Carbon Zero Accelerator
Defining MVP While
Staying Sane
The Challenge
There was a constant tension between hitting our deadlines, client expectations, and focusing on features that bring user and business value.
This meant we had to set expectations with the client that features had to be worked on gradually and iteratively, and that we shouldn’t try to deliver everything in one go.
The Approach
We decided to test our assumptions around what users would expect from an MVP. As part of our research, we asked the following questions:
What do you make of the list of features in the first version?
What do these features mean to you?
Is there anything missing that you would expect to see?
In addition to this, we proactively managed stakeholder expectations around what to expect for MVP. Sprint Showcases became an important time to communicate our decisions and rationale to stakeholders.
During workshops and approval ceremonies, gently enforcing the constraints we set for ourselves within each sprint (see: Delivery Approach).
The Outcome
Our participants gave a clear steer on what features they would expect to see and the sorts of trade offs they would be willing to make for an MVP. This gave the team the confidence to push back on features that were very complex to implement (as they wouldn't work within our delivery timelines)
Testing the MVP proposition with a potential user