01
Understand
Idea · Problem · User
PLAN · BUILD · LEARN · GROW
Turn Ideas into
Meaningful Products.
A systematic method for turning app ideas into valuable, viable and buildable MVPs.
02
Define
Value · Product · Context
03
Shape
Jobs · Scope · Experience
04
Specify
Information Architecture · Data · Requirements
05
Learn
Learning · Technical Boundaries · MVP Boundary
- Structured process
- Practical templates
- Better product decisions
Problem
Most products don't start with a product.
They start with an idea.
An idea can feel exciting while important questions remain unanswered.
The hard part is not building features.
The hard part is deciding what should be built.
- 01Who is it for?
- 02What problem really exists?
- 03What value does it create?
- 04What should the product actually be?
- 05What belongs in the MVP?
- 06What should be learned before building more?
Approach
Don't jump from idea to features.
A common path is moving directly from idea to features, screens and coding. MVPCompanion introduces a systematic clarification process before detailed implementation.
Progressive clarification.
The process starts with an uncertain idea and progressively turns it into a clear, buildable MVP.
01
Understand
Idea · Problem · User
02
Define
Value · Product · Context
03
Shape
Jobs · Scope · Experience
04
Specify
Information Architecture · Data · Requirements
05
Learn
Learning · Technical Boundaries · MVP Boundary
15 stages of progressive clarification.
Better product decisions before you build.
Framework
The MVPCompanion Framework
The framework is the relationship between the method of thinking and the process of moving from idea to MVP.
Together they produce an Integrated MVP Spec — the basis for a valuable, viable and buildable MVP.
Method + Process → Integrated MVP Spec → Valuable · Viable · Buildable MVP
The 15-stage process is introduced below.
Traceability
Every important requirement should be traceable backwards to a meaningful user problem and forwards to an observable outcome.
Process
From Idea to MVP.
The process has 15 stages. For a first visit, they can be seen in five phases.
Five phases. Fifteen stages.
These phases are a simplified overview. They do not replace the 15-stage process, and they are not the framework itself.
Five-phase overview
The 15-stage process
01 Understand
Idea · Problem · User
01
Idea
Frame the initial product idea.
02
Problem
Define the problem independently of the proposed solution.
03
User
Identify the primary user who has the problem.
02 Define
Value · Product · Context
04
Value
Define the outcome and value the product should create.
05
Product
Define what the product fundamentally is.
06
Context
Define how the product's central object changes over time.
03 Shape
Jobs · Scope · Experience
07
Jobs
Identify what users need to accomplish.
08
Scope
Derive the smallest useful solution.
09
Experience
Define how the user gets to value.
04 Specify
Information Architecture · Data · Requirements
10
Information Architecture
Define how the product is organized.
11
Data
Define the data the product needs to operate.
12
Requirements
Define what must be built and how it should behave.
05 Learn
Learning · Technical Boundaries · MVP Boundary
13
Learning
Define what the MVP needs to test and measure.
14
Technical Boundaries
Define the technical constraints and major risks.
15
MVP Boundary
Define exactly what belongs in the MVP and what does not.
Result
A Valuable, Viable and Buildable MVP.
The aim is to move from “I have an idea” to understanding what should be built, why, for whom, what belongs in the MVP, and what needs to be learned.
Valuable
Solves a meaningful user problem.
Viable
Creates a credible basis for the product and its context.
Buildable
Is sufficiently defined to actually build.
Not everything you could build.
The smallest coherent product worth building and learning from.
The MVP is also a learning instrument. It should test important assumptions and create observable learning, rather than merely demonstrate that software can be built.
Ecosystem
One Method. Three Ways to Use It.
MVPCompanion is a shared method expressed through a book, this website and a future app.
Shared Method
Book
Understand
Learn the thinking behind MVPCompanion.
Website
Explore
Discover the method, resources and examples.
App
Do
Apply the method to your own product idea.
Audience
For people who build what matters.
The site is for people who have an app or digital product idea and want to work more systematically before development.
01
Founders & Entrepreneurs
People shaping an early product idea.
02
Product People
People responsible for what gets built and why.
03
Builders & Developers
People who may otherwise move to implementation before the product questions are clear.
04
Idea Owners
People with an idea who want a systematic next step.
Have an idea?
Start making it clear.