KR8: ?? MVP ?? How to prioritize when building MVP!

Welcome to the next KR8 newsletter!

In this issue, we'll tell you more about the prioritization process when building an MVP.?Check out our e-book?- it is a must-see if you want to become an MVP master!

How to prioritize?

Today we will define where and how to start creating the scope of an MVP, and what we should watch out for in the initial phase of MVP implementation.

What is a “pre-mature optimization trap”?

The trap of premature optimization refers to the tendency to spend too much time and resources optimizing features that may not be crucial to the core functionality of the product. When you focus on optimizing features too early in the development process, you can end up wasting time, and resources and delaying product release.

The trap of premature optimization can affect the product development process in several ways:

• Delayed time-to-market?– this can affect the ability to gain market share and compete effectively with other products.
• Increased development costs?– this can affect your ability to compete on price and make it more difficult to achieve profitability.
• Overly complex products?– this can affect user adoption and retention, ultimately hindering the success of your product.
• Poor user experience?– you may end up with an overly complex, unattractive user interface that is difficult to navigate and use, this can lead to poor user experience and affect customer retention.
• Unstudied theses?– you may make assumptions about your product and target audience that are unvalidated, this can lead to building a product that does not meet the needs of the target audience or does not effectively solve their problems.

An interesting example of premature optimization and the development of functionality that turned out to be too elaborate and redundant after implementation was the Google Plus social networking platform’s friends circles. Unlike rival Facebook, where acquaintance through the portal was made bilaterally, by sending and confirming an invitation to become friends, in Google Plus you could add friends unilaterally (you add someone, but someone doesn’t have to add you). Interestingly, new friends were added to different circles, e.g. friends, family, interest groups, etc. In practice, this meant that you received notifications of posts from people in the group to which you were unilaterally accepted (whether you want it or not – which sounds absurd). This functionality is to this day considered one of the reasons for the failure of Google Plus in the social media market.

To avoid the trap of premature optimization, it is important to prioritize the scope of the MVP and focus on building relevant features that meet the needs of your target audience. Here are some tips:

• Prioritize the development of relevant functions?that meet the needs of the target audience. This helps minimize development costs and make sure that the delivered product meets users’ needs.
• Setting realistic timelines?is key to avoiding the trap of premature optimization. It is important to balance the time spent on developing new features and optimizing existing ones. Be mindful of the time needed to optimize features and make sure it is in line with overall product goals and timelines.
• Awareness of when to stop optimizing.?It is important to know when to?stop optimizing and release the product.?The person responsible for the product must be able to balance the need to optimize with the need to bring the product to market.
• Getting perfectionism under control.?Striving for perfection is a common pitfall of software developers, but it is important to remember that?no product is ever truly perfect.?You have to be able to find a compromise between optimization, conceptual work, and time spent on getting the product to market. You can’t let perfectionism become a barrier to pre-launching a product for valuable user feedback.

The trap of premature optimization can affect the cost of product launches, user experience, and overall product success. You can avoid it by conducting research, testing the product at various stages, setting a timeline for MVP development (which you will later follow), prioritizing the scope of the MVP, and focusing on building key features that meet the needs of your target audience.

What does the prioritization process consist of?

Step 1: Identify product goals

Before you start prioritizing features, you need to define your product goals. What problem will you solve for your users? What are the key metrics you want to measure? What is your overall product vision??

To begin with, you should be able to identify the specific problem that your target audience is currently experiencing. Once you’ve identified the problem, think about the goals you want to achieve with your product. Having clear goals will help you make better decisions down the road when building your product strategy. The goals should be identifiable with quantitative as well as qualitative metrics, e.g. user engagement, customer retention, or revenue growth – we’ll talk more about this in the next chapter.?

Finally, consider your overall product vision. What do you want your product to achieve in the long term? What is your mission statement?

Step 2: Identify key functions

Once you’ve defined your product goals, it’s time to identify key features. For example, if you are building an e-commerce site, the ability to add products to a shopping cart and the process of finalizing a purchase will be such features.

To define must-have features for your product, start by thinking about the problem you are solving for your users. What are the necessary functionalities so that users can solve the problem without much difficulty? These functionalities should be the foundation of your product and form the basis of your MVP.?

At this stage, you may find it helpful to use methods that make it easier to empathize with future users, e.g. proto-persons, personae, user stories, or an empathy map. User stories are contexts that describe how a user will interact with your product to achieve a specific goal. Personae, on the other hand, are averaged images of your prospective users, illustrating a cross-section of your target audience and their needs.

Step 3: Arrange functions by value and complexity

Once you’ve identified the necessary functions, it’s time to rank the remaining functions by value and complexity. Value refers to the potential impact a feature will have on your users and your business. Complexity, on the other hand, refers to the effort required to implement the functionality.?

You should focus on high-value, low-complexity functions first, followed by high-value, high-complexity functions.

To prioritize features by value, start by thinking about the goals you want to achieve with your product.?Which features will help you achieve those goals?

You can also use methodologies such as the Kano model to help you structure the value of individual functions.?

This model divides functions into three categories:

• basic needs, are features that users expect and do not add extra value
• satisfiers, which are those that improve the overall user experience,
• and delighters – features that surprise and delight users and are a point of differentiation of your product from the competition.

To rank features by complexity, consider the effort required to implement each feature. This includes the time, resources, and technical expertise required. You can use tools such as the Product Roadmap to visualize the time-consuming nature of each feature and prioritize them in terms of order of implementation.

Step 4: Take into account user feedback and market trends

It is important to prioritize features based on value and complexity, but as we established in an earlier chapter, user feedback and market trends should be considered first and foremost.?

Users are the best source of feedback on what features they need and what will be necessary to solve their problems.

You should also keep track of what your competitors are doing and what new technologies are emerging. Analyze reports from the market to identify emerging trends and see how your product ranks in the broader market and technological context.

Step 5: Develop, refine, and iterate

MVP scoping prioritization is not a one-time process. Be prepared to iterate and update priorities as user feedback is received and the market evolves. As you build and deploy the MVP, you should collect data on user behavior and engagement so that you can make decisions about which features to implement next and which to change.

To begin identifying areas for improvement, start by analyzing the data collected from users. This can include metrics such as user engagement, customer retention, and conversion rate. Observe what area of your product users spend the most time on, and look for answers as to why this is so. Identify from observation and user testing process bottlenecks – places in your product that make it difficult for users to perform.

Usability testing is a mandatory activity if you want to collect data that will allow you to make the right decisions during further product development. Consider implementing an analytics platform such as Google Analytics or Mixpanel to help you track user behavior and gather insights.

Finally, keep an eye on the market and the competition. As new technologies emerge and user behavior changes, you may need to modify your product strategy to stay in the game. Look for opportunities to differentiate your product from the competition by offering unique features or experiences that solve real user problems.

Want to know what MoSCoW is, how to determine the appropriate minimum with it, and learn a little about scaling? Read the 3rd chapter of our e-book on MVP!

Let us know if you know and use MoSCow when building your product.

We are waiting for your feedback and see you in a week! ??

Team Kreatik