---
id: con-smallest-useful-version
schema: concept/1
layer: garden
status: established
name: Smallest useful version
aka: ["MVP", "minimum viable product", "start small", "first version", "scope down"]
summary: >
  The simplest thing that solves part of your problem, built first and tried for real before
  adding anything more.
first_seen: unknown
relations:
  builds_on: []
  evolved_from: []
  related: []
  parallels:
    - idea: "minimum viable product"
      field: "product management"
      note: "Ship the least you can learn from, then let real use decide what comes next."
    - idea: "a pilot program"
      field: "public policy"
      note: "Try it with one site or group before rolling it out everywhere."
implementations: []
competencies: [cmp-frame-the-outcome, cmp-steering]
origin:
  kind: ai-proposed
  by: "seed agent 2026-10-16"
  rationale: "AI makes adding features nearly free, so the discipline of building small matters more, not less."
---

When you build with AI, adding things is effortless. Ask for a tracker and you may get dashboards, colour coding, reminders and a login screen. Most of it you didn't need, and every extra feature is something to check, maintain and explain to others.

The smallest useful version is the opposite habit. Ask: what is the least I could make that would help this week? Often it's a single prompt, a one-page checklist or a simple sheet. Build that, use it on real work, and let what happens tell you what to add.

Keep two lists. "Must do" holds the few things it can't work without. "Can wait" holds everything else, including good ideas. Most of the "can wait" list never gets built, and nobody misses it.

## Example

A volunteer coordinator wants an AI-powered scheduling system. Her smallest useful version is a saved prompt that turns a pasted list of availabilities into a draft rota. It handles 80% of the pain. A month later, she knows exactly which one feature is worth building next.

## How it connects

- The **solution ladder** builds on it by asking which kind of tool that small version should be.
- **Steering** includes cutting what the AI adds beyond it.
- **Artifacts** and **vibe coding** make small versions quick to try.

## Try it

Write your idea in one sentence. Then write a "must do" list of no more than three items. Ask AI to build only those, and refuse the first extra it offers.