Big dog, little dog (a.k.a. The Lean Startup)

The Minimum Viable Product (MVP) is a pivotal Lean Startup concept. The basic idea behind it is to maximize validated learning for the least amount of effort.

We must develop fast, faster than what we might think or even want. It is important to force ourselves to try to keep focused on what the user wants. Most of the time, this means that we will be developing a solution that is not validated by the user until released. Thus, we cannot follow a structured, “old school”, software development process. Lean Startups need Lean Development.

In the words of Mary Poppendieck, the coiner of the term Lean Software Development process,

When a forecast is a mere guess, it is far better to use an approach which adapts to the future as it unfolds — 12 Questions with M. Poppendieck

Because most of the time we are heading into the realm of the unknown, we must be humble enough to think that we don’t really know what the user wants and we must always be looking for feedback. That is, “Release often, release early” should not only be a catchy motto but the leitmotif behind the startup development.

Thus, we have to decide on how to go on to get feedback. Should we build landing and signup pages and start testing without a product? Or should we start building a minimal product and carry out some real testing with a batch of users?

There has been much debate on either approach. So far, due to the Tetuan Valley rush, we have already gone for the landing page approach (although minimal) and we are quickly building our first prototype. We want to go through iterations of both that will help improve each other. Build, Measure and Learn from the results. Testing to improve and improving through testing, continuously. Getting out of the building to validate our assumptions and coming back inside to fit them into our prototype.

We will see how it goes!