What different approaches are there to help stakeholders focus on their needs I.e. things they would use for MVP vs a later version of the product

Stakeholders often conflate “what I want” with “what users need,” and they would expect some things in the immediately too. A few approaches that can be used effectively:   Jobs-to-be-Done (JTBD): “What is the user trying to accomplish?” to shift the conversation from features to outcomes. Also, inform what’s table-stakes versus what’s a nice enhancement. MoSCoW method (Must have / Should have / Could have / Won’t have): This if associated with each request (and with limits or distribution acros ...Read More

When you’re talking to potential users, the key is steering the conversation away from their ideal vision and toward what would actually change their behavior. Start by grounding everything in what they do today. Have them walk through a real example and where it breaks down. Then shift to questions like, “What’s the minimum this would need to do for you to use it?” or “If this existed tomorrow in a rough form, would you try it?” That framing naturally surfaces MVP needs. You can push further wi ...Read More

Great question! It's easy to fall into "i'm sure a user would want to ABC and then they would XYZ . . " and expand the scope of your first iteration. The process I have found that has the most success is a couple of steps that focus the use cases being delivered to those that move the business goals forward. Match a product outcome to a business outcome If you have a business goal of increasing revenue product goals should ladder up to that. So new product line, driving user growth by X% or incr ...Read More

It's hard to focus stakeholders on what's truly necessary vs nice-to-have and to complicate things even more, everyone's going to have a different list. Give your stakeholders an easy-to-understand prioritization framework, clear constraints, and educate them on the real-world tradeoffs. Also, remind them that an MVP is a tool for learning, not launching. Couple other things I've picked up over the years: Anchor on the goal, not the feature listAsk: “What outcome are we trying to achieve in v1?” ...Read More

The first step in helping stakeholders focus on their needs is alignment on what you’re building. The “why” is critical—everyone should have a clear understanding of the problem being solved and who the target persona is. This clarity helps prevent distractions; if discussions start to drift, you can always refocus by asking: Does this solve the core problem for our defined persona? Key Steps to Prioritization: 1. Align on Business Value – Do stakeholder needs align with the overall business obj ...Read More

Depending on the complexity of the product being built, and the investment needed initially to get to the MVP phase, I have used several different methods - each having its merits: 1. MoSCoW Method (Must-have, Should-have, Could-have, Won't-have): Break down features into categories: Must-have for MVP, Should-have for secondary versions, Could-have for nice-to-haves, and Won’t-have for now Helps stakeholders see which features are truly essential for the MVP and manage expectations about what co ...Read More