We talk to a lot of business owners and stakeholders about building an MVP. It’s a term that is widely used to mean the first step into something new, something that will become bigger and better in time.

But how do you define it and where should you stop? It’s easy to get carried away and to keep building something because it feels like there’s momentum.

The way we at ClearSky like to tackle this is to take it back to basics and ask: what are you trying to achieve? You must have a clearly articulated goal in mind when commissioning a software project, otherwise how will you know if it has been a success or failure?

In larger organisations there will also be potentially conflicting views and priorities from different individuals. Unless clear goals and outcomes are set, it is easy for digital projects to be branded as a failure because they don’t solve the problems of certain individuals (problems that they were never designed to solve in many cases).

Like any journey, you need to know when you’ve arrived. Otherwise how do you know when to stop travelling? Sounds simple, but all too often a general feeling of needing to move in one direction is felt in an organization but a clear aim is harder to articulate.

The purpose of an MVP is to give the quickest, simplest way to the destination.

If you want to run a marathon and you’ve never run before, don’t try to run a marathon straight away. Clearly you will fail. Become comfortable running two or three miles first, move on to five or six, eight or 10 etc.

The MVP in the running analogy might be: finish a three mile run feeling like you could go further. From this point you will have built a base from which you can progress.

Its the same with digital transformation – a series of steps from one level to another. There is no end, especially with a successful platform.

There will always be the next step but if you take this approach, accepting that its a journey with multiple milestones along the way, the chances are you will move in a defined way, measuring success/failure dispassionately.

After arriving at your MVP destination, you will want to plan the move to the next point and clearly define where it is. If you have a reasonable idea of what the longer journey will look like post-MVP you can often make allowances for this in the design of the MVP. These compromises may sometimes add effort to the MVP but should pay dividends in the long run.

Taking this simple approach, if you look at digitally mature organisations that have created architectures to be proud of (think Netflix), they certainly did not build this as their MVP.

Despite the fact that Netflix’s business model has changed from DVDs by post to streaming content on demand, their current digital architecture is way too complex for their initial business offering and they would have been later to market, later to generate revenue, later to get customer feedback etc.

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Fast is key here. Netflix’s DVD business model was simple and had many competitors. What made them special was their ability to adapt quickly. They wouldn’t have been able to do that if they hadn’t already arrived at the market and started to generate revenue.

If Netflix had built their current digital architecture as their MVP they would never have got to
where they are.

In reality, their previous versions of their platform will have been thrown away multiple times as it had served its purpose, getting the organisation to where it needed to be at the time.

Don’t be precious about what you build. It will serve a purpose but you may end up replacing it if it becomes successful (but this is what we’d call a ‘Champagne problem’).

A journey to a defined MVP goal may not be straightforward. Often businesses have little idea of how to get there so a trusted guide is required. One who has trodden similar paths before, there to minimise the unknowns. The journey will be a first though – nobody has gone on that exact journey before, so there will be surprises along the way.

The thing to keep in mind is that the path may meander but the destination should remain the same. Be rigid about how you define your goals and stick to it.

For MVP, your goal should be your north star.