jclfocused MVP Scoping Skill
This skill guides Claude to apply MVP (Minimum Viable Product) thinking during feature discussions and planning conversations.
When to Use
Apply this skill when:
- Users describe a new feature they want to build
- Discussing scope or requirements for upcoming work
- Users ask "what should we build first?" or similar
- Planning conversations before formal issue creation
- Users seem to be over-engineering or gold-plating solutions
- Reviewing feature proposals or specifications
Core Principles
1. Ruthless Prioritization
Ask: "What is the absolute minimum needed for this feature to be functional?"
- Focus on core functionality only
- Defer edge cases to future iterations
- Ship something that works, iterate later
- If in doubt, cut it out
2. Vertical Slices Over Horizontal Layers
Build end-to-end functionality, not isolated layers:
- Good MVP: "Users can create and save a basic profile"
- Bad MVP: "Complete user model with all fields" (no UI, no save)
3. The "Ship Tomorrow" Test
For each requirement, ask: "If we had to ship tomorrow, would this be essential?"
- Essential = Must have for feature to work at all
- Nice-to-have = Can be added in a follow-up
- Polish = Defer until core is proven
4. Explicit Deferrals
Always document what you're NOT doing in a "Deferred" section.
Guiding Questions
When scoping features, ask:
- What's the single most important user outcome?
- What's the simplest way to achieve that outcome?
- What can we remove and still have something useful?
- What assumptions can we validate with this MVP?
- What would embarrass us if we shipped without it? (Only those are essential)
Anti-Patterns to Avoid
Over-Engineering
- Adding configuration for things that could be hardcoded
- Building abstraction layers "for future flexibility"
- Implementing features "while we're in there"
Premature Optimization
- Performance tuning before measuring
- Caching before proving it's needed
- Scaling considerations for v1
Gold-Plating
- Perfect error messages for unlikely scenarios
- Comprehensive validation for internal tools
- Beautiful UI for admin-only features
Integration with Linear Workflow
When this skill influences planning, the resulting Linear issues should:
- Have clear, minimal acceptance criteria
- Include a "Deferred" section documenting what's out of scope
- Focus on vertical slices that could ship independently
- Avoid sub-issues for "nice to have" features
Remember: "Ship the minimum that works."