Most business owners and startups have heard of the “Lean Startup”, a methodology by Eric Reis to help companies validate new business ideas faster, with fewer resources. The main pillars of the methodology are:
1. Build
2. Measure
3. Learn
The process is an iterative cycle that speeds up product testing incorporates early user feedback, and iterates back through the product design.
This article will describe each of the key pillars in greater detail.
Build
In the Build phase, the key is to produce minimum viable product (MVP) — a prototype of the product (or service) with JUST the core features. The MVP will allow early adopters/testers to focus on and provide feedback on core value offering of the product/service. The approach allows an organization to validate the underlying product/service offering a minimum cost in the shortest amount of time.
Measure
As soon as you have developed your MVP, you launch it to a segment of your target market. The response to your launch will validate the following:
– Interest/demand in your product/service
– Feedback on the core functionality/offerings in the MVP
Ensure you measure and record the feedback during this stage, as it is critical to the next stage in the Lean Startup process.
Learn
Take the feedback from you learned on the launch of the MVP. What did you learn? Based on the feedback, you must decide whether to continue with the next stage (iteration) or abandon the project. If you decide to proceed, you must incorporate feedback into the next iteration of your MVP, as you cycle back to the Build phase. As you continue to incorporate additional feedback, you will be more fully developing the product, with a focus and validation only on features that end users want or require.
Why use Lean Startup Methodology?
The lean startup methodology has been used in helping launch some very successful companies, as seen in the case studies section of their website: http://theleanstartup.com/casestudies.
A conventional approach to building a full business plan, a 5-year forecast, building the full product — all before single user feedback is incorporated. The realization that the most well thought out business plan will encounter realities that are different from the assumptions made in the original business plan. The traditional business plan method requires the maximum amount of resources up front, and also maximizes the amount of execution risk, as relies on a lot of assumptions being correct.
The Lean Startup methodology addresses the resource and execution risk by minimizing both through its Build — Measure — Learn approach.
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