Remove the fluff on your first release

I love backpacking and how it continues to teach me about Jesus and business.

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Backpacking is MVP at its finest. You ask yourself, "How little can I carry and still accomplish my goal?"

Well, what happens if you carry too little? Some lessons are hard learned.

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One cold night

My first time backpacking was with Eli Parker in Shenandoah National Park. The idea of carrying everything we needed on our backs was new to us. Worried our bags would be too heavy, we carried small backpacks that held the bare essentials. Or so we thought.

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Our plan was to hammock camp because August nights in Virginia are warm, right? We made a grave mistake and only brought one fleece blanket each. A cold front moved, and the low that night went from 60ºF to 48ºF. As you guessed, that night was filled with very little rest and a lot of shivering. (hint: sleeping bags would have been a game changer)

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What is your sleeping bag feature?

When determining the MVP, we often weigh the impact of a feature against the effort it would take to create. In backpacking terms, “Is this item worth its weight to carry?”

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For instance, while a sleeping bag might be bulky and require a bigger backpack to carry, the impact it has on our sleep is well worth its weight. On the other hand, carrying a camping chair would be way too heavy for the benefit it gives us.

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When we apply this to our organization, which features or services are sleeping bags and which are camping chairs? Consider the features critical to the user’s goal with your product. 

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Ask yourself, “If I remove this feature, will it break the experience?” or “How much does the user care about this?”.

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How to reach MVP?

The quicker you can test your product, the more likely you are to build something that solves your users’ problem.

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So before you take on a new project, decide which features you can remove from your metaphorical backpack.

Keep the sleeping bag.

Get rid of the camping chair.

Launch your product faster.

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Need help figuring out which features are critical to your MVP? We can help. Ask us anything.