The MVP scope conversation nobody enjoys

Every first release starts as a list of forty features and ends as a list of six. The uncomfortable part is deciding which six, and doing it before the build starts rather than three weeks before launch.

We frame the conversation around a single question: what belief are we testing? If a feature does not change the answer to that question, it is a version-two feature, no matter how obvious it feels.

The second filter is the failure mode. Features whose absence merely annoys users get cut. Features whose absence makes the product unusable stay. This distinction is easier to agree on than priority scores.

The result is not a smaller product. It is a faster loop — a real release in front of real users while the market question is still open.