Use this when: You've validated the problem and need to decide what the smallest testable version of your product looks like — what's in, what's out, and what "success" means before writing code.
You're done when: You have a scope document with one core workflow, explicit cut lines, a success metric, and a hard launch deadline.
The Sequence
Template
Half a Product, Not a Half-Assed Product
Jason Fried puts it bluntly: "You're better off with a kick-ass half than a half-assed whole." An MVP isn't an excuse to ship something broken. It's a commitment to do fewer things well. Cut your ambition in half, then make sure what remains is genuinely great. Start with the epicenter, the one thing your product absolutely must do, and make that feel complete. Everything else can wait for v2.
Example
A team validated that freelancers waste hours chasing invoices. Their first feature list had 14 items. They cut to 3:
- Core workflow — freelancer enters amount and client email, system generates a payment link, client pays, freelancer gets notified
- What shipped — create an invoice, send it via email, get notified when it's paid
- What was cut — client portal, templates, recurring invoices, expense tracking, tax calculations, multi-currency, integrations
- Success metric — 10 freelancers send a real invoice to a real client within the first week
- Deadline — 3 weeks
They shipped in 2.5 weeks. Eight freelancers sent invoices, five clients paid. The core value worked. Templates and recurring invoices came in v2.
Written with ❤️ by a human (still)