managers should attempt a change with minimal intervention first.

This is beneficial in two ways:

• Avoiding overprocessing or introducing unnecessary points of friction
• Adopting the optimization and realizing the value as quickly as possible

These small additions of friction can quickly snowball over time. I have seen it time and time again in marketing operations and product teams. It is tempting and common, but certainly immature, to immediately react with “add a process” for every hiccup we experience.