Unit 8 - Minimum Viable Product (MVP)

Purpose

Studies have shown that early feedback from clients leads to higher quality in the final product. MVP is a minimal set of features that can be used to get feedback from the client. So it's a very important concept!

Per LeanUX, MVPs can either be used to deliver value (i.e., Agile process) OR to learn something (our goal). We will create a coded prototype of our origin story (from unit 6). NOTE: Usability testing of these prototypes was planned as a final unit, but alas, due to corona break, we will not have time for input from real users.

Preparation

Read/Review:

• LeanUX chapter 5, from beginning through Protypes (pages 75-87)
• User's Journey chapter 5 (review)

Minimum Viable Product

Originally this was a team assignment, potentially including pair programming. For simplicity, it will now be an individual coding assignment.

Using your design system and origin story, create a working prototype:

• you may choose to use either HTML/CSS or React.
• your origin story is the basis for this prototype, but modify it as you see fit (or even use a feature set from the design studio, if there's enough "meat" in the design).
• there should be several "screens" that entice the user and potentially walk them through some initial set of actions
• the Twitter case study (User's Journey chapter 5) is a good example.
• the Twitter case study has 7 figures. Your prototype should have at least 3-4
• for HTML/CSS, a "screen" would be a new page. If you're using React, a "screen" means some of the content has been updated so that the user has made progress.
• we are not coding the backend, so you may need to hard-code data for the pages to be realistic. For example, the Twitter example has a login screen, then says "Welcome Donna" - you could hard-code Donna.
• you may need to hard-code more data. The Twitter example has people to follow. Your product might have sample resumes or sample recipes... hard-code data that looks compelling (i.e., no Lorem Ipsum or Mickey Mouse).
• as you are coding your origin/first use story, your design may change... that's OK! That's actually the value of a coded prototype - it's easier to critique a design when it looks more like a real program (and the more realistic the data, the easier it is to imagine really using it).

Submit

Zip all the files needed for me to run your prototype, along with your style guide (from unit 7 just for quick reference and because you may have updated). Name the first page [yourLastName].html

Also send your zip to your teammates, to be critiqued in the final paper.

Evaluation

As with other important labs, this unit will receive multiple scores.

• The first score is for the look-and-feel of your coded prototype. I'm not expecting a design on par with those created by graphic designers (e.g., from the SPA examples). But it should be clear that you spent some time and gave some thought to layout, color, etc.
• The second score is for having a reasonable sequence of screens.
• The third score is for compelling data. Although your coding will be done individually, teams may choose to share data and/or ideas.
• Because the coding is done invidually, these scores will be included as part of the Invidual Units when calculating your course grade.