The MVP playbook we use on every build.
How an idea becomes a live product in 7, 14 or 21 days: the rules we cut by, the day plan, the scope sheet we fill in, and what we check before launch. Free to read and download. No email needed.
Six rules for the cut.
Every scope goes through these before it gets a price. The full method, step by step, is in the post on scoping an MVP.
One assumption per version
If the first version tries to prove two things, it proves neither. Write the one belief that might be wrong, and build for that.
One kind of user, unless it can't work without two
A marketplace needs both sides. Most products don't need an admin role on day one.
By hand before automated
If you can do it yourself for the first fifty users, it waits. You learn what to automate by doing it.
Proven parts for the plumbing
Sign-in, payments, email and hosting come from services built for the job. The days go into what makes your product different.
A web app, unless the phone is the point
A native app adds store reviews and a second codebase. Choose it when the camera, offline use or notifications are the product.
Everything cut goes on a written list
Cutting is only safe when nothing is lost. The later list is where version two starts.
What each length looks like, day by day.
The same six steps for every build. Pick a length to see how the days break down.
Tell us the idea
Answer a few plain-English questions. No specification document, no technical vocabulary. You get: Your MVP brief.
We cut the noise
One call to find the core of the product. You get a written scope and a fixed price before any work starts. You get: Written scope + fixed price.
We design the core
User flow first, then real screens for the journey that matters. You approve the direction before we build. You get: Clickable design.
We build
Working software on a private preview link early, with a short written update every working day. You get: Working preview app.
You test
Put it in front of real people. We fix what gets in their way and tighten what they actually use. You get: Feedback round + fixes.
We ship
Production launch on accounts in your name, a handover, and fixes included after launch. You get: Live product.
The scope template.
Nine short sections, in plain English. Fill it in yourself, or send it with your brief and we'll finish it together on the scoping call.
Each section has a worked example from Mise, one of our in-house Labs concept builds, so you can see what a finished answer looks like. See Mise
- The one assumption
- Who uses it first
- The core workflow
- In the first version
- Later, on purpose
- Users, roles and screens
- Integrations
- What “launched” means
- How new ideas are handled
Before launch.
The short version of what we check before real users or real money arrive. The full checklist, with how to test each one yourself, is in the post.
Your data
- Access rules on every table
- Nothing private loads when signed out
- Backups exist, and one has been restored
Your keys and accounts
- Secret keys stay on the server
- Leaked keys replaced
- Everything on accounts in your name
Payments
- The server decides what someone paid for
- Payment events verified and handled once
- Declines, cancellations and refunds tested
When something breaks
- Error alerts before users notice
- Every email arrives, not in spam
- Someone else could pick the code up
Want us to run it on your idea?
Send a brief and we'll fill in the scope with you, then quote a fixed price before you pay anything.