In his new book "The Leader's Guide," Eric Ries shares several strategies for your Minimum Viable Product (MVP).
Show early prototypes to customers
If your company creates a fully functioning prototype early on, show the prototype to your customers and get feedback fast.
Take advantage of early adopters' eagerness to try new products
Customers are often eager to experiment with partnerships and co-create opportunities. These partnerships provide valuable learning early in the development process.
Pilot in one area first
Instead of launching a product in every business unit or customer segment, pilot the product in one segment. This way you'll learn if your strategy works before you start to scale.
Create a "concierge MVP"
A team could not see why it took six weeks to get the authority to post a job description online. So they created a concierge MVP: an internal web page where they were free to enter the job description and get the approvals themselves. This approach revealed what was causing the delay.
The notion of a minimum viable product is one of the most powerful concepts on the planet. Simply embrace MVP and you'll accelerate learning, while saving time and money.