# MVP scope template

From the MVP Ninja playbook: https://mvpninja.com/playbook

This is the sheet we fill in before every build. Fill it in yourself, or send it with your brief and we'll do it together on the scoping call. The worked example in each section is Mise, one of our in-house Labs concept builds, not a client project.

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## 1. The one assumption

The belief your product rests on that might be wrong. One sentence. If you can't write it, the idea isn't ready to build yet.

> **Yours:**
>
> **Example (Mise):** Kitchen staff will complete digital safety checks if each one takes seconds on a shared tablet, with wet or gloved hands.

## 2. Who uses it first

One kind of person, described by their situation, not their demographics.

> **Yours:**
>
> **Example (Mise):** The chef-owner of a 1–3 site independent restaurant. Works in the kitchen, manages a small rotating team, does admin late at night.

## 3. The core workflow

What that person does, start to finish, for you to learn whether the assumption holds. Usually three to five screens.

> **Yours:**
>
> 1.
> 2.
> 3.
>
> **Example (Mise):** Pick your name on the kitchen tablet → log fridge temperatures on a number pad → record a corrective action if a reading is out of range → sign off the closing checks → owner exports an inspection-ready report.

## 4. In the first version

Only what the core workflow needs, plus the basics that keep users' data safe.

> **Yours:**
>
> -
>
> **Example (Mise):** Daily checklist for opening, service and closing · temperature logs with corrective actions · cleaning sign-off · allergen matrix per dish · inspection-ready PDF report.

## 5. Later, on purpose

Everything you cut, written down so it's a decision, not something forgotten. Version two starts here.

> **Yours:**
>
> -
>
> **Example (Mise):** Bluetooth temperature probes · stock and ordering · rota and payroll · regulation packs for other countries.

## 6. Users, roles and screens

> **Yours:** How many kinds of user? How many screens?
>
> **Example (Mise):** Two roles, staff and owner. Scoped as a 14-day build.

## 7. Integrations

Each one adds time. List only the ones the core workflow can't work without.

> **Yours:**
>
> **Example (Mise):** None in the first version. Reports are generated as PDFs.

## 8. What "launched" means

The test that says the first version is done. Be specific: who uses it, where, doing what.

> **Yours:**
>
> **Example (Mise):** Staff in one kitchen complete a full day of checks on the tablet, and the owner exports the report.

## 9. How new ideas are handled

New ideas will come up during the build. They go on a change list, not into the current build. Nothing is added to the scope, the date or the price without your approval.

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## Sizing it

- One workflow and one kind of user fits about a week.
- Up to three workflows, with an admin view, fits about two weeks.
- Several roles, an AI agent that takes actions, or a native mobile app needs about three.

If your list doesn't fit three weeks, it isn't an MVP yet. Go back to section 5.

Want us to fill it in with you? Start a brief at https://mvpninja.com/start