MVP Scope Sanity Checklist

Problem clarity

• You can describe the problem in one sentence without using the word "platform."
• You have spoken to at least 5 people who have this problem today, not hypothetically.
• You know what those people currently do to solve it — even if that solution is terrible.
• You can name the specific moment when the problem becomes painful enough to pay for a fix.

User definition

• You can describe your v1 user in one paragraph: industry, role, company size, and what they care about.
• You know where this user currently spends time online — communities, tools, newsletters.
• You have at least 3 real people you can show v1 to and get honest feedback from.

Feature scope

• You have written down every feature you think v1 needs.
• You have cut that list to the minimum that proves the core value — not the minimum that feels safe.
• Each remaining feature has a clear "why v1" justification, not just "it would be nice."
• You know what v1 deliberately does NOT do, and you are comfortable with that.
• There is one feature that, if it worked perfectly, would make your target user say "I need this."

Technical decisions

• You know whether v1 needs a mobile app, a web app, or both — and why.
• You know who owns the code after the project ends.
• You know what data your app will store and whether any of it is sensitive — PII, payment data, health records.
• You have a rough infrastructure direction: cloud, self-hosted, or SaaS. Not detailed — just a direction.

Launch readiness

• You have a specific definition of "done" for v1 — not "when it feels ready."
• You know how your first 10 users will find the product.
• You have a plan for what happens if something breaks on day 1.
• You know what you will measure in the first 30 days to decide whether to continue.

Budget and handoff

• You have a realistic budget range — not a hope, a range you have actually thought through.
• You know what happens to the code if the relationship with the dev team ends.
• You have thought about ongoing maintenance cost, not just build cost.