The oversized MVP
A small launch still avoids the most important risk. · PM Drills · 04 · 30 sec–2 min
The oversized MVP · 30 sec–2 min
Situation
The MVP has six features instead of twelve.
Your team is building automated inventory recommendations. It has cut reports and customization, but no retailer has acted on a recommendation yet.
Think before scrolling
What should the first test establish?
Identify the risky assumption and a useful test that does not require the full automation system.
How a strong PM thinks
Test trust and usefulness directly.
Prepare recommendations manually for a few willing retailers using appropriate data access. Observe which suggestions they accept, reject, or modify, and why.
This tests whether the advice helps. It does not prove automation quality or scalable economics. Define the next investment that depends on the result and avoid calling reduced feature count a learning strategy.
Takeaway
Minimum is about the test, not the feature total.
Build only enough experience to obtain meaningful evidence about the assumption that matters next.