As I’ve worked with association execs adopting lean startup methodology to help them develop their ideas for new programs, products, or services they could offer to their members and other audiences, one thing that often trips them up is creating a *minimum* product.
We know how to create a vision and sell it. We do that all the time, most frequently between the board and senior leadership (one has the vision and pitches it to the other).
Viable products are also no problem. We know how to make stuff for our members. We also do that all the time.
The hard part is not throwing too much stuff in there, not, to use a common MVP metaphor, giving people a Mercedes when what they actually wanted was a bike.
Once you’ve gotten through your lean canvas and are starting the Build-Measure-Learn cycle, the first step is to think about the features your MVP could have, broken into the smallest possible components.
Let’s say your idea is to create training in meeting regulatory requirements. That’s not federal rules and state rules and contracts and IP and disclosures and ethics all in one. Each of those is a separate feature. In fact, some of those might break down even further. (“IP” is a big topic. So is “ethics.”)
When it comes to your MVP, you need to think small, not big.
Remember, you could be going in the wrong direction. Your target audience may not want this at all, or they may want kind of what you’re proposing but not exactly. If you put too much stuff into your early tests not only will you have invested more resources than you should in an unvalidated idea, you’ve also made your own job of trying to more closely approximate what your audience needs by way of a solution to the problem you’ve identified that much more challenging.
Keep it simple, keep it small, track your metrics, and keep it moving, on to the next iteration of your idea.
Want to learn more? Join me, Jamie Notter, and Tiffany Dyar for a free webinar, Lean Startup at 10: Navigating Disruption and Opportunity in Today’s Association Landscape, next Wednesday, September 10, at 2 pm ET, hosted by the nice folks at Professionals for Association Revenue (PAR). Learn more and register here.
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