You’ve seen that diagram that’s used to help explain the MVP or lean approach, right? The one that shows a skateboard, then a scooter, then a bike, a motorcycle, and finally a car. They usually look a bit like this:

Instead of building the car with all of its features, which takes lots of time and effort, you focus more on the core user need (transportation) and deliver smaller, fully-functioning iterations. This way, the complexity of the product can evolve over time — you can start with a skateboard, and work your way towards something more suitable for the weekly shop.

There’s a lot of good stuff out there about a MVP/lean/product approach (or whatever the new term might be this week). It makes you prioritise user needs, delivers benefit to the business early, blah, blah, blah. Super, smashing, great… this isn’t another one of those MVP-up-your-life pieces.

So, here’s the thing. Let’s take the very first stage of that diagram — the skateboard (by the way, I love skateboards). The skateboard in this instance has given the user a quicker way of getting from A to B — cracking! Job done, right?

Well, yes, we have achieved our goal and delivered what we promised. However, our skateboard doesn’t exist in isolation; it sits in a shop with 10s of others, all lined up on the wall.

Some of these decks are amazing:

The wall of dreams

Some feature work by famous illustrators:

Jean Jullien decks by Almost

Some have their own characters and stories to tell:

World Industries decks featuring — Flame boy and Wet Willy

Some have swear words and references that make your little skater/goth/stoner/teenage heart smile:

From Swearing and skulls, to nostalgia, drugs, cats and the bizarre — There’s a skateboard deck for all tastes. Images from Route One (https://www.routeone.co.uk/skateboards/decks)

But wait, where’s our skateboard? You know, the one we started this story with.

Oh — it’s here…

hmm.

Feeling a bit underwhelmed? Me too.

It works, it has wheels and you can use it to get around. But is it the skateboard that you’d buy having now seen the choice available?

And this is the point.

Let’s lose all of the metaphors and figurative language. When taking an MVP/product/lean approach with a project of any kind, it’s easy to get hoodwinked and become focused entirely on function.

I’ve seen many projects approached in this way fall short of the quality that’s expected. These details may sometimes seem trivial, and you may think “It’s fine, we can tidy that up later.” But ultimately if it looks crap and hasn’t been made with care, people won’t want to hang around. And your competitors will thank you for that.

This doesn’t mean that every MVP needs all the bells and whistles. If it did, it probably wouldn’t be an MVP. But you can’t simply leave quality and desirability behind and expect what you deliver to be loved by your users*. Make sure that you don’t use MVP or any other ‘lean’ process as a excuse for poor quality.

*Of course, all projects are different. There will be times when it’s right to lead with function over form and there’s nothing wrong with that. But even the most functional of experiences need to be presented with care.

Simple doesn’t have to mean soulless

Just because your MVP might not yet have all of the features, doesn’t mean that it should feel like a poor, clumsy or dull experience. In fact, through clever copywriting and personality you can make even the simplest of experiences satisfying.

Mailchimp’s site is fairly simple, but their illustrations and tone of voice bring their brand personality to life

Animation needn't be a luxury

Guess what? You know that site that has really nice animations - it fades in and out and feels really smooth? Yeah, well you can totally have some of those in your MVP. Simple animations and transitions are easy to implement these days - there are hundreds of ready-to-use animation libraries out there. You’ll be surprised how these little touches can make even the simplest of experiences feel slick.

Even the most functional of pages on the Toggl site feature playful animations and transitions (Site by https://toyfight.co/)

Use design to be different

Are you launching a new product? Looking to attract a new audience? Then make sure you’re bold with your design decisions; don’t settle for ‘playing it safe’. Deliver less in terms of functionality but do it better, bolder, brighter and with more personality.

You don’t have to look far to see brands embracing this – Monzo launched with limited features (they didn’t have a full banking license to start), but their card is printed in a day-glow pink/orange colour. It’s so eye catching and desirable, especially next to the corporate looking cards of the high street banks. If you’re aiming to stand out in a crowded market, you have to be bold and make a conscious decision to look, feel and sound different.

Making a conscious decision to be different — Image via The Verge — (https://www.theverge.com/2017/2/14/14608366/monzo-banking-app-card-uk)

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So, whatever your process, whether it’s MVP, Lean, Product, Agile — or whatever we decide to call it next week — remember to ask yourself: Is it desirable? Has it been designed/built with care and attention to detail? Will it stand out in the skateboard shop?