While approaches deal with that in different ways, I feel like they overlook one crucial thing…

However we choose to make an MVP, we need to make it meaningful.

Lean Startup, Summarized

First, some quick background. MVP stands for “Minimum Viable Product,” and it refers to a key component of the Lean Startup methodology. Lean Startup is a process for developing products by validating assumptions at every step of the way.

Instead of spending years and millions on developing a huge product that might fail, show something cheap to a small group of people and see if it works. If it fails, the losses are small; if it succeeds, make it a little bigger and keep trying. Check out Eric Ries’ book for more.

Jussi Pasanen’s MVP Pyramid Model beautifully illustrates the issue. On the left, we have the broad “many features, none of them good” approach. On the right, we have the “fewer features, all of them delightful” approach.

Jon Pittman’s Medium post is an appeal for us to strive for “romantic quality” when creating an MVP, the right pyramid. Other folks say the same thing, but refer to the idea as “minimum delightful product.”

While I agree with the “fewer features, all of them delightful” approach, its focus tends to be limited to how we make products. What people tend to forget is the step before that: which products should we make?

We Should Make Meaningful Products

We make stuff to solve people’s problems, and meaningful solutions improve people’s lives in some way.

If a product isn’t meaningful for people, no amount of great design will make it successful.

Foursquare is a great example of this. A few years ago, they created a well-designed app and pioneered many of the gamification mechanisms we still use now. While they grew quickly, people eventually lost interest, because most didn’t see the point. Foursquare wasn’t helping them in any way.

Thankfully, the company pivoted and is successful again, because they re-evaluated what is important to people and adapted accordingly.

Jussi Pasanen’s pyramid model reminded me of a similar one that Stephen Anderson presented back in 2006 with meaningful at its peak. Here are the two models combined.

The difference is subtle, but it’s also critical to a product’s success. If a product isn’t somehow meaningful, it won’t be successful.

Good news: the path to a meaningful product is validating your assumptions.

Most assumptions in product development revolve around these questions: which problem do we want to solve? Do enough people have that problem, and are they willing to pay to have it solved? Does our solution actually solve the problem? As LinkedIn founder Reid Hoffman puts it, “Getting engagement with members and seeing what is actually important is completely key.”

The Path to a Meaningful Product

He goes on to say, “If you’re not embarrassed by your first product release, you’ve released too late.” Some think this means that an MVP should be what Adam Berrey calls a “very crappy product.”

That’s a misconception! The point of an MVP is to simulate the key parts of a potential product that will make it work. That way, we can first validate the problem, then validate how our solution fits the problem. Only then can we start working on a marketable product and validating whether the product fits the solution and the market.

Eric Ries uses Zappos (the online shoe marketplace) as a wonderful example of what he calls a concierge MVP. They didn’t start with a crappy website with crappy customer service and crappy shoes. “They went to local shoe store, took pictures of each of their products and put them online. If anyone bought shoes from them [at this early stage], they planned to go to the store, buy the shoes, and mail them to the customer.”

Give People What’s Important to Them

In other words, before worrying about design, validate your problem. When you’ve done that, then validate your solution. Understand what people really need, and the rest will fall in to place naturally.

This blog was written by Brian Pagán, who graduated from Maastricht University in 2006 with a MSc in Work and Organisational Psychology., He is now working for Phillips' Mental Vitality division as Creative Lead