Jun 19, 2025
Build the Right MVP, Not an Oversized One
One of the biggest issues when building a minimum viable product (MVP) is choosing what to include and what not to include. Many startup founders, solo developers, and independent makers make things overly complicated and end up shipping products that no one uses.
Here, you’ll see the process on how to plan MVP features quickly and strategically with user value, speed, and clarity of the product in mind. We offer free tools to make the process even easier—scroll down for the links.
Section 1: Why MVP Planning Is So Important for Startup Success
Blasting through your MVP may make you feel productive, but purposeless speed translates to wasted effort. Intelligent MVP planning allows you to:
Challenge your main assumptions
Avoid wasting development time
Ship quicker and know sooner
Only send what matters
Starting with a clear, visual planning process allows you to focus on designing actual user issues to fix.
Section 2: 5 Common Mistakes Made by Founders
Let’s quickly go through the typical mistakes that we come across in MVPs in the initial stages:
Adding too many features because the team thinks “what if the user will need this as well?”
Avoiding user interviews and developing on assumptions
Overlooking onboarding flows, that leaves the users perplexed
Release without well-defined goals, hence not easy to determine what success would entail
Re-doing the same feature as there wasn’t sufficient clarity initially
Section 3: The 4-Step MVP Feature Planning Process
Below’s an effective method to allow you to gain clarity and confidence when choosing what forms part of your MVP:
Start with Outcomes
What do users primarily do with your offering that they couldn’t do otherwise? Your MVP should prioritize that activity being easy, quick, and trustworthy.
Speak with 5–10 Target Users
Ask them their pain points, not features. Have them tell you how they’re presently dealing with their issue—what’s slow, what’s inefficient, what’s breaking down.
Categorize Features into 3 Baskets
Utilize this template to prioritize what’s most important:
Must-Haves: These make the product not function
Nice-to-Haves: Useful but not essential for version one
Delighters: Optional additions for entertainment or for the wow-factor
Cut the Fat
Be ruthless. If a feature does not directly support your user’s main task, place it on a “later” list or eliminate it completely.
Section 4: Avoid the Above Faux Pas Using Our Free MVP Tool
The biggest founding faux pas? Trying to organize all of this in documents and spreadsheets.
To help you avoid that, we created a no-signup, free MVP planning tool for solo builders and indie founders.
Here is the process:
Immediate Visual Feature Structure
The simplest method of grouping features into Must-Have, Nice-to-Have, and Delighter categories—so you don’t forget what matters.
No Signing Up, Start Using Right Away
No account needed, no waiting. Click and start with your priorities.
Designed Specifically for MVP Planning
The tool supports product builders who’re in the nascent phase. Whether releasing your first side project or refining a startup prototype, it gives you instant clarity.
Finish within 5 Minutes or Less
We know you have better things to do. This tool enables you to work with no distractions. - https://tools.appeneure.com/app-feature-planner/
