Presented by Anthony Armendariz and Danielle Moser from Funsize at the Digital Project Management Summit 2014 - Austin, Texas. Twitter: #dpm2014, #iwantmymvp The Minimum Viable Product (or MVP) is the first shippable version of a product containing purely core features, distributed as a test release in order to create useful feedback for the most basic features. Planning for a MVP release requires the Product Owner to know how to organize and prioritize a dense backlog of features, but in an agile environment with a diverse team and uniquely talented vendors we posit they need not do it alone. Different lenses for knowing what MVP means to your internal and external team so you can know if you are building the right thing. What must the MVP consist of to be meaningful to the target user? What’s the best way to phase out the release of everything else? What can be cut completely? Basic agile/lean design project management techniques. Important conflict resolution and emotional management techniques. How to sell it with a "Flexible Scope Retainer".

1. I WANT MY
MVP
BUILDING THE RIGHT THING
DIGITAL PM SUMMIT 2014 ・ AUSTIN, TEXAS ・ @FUNSIZE ・ #IWANTMYMVP

2. DANIELLE MOSER
@DANIELLEMOSER
ANTHONY ARMENDARIZ
@MANTWAN

3. TOPICS TO DISCUSS
An understanding of MVP and other approaches
Creating the ideal engagement style
How we manage MVP projects at Funsize.
In Practice: A Funsize case study.
Q&A (if time allows)
DIGITAL PM SUMMIT 2014 ・ AUSTIN, TEXAS ・ @FUNSIZE ・ #IWANTMYMVP

4. PART I
GETTING TO MVP
DIGITAL PM SUMMIT 2014 ・ AUSTIN, TEXAS ・ @FUNSIZE ・ #IWANTMYMVP

5. DEFINITION
THE MINIMUM VIABLE PRODUCT (OR MVP) IS THE FIRST
SHIPPABLE VERSION OF A PRODUCT CONTAINING PURELY
CORE FEATURES, DISTRIBUTED AS A TEST RELEASE TO
GENERATE USEFUL FEEDBACK FOR THE PRODUCT’S
DIFFERENTIATING FEATURES SO THAT SUBSEQUENT
RELEASES HAVE THE MAXIMUM CHANCE FOR SUCCESS.

6. GOALS
• Validate a new business model.
• Launch a new product or feature in an existing application.
• Validate a theory or hypothesis.
• Impress investors or stakeholders to secure funding.
• Use financial runway smartly.
• Get it to market and in users hands as fast as possible.

8. 8

9. 9

10. “It would be pointless even if I managed to
understand how it works.”
- A User

11. “We’ve long accepted that for a product to be useful,
it needs to have acceptable levels of both utility and
usability. Yet far too often, we seem to ignore the
former in favor of the latter, ending up with lots of
easy and pleasant applications that have no reason to
exist. One could argue that the first version of the
iOS app Color fell into this trap.”
!
- RIAN VAN DER MERWE

12. “…it was not able to provide the "differentiated
customer experience we had hoped for.”

13. QUALITIES OF AN “MVP”
• Redefines or disrupt an industry (for some).
• Fulfills a basic human or user need in a meaningful way.
• Balances features that users want.
• Creates an advocate out of the users (people).
• Encourages engagement and builds habits (hopefully good ones).
• Reaches the highest quality possible within the “limits”.

14. PART III
THE RIGHT ENGAGEMENT STYLE
(FUNSIZE’S APPROACH)
DIGITAL PM SUMMIT 2014 ・ AUSTIN, TEXAS ・ @FUNSIZE ・ #IWANTMYMVP

15. PROBLEM
Page Title GIMME MORE. GIMME MORE.
GIMME GIMME GIMME MORE!

16. OKAY, SURE
BUT WE STILL HAVE TO SET SAIL

17. BUILDING DIGITAL PRODUCTS
WE’RE IN THE BUSINESS OF
BUILDING DOG HOUSES
NOT CATHEDRALS.
(BUT THEY SHOULD STILL BE BEAUTIFUL)

18. YOUR TEAM MUST EMBRACE
• The time, financial, or resourcing constraints.
• Generating quick ideas as a team to validate before investing.
• Favoring lean, quick and sometime half-complete work.
• Failing fast and often.
• The ability and desire to pivot at any time and embrace change.
• That it’s NEVER ever, ever, ever done.
• Listening to users.

19. FLEXIBLE SCOPE FTW!
• No project schedules. Only a start and end date.
• No fixed deliverables but the services you’ll provide.
• No promises to deliver anything specific to the client.
• Promise a team with consistent effort. Velocity not hours.
• Provide a standard weekly, sprint or monthly price.
Learn More: http://funsize.co/flexible-scope-retainers

20. PART II
PROJECT MANAGING MVP
DIGITAL PM SUMMIT 2014 ・ AUSTIN, TEXAS ・ @FUNSIZE ・ #IWANTMYMVP

21. 1
KICK OFF

22. 2
DISCOVERY

23. YOU NEED TO DISCOVER THE PROBLEM FIRST
“..but we’re a fast-moving startup and we don’t have time to
sit around and talk.” You do if the alternative is failure,
brought on by an unhealthy addiction to pretty things that
lead to fifteen minutes of fame, but not much else.
!
…We cannot let the allure of the visual tear us too far away
from the usefulness of the products we develop. It is true that
failure teaches us a great deal about what works and what
doesn’t. But it’s so much cheaper and more effective to fail at a
variety of ideas on paper than it is to fail at one full-blown, VC-backed
idea. Together, we can avoid building projects that
generate buzz, but don’t meet the needs of the people. So let’s
discover before we build.”

25. OUR NEXT TALK
TOP 10 REASONS EVERY STARTUP
NEEDS A PSYCHIC J/K!

26. PROJECT MANAGEMENT CLEANUP

27. TRASH THE PROJECT SCHEDULE

28. TRASH THE FIXED DELIVERABLES

29. TRASH THE DEADLINES

30. TRASH WORKING ON FRIDAYS
(SO WE CAN DO OTHER, AWESOME STUFF)

31. TRASH THE DISCUSSION OF “HOURS”

32. OMG. WTF?
DIGITAL PM SUMMIT 2014 ・ AUSTIN, TEXAS ・ @FUNSIZE ・ #IWANTMYMVP

33. 3
SPRINTING
(THE FUNS I Z E WAY)

34. WHAT YOU CAN DO
VELOCITY & COMMITMENT
~2 hours = 1 point
32 Hrs./Week = 16 Pts./Wk. = 32 Pts./2Wk. Sprint
@FUNSIZE / #IWANTMYMVP

35. THE SCHEDULE. WASH, RINSE AND REPEAT
DISCOVERY &
REQUIREMENTS
2WK.
SPRINT
DEVELOP
& RELEASE DESIGN
VALIDATE
& TEST

36. REGULAR EVENTS
SPRINT ACTIVITIES
• Sprint Planning Meeting
• Design Activities
• Regular Stand-Ups
• Design Reviews
• Backlog Grooming
• Retrospective
AD HOC EVENTS
• User Testing
• Discovery Workshops
• Implementation Pairing
• Quality Assurance

37. TOOLS

38. SPRINT PLANNING

39. THE NEW SCHEDULE

40. THE NEW SCHEDULE
EPICS

41. STORIES
THE NEW SCHEDULE
1PT. = 2HRS.

42. CURRENT SPRINT
THE NEW SCHEDULE
BACKLOG ICEBOX

43. IT’S MAGICAL
… BUT IT’S NOT ALWAYS RAINBOWS
AND UNICORNS.

44. PART IV
IN PRACTICE: PINGBOARD
DIGITAL PM SUMMIT 2014 ・ AUSTIN, TEXAS ・ @FUNSIZE ・ #IWANTMYMVP

52. &

60. As of last week….
“HR, OPS, OR A CULTURE
PRODUCT?”

61. CONCLUSIONS
Advantage: Flex Scope & Agile Process
Success: Repeatable Collaboration and Ongoing Work
Doing the best we could at all steps
Accepting that the work is never “done”
Letting user feedback drive the direction
@FUNSIZE / #IWANTMYMVP

62. PART V
IS IT REALLY ABOUT CREATING THE MOST
MINIMUM VIABLE PRODUCT?
What’s the proper lens for your project?

63. FROM THE BUSINESS PERSPECTIVE
Validate your business idea with “MVP”
MINIMUM
VIABLE
PRODUCT

64. FROM THE USER’S PERSPECTIVE
Prove a high-value satisfying experience with “MDP”
MINIMUM
DESIRABLE
PRODUCT

65. FOR THE RISK TAKERS
Think for your users with a ‘MAP”
MAXIMUM
ARROGANT
PRODUCT

66. WHEN YOU ALREADY HAVE VIABILITY AND NEED TO EXECUTE
Use your resources better by using ‘MFP”
MINIMUM
FEASIBLE
PRODUCT

67. SO…
WHAT CAN WAIT?
WHO KNOWS.
DIGITAL PM SUMMIT 2014 ・ AUSTIN, TEXAS ・ @FUNSIZE ・ #IWANTMYMVP

68. THANK YOU, @FUNSIZE.
Q
&A
@MANTWAN @DANIELLEMOSER
DIGITAL PM SUMMIT 2014 ・ AUSTIN, TEXAS ・ @FUNSIZE ・ #IWANTMYMVP