On Minimum Market Requirements
A short note
‘Minimum market requirements’ are those must-have functionalities in a product/feature that might not help you win, but will most likely contribute to losing out if they don’t exist.
A good way to sometimes identify your product’s non-negotiables is by asking- What features, if missing, will most likely lead to failure, even if everything else is perfect?
For instance, think of your favourite streaming service- It could offer the best content library, excellent discovery tools, a user-friendly interface, and top-notch player functionality, but is it ok if the video keeps buffering every other minute? If the answer is no, then a great playback backend should be one of the highest priorities. The same thinking works regardless of the size or scope of what you’re building.
