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12.5 Design & Test MVP

Now that you have a sound understanding of your users and a prioritized list of ideas to improve your product, you can start executing those ideas. In this milestone, you will create and test designs for an MVP of your top-prioritized idea.

Complete the following tasks.

  1. Create an MVP based on the feature that you chose as your top priority. Go back to your list of priorities from the last milestone. Ask yourself: what's the core value of the feature I prioritized at the top? How can I launch a basic version of it to deliver that value quickly and with minimal effort?
  2. Create a storyboard to visualize the desired user journey. This does not need to be perfect. Your objective is to communicate the user flow and proposed product improvement. Stick figures are fine; it doesn't need to be a highly detailed graphic design.
  3. Create a prototype with mockups. Use sketches on paper or your favorite prototyping tool to create a prototype of the experience users will have when interacting with your proposed MVP. Again, this does not need to be pixel-perfect. The goal is not to test your skill as a graphic designer; it is to create a concrete artifact representing the experience you plan to add to your product. As you prototype, additional questions you would need to address will arise (such as "If I add this button here, where will this other button go?" or "How will my users know what they are supposed to do here?"). The exercise of translating vague ideas into clickable prototypes and ending up with something you can put in front of users will be a valuable learning experience.
  4. Update your roadmap with the work needed to deliver your MVP. Review your list of product improvements and make sure it includes all the necessary updates needed in different parts of your product to deliver the MVP you are proposing. Again, assign very rough estimates (best guesses) for how long each action item will take.
  5. Conduct a usability test with at least one user. Put your prototype in front of a user to ensure that it functions as intended. Here are a few points to keep in mind.
  • Be careful not to direct the user experience during testing or explain what to do next; when real users interact with your feature, you won't be there to guide them through it.
  • It's fine if this user is one of the people you initially interviewed during your research.
  • It's preferable to conduct usability tests in person, but remote testing can work well, too. Either way, the users' interaction with the prototype should be recorded so you can review them after the test.
  • You have your choice about what method to use for your test—paper prototype, device-based prototype in person, or digital prototype on a shared screen in a video call.
  • Since we're only doing one round of usability testing, you don't need to go into A/B testing. However, it's useful to think about what features you would want to A/B test.
  1. Write up a summary of findings from your usability test. This should be no longer than one page. What did you learn? What worked the way you thought it would, and what unexpected issues or user behaviors did you observe? What will you change as a result?
  2. Update your prototype and roadmap based on feedback from the usability test. Did your user get stuck because of a missing error message? Did anything confuse them? Go back to your prototype and iterate—that is, apply the feedback and make changes.

Assignment

Create a notion-page with the following,

  • A prioritized list of features
  • An MVP roadmap
  • An MVP storyboard (first draft)
  • An MVP prototype (first draft)
  • Notes from the usability test
  • A written summary of the usability test (one-page max)
  • A final draft of the MVP's storyboard and prototype, pointing out any changes you made as a result of usability testing

There is nothing to submit here, you will submit everything together in the end