Ditch MVP for?SLC

Why Simple, Loved, Complete is the Key to Building Products Users?Adore

I recently chatted with Chris Herbert following a LinkedIn discussion about why I don’t like the often referenced “MVP” (Minimum Viable Product) framework for creating great products. The MVP approach is referenced to encourage teams to launch products quickly into the market with a bare minimum product to start getting user feedback and iterating. While I agree with the intent MVP hopes to solve, I prefer an alternate framework that I find drives more meaningful product conversations: the Simple, Loved, Complete (SLC) approach.

What’s wrong with?MVP?

MVP, standing for Minimum Viable Product, is rooted in pragmatic thinking?—?it’s about getting a functional product into the hands of users as swiftly as possible to start the iteration cycle based on actual feedback. The core idea is sensible and something I resonate with: the need for feedback is critical, and you only receive it once the product is in your customer’s hands. Yet, this is precisely where my agreement with the MVP approach ends.

The problem with MVP is the nature of the discussions it often fosters within teams. In many teams, MVP can become weaponized as debates focus on what constitutes the ‘minimum’ and debates on the ‘viability’ of a product. This can lead to products that, while technically viable, are hardly optimal or inspiring. They might be alive, so to speak, but they’re not necessarily products that promise growth or user satisfaction. This approach might result in a product that can be used, but not many would choose to use if given alternatives.

Why SLC?

This brings us to the SLC framework, which I advocate for with a passion. SLC stands for Simple, Loved, Complete. Each component of this framework guides teams to not only make strategic decisions about what features to include but also how these features should be implemented:

1. Simple: The product should be straightforward and intuitive. Much like “minimum”, it doesn’t need the full feature set that the ultimate vision will enable. But what is there should be the simplest version of the idea that is functional and offers a clear value proposition to the user. Sometimes “simple” is building more onboarding, refinement, or support content to ensure you get a good signal about the value of that feature.?
2. Loved: This is where the SLC framework truly distinguishes itself. Instead of asking if the product is just ‘viable’, SLC asks if it is ‘loved’. Products should evoke a strong positive response from a core group of users, turning them into advocates. This emotional investment from users is often a stronger indicator of a product’s potential success. You’ve probably seen the clips of Brian Chesky (clip) or Sam Altman talking about the value of having 100 people loving your product vs. millions liking it.
3. Complete: Finally, the product should feel comprehensive within its “simple” scope. It doesn’t need every feature imaginable but should feel entirely usable in the simple solution it is offering. This means no half-baked features or placeholders that detract from the user experience.

The pursuit of love drives the team to deeply understand the customer, address their pain points, and create a product that scales with strong retention and virality.

SLC improves team conversations

The magic of SLC is the conversations it drives. Each time I’ve introduced it to a new person or team, the immediate question becomes “How do you measure love?” Every time, I reply back “How do we measure minimum viability?” This usually reveals that neither is easy to quantify, but virtually all agree that customer “love” is much easier to spot. The team exercise and discussions that follow become a very productive one trying to answer “how can we see love?”.?

The key questions the team asks themselves are: “Do I love it? If not, what would it take to make me love it?” Qualitative measures of excitement and energy of response from early customers are a strong signal. Quantifiable signals of love?—?retention, public sharing, and inviting others to use the product?—?can also be quickly identified (and can also help the team prioritize which features and analytics should be built to inform this kind of early feedback!). The pursuit of love drives the team to deeply understand the customer, address their pain points, and create a product that scales with strong retention and virality, resulting in a thriving, scalable product?—?not just a viable one.

An example: Jawbone JAMBOX was?SLC

In the discussion with Chris, he commented on the JAMBOX by Jawbone (see awesome video by Adam Lisagor ) as being one of his favorite products of all time, which users loved. He is right in the fact that this industry-defining product is the epitome of SLC.

It was Complete in functionality?—?it enabled you to enjoy the richness of audio from a wide variety of content and apps found on our mobile devices in a small portable form factor.

“Love” is still the phrase I hear most when I mention JAMBOX. Pre-release, we could observe “love” in design reviews and partner meetings as we put prototypes in front of them and observed how they gravitated towards certain versions. Post-launch, I tracked “LOVE” through social media and our customer support watching what people were saying.

“Simple” was more challenging because at the time, most people found Bluetooth devices incredibly complex. The physical buttons and ports helped clearly communicate the basic functions of on/ off, volume control, wired input & charging, but adding an audio UI is one of the elements that helped make it easily understood. Instead of relying on a Morse code of button taps and blinking lights, we used audio to just communicate what was going on. This provided simplicity to the complicated process of “pairing” and “connecting” bluetooth, while also providing a personality to serve as a foundation of “Love”.

Beyond the usability, the extra work to make the UX simple for the user also served as the foundation to communicate the product and brand differentiation. The challenge at the time was how to convince users that a small tiny speaker wasn’t going to just sound like a small, tiny, high-pitched speaker. The solution was audio design. The moment you flipped the switch on, it came to life and kicked in your hands with a low-frequency bass hit that acted like haptic feedback to let you know that this hand-held speaker, while tiny in stature, carries a big sound.

You could watch as a new user would turn on the speaker in their hands and immediately smiles hearing “JAMBOX is in pairing mode, waiting for device to connect.” The owner knew JAMBOX was ready for action. It was Simple. It was Love. And the only thing left to Complete was to hit play and enjoy your music.

Conclusion

In observing Love in action, I became a strong believer that Love is the signal we are shooting for, not just viability. The shift from MVP to SLC isn’t just about changing how we talk about products; it’s about changing how we think about building products and ultimately enhancing the quality of what we build. It encourages creating products that meet basic needs and more importantly, exceeds expectations, fosters loyalty, and exudes love. For any product team looking to make a significant impact with their users, adopting the Simple, Loved, Complete framework will redefine your approach to product development and guide your team to building a product that people truly love. Try it out for your next project!?—?I would love to hear the feedback on how you’re driving the discussions, conversations, and decision-making process with your team to build a product that is Simple, Loved, and Complete.

This is a re-post from an article originally posted here.

#mvp #productmanagement #UXDesign #CustomerLove #SLC #Startup #Tech