A Minimum Viable Product (MVP) helps a team test an idea with potential users. It can be an early version of a new product or an experiment that explores a change to an existing one.
We approach MVP development as a learning process. The purpose of an early release is to test an important assumption and use the result to decide what happens next. Our 2021 process organized that work into 21-day cycles.
At the start of each cycle, we identify the riskiest assumption and agree on a focused way to test it. We then work through four stages: prototyping, planning, launching and evaluating the release.
The number of cycles depends on what the team learns. After each one, the product owner can continue, change direction, move into ongoing product development or stop. The cadence structures the work; the results guide each product decision.
The product owner brings the initial idea and the problem it is intended to solve. We can help clarify the concept and identify assumptions before planning the first release.
RapidIteration MVP development process
Throughout the process, we maintain a regular feedback loop with the product owner and potential customers. Reviews connect the work being delivered to the assumptions being tested and the needs of the people who will use it.
To discuss an early product idea with RapidIteration, start with the problem, the intended users and what you need to learn from a first release.