Page 60 · Module 02, Design Your Business · this screen continues that page
All 108 frameworksMVP Design
The smallest valuable thing you can ship and learn from
The prompt
Copy & paste readyLabelsReplace theseSwap the role below
Pro tip, from the book
The most common MVP mistake is testing too many assumptions at once. One MVP, one assumption. If it passes, move to the next assumption. Running MVP tests in sequence is faster than building a complete product that tests them all at once and fails without telling you which assumption was wrong.
Who should run this prompt
Module role profileWho should stress-test your business model? Business models fail quietly — not all at once, but one flawed assumption at a time. The roles on this page represent the perspectives that expose those assumptions before the market does. Use internal roles to build and refine your model. Use outside perspectives to find the gaps your optimism is covering.
Choose any role to drop it into the prompt above. Only the highlighted opening clause changes — the rest of the prompt stays exactly as printed.
◆◆◆◆◆ → ◆ seniority, board level down to specialist◈ outside the organisation
How to make any role sharper
- Add years of experience: "...with 15 years in enterprise SaaS" produces different depth than just the title.
- Add what they care most about: "You care most about [X]" shapes every word of the output.
- Add their communication style: "Be direct. Flag risks first. No jargon." changes the tone entirely.
Use this when
The problem it solvesYou're about to spend months building a complete product before getting any customer feedback. You want to launch something real without building everything first, but you're not sure what to cut and what to keep.
How the framework works
From the printed pageThe Minimum Viable Product concept, popularised by Eric Ries in The Lean Startup, is about finding the smallest version of your product that delivers enough value to attract early customers and generate real learning. MVP does not mean low quality, it means maximum learning for minimum investment. The question is not 'what is the smallest thing we can build?' but 'what is the smallest thing that will tell us if we're right?'
The method, in four moves
Do these in orderDefine the one core assumption your business depends on most.
Design an MVP that tests specifically that assumption, not all assumptions.
Set your learning criteria before building: what result would confirm or deny the assumption?
After shipping, treat every customer interaction as data, not validation. Dropbox never built the product first. They made a three-minute demo video showing how it would work and posted it online. Overnight signups went from 5,000 to 75,000. The MVP was a video, not code. They validated the assumption people want effortless file syncing, before writing a single line. IN PRACTICE
Where the framework comes from
Eric Ries, The Lean Startup, 2011
Pairs well with
As printed with this frameworkModule 02 — Design Your Business
Shape what you're building so it deserves to exist.
10 frameworks, printed on pages 49–68.
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