MVP TEMPLATE

HOW TO USE

This minimum viable product (MVP)

template will explain the steps involved
in determining what a viable version one
of your mobile product entails. Each step
will be explained in detail; at the end of
MVP MVP
the steps, we have included an editable
template that will allow you to create your
own plan for your MVP.

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CREATING YOUR MVP

A minimum viable product (MVP) is a version of We have grouped the process to accomplish this
your product which includes the features that into three simple yet valuable steps:
will allow you to release the product to market
by solving a core problem for a set of users. The 1. Understand The Business Needs
purpose is to provide immediate value, quickly, 2. Find The Opportunities
while minimizing development costs. 3. Decide What Features To Build
(Prioritization Matrix)
This walkthrough and template will provide you
with the guidance you need in order to build All of these steps should be part of product
your MVP. definition for any project, however following
these steps will help you identify and prioritize
features in a manner that allows you to
confidently outline what you need to ship a
valuable version one of your product.

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1.
UNDERSTAND THE
BUSINESS NEEDS
Determine the long-term goal and write it down.
You want to answer the simple question: Why are we doing this project?

LONG-TERM GOAL

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1.
UNDERSTAND THE
BUSINESS NEEDS
Next, we want to identify the success criteria that will demonstrate whether or not the product will
be successful. Note that the success criteria can and usually will be more than a single metric.

SUCCESS CRITERIA

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2. FIND THE OPPORTUNITIES
The purpose of this exercise is to identify the In the majority of cases, you want to look at
opportunities and determine how you can most which user has the most jobs and focus on
effectively add value and solve pain points. that user (note that this approach works from
Here is the step-by-step process: a logical perspective, but there are sometimes
higher priorities which would need to be
A . Map out the user journey(s) addressed).
i. Identify the actors (write down on the left)
ii. Write down the story ending on the right
(what we need the user to do to meet the goal)
iii. Write down all actions (jobs) in between

User (Actor) Actions (Jobs) Story Ending

Pet Adopter • Build Profile Take a pet home

• Find a Pet
• Book Appointment
• Apply

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USER JOURNEYS
User (Actor) Actions (Jobs) Story Ending

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2. FIND THE OPPORTUNITIES
B . Create a pain and gain map for each action
i. Write down the action (job) the user completes when using the product
ii. Write down the pain points for each job
iii. Write down the gains for each job

List and count the number of pains and gains for each action. Ideally, when it makes sense, you want
to assign a value to help signify importance (for example, if a gain reduces a financial cost to your
business then it is worth 3 points, whereas a smaller gain is worth 1 point).

This exercise lets you determine where you have the greatest potential to resolve pains and add
gains; focus on building features that address that area for your MVP (other areas can be added as
items for later in the product roadmap).

Pains Action Gains

Trouble viewing appointment Book Appointment View available appointments

availability and book immediately

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PAINS AND GAINS
Pains Action Gains

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2. FIND THE OPPORTUNITIES
C . Summarize the pains and gains into opportunity statements

There are a number of methods to summarize pains and gains, but we like to use opportunity
statements that follow a “How Might We” format.

For Example:
• How Might We expedite the application process?
• How Might We help users find things more easily?
• How Might We make it easier to book appointments?

Opportunity statements will reflect the pains and gains you have identified for your product.

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OPPORTUNIT Y STATEMENTS
How Might We ?

How Might We ?

How Might We ?

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3. DECIDE WHAT FEATURES TO BUILD

Using your opportunity statements, finalize what High Impact

features you want to build out. In this stage, we
would create the feature sentence, for example:
Include
Debate in MVP
“How Might We expedite the application
process?” would become “Reduce your Low High
Urgency Urgency
application processing time by 10%.”
Don’t Revisit
List the user and the specific opportunity Include
in MVP
statements, and provide a breakdown of the
features to include in the product roadmap. Low Impact

Next, you want to prioritize features. This step From the prioritization matrix, you make the
helps you to identify where you can make the final decision on what absolutely needs to be
most impact with your product in relation to the included in your MVP.
urgency of the feature. For this, we recommend
using a prioritization matrix.

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PRIORITIZATION MATRIX
Debate High Impact Include in MVP

Low High
Urgency Urgency

Don’t Include in MVP Low Impact Revisit

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MVP PL AN

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UNDERSTAND THE BUSINESS NEEDS

Determine the long-term goal and write it down.

You want to answer the simple question: Why are we doing this project?

LONG-TERM GOAL

15
UNDERSTAND THE BUSINESS NEEDS

Next, we want to identify the success criteria that will demonstrate whether or not the product will
be successful. Note that the success criteria can and usually will be more than a single metric.

SUCCESS CRITERIA

16
USER JOURNEYS
User (Actor) Actions (Jobs) Story Ending

17
PAINS AND GAINS
Pains Action Gains

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OPPORTUNIT Y STATEMENTS
How Might We ?

How Might We ?

How Might We ?

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PRIORITIZATION MATRIX
Debate High Impact Include in MVP

Low High
Urgency Urgency

Don’t Include in MVP Low Impact Revisit

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 INTRODUCING FoCuS
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FoCuS is the all-in-one mobile strategy, product definition, and app
prototyping solution.

Frame the Problem Capture Ideas Solve the Problem

Understand business requirements Generate, capture and prioritize Create a visual solution that can
for the mobile product features of the product be presented and validated

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