This document provides a step-by-step guide for building prototypes and minimum viable products (MVPs). It outlines a three phase process: 1) developing the initial idea, 2) building the prototype, and 3) launching the MVP. The guide stresses the importance of starting with a clear vision and testing hypotheses with the smallest possible product. It recommends gathering user feedback through paper prototypes, landing pages, and user testing before fully developing the product. The goal of the MVP is to validate the idea with users before investing significant resources in development.

1. The Art Of Prototypes and
Bui lding MVPs
A St e p By St e p Gu i d e Fo r Bu i l d i n g Gr e a t Pr o d u c t s
@Ben_Hal l
Ben@BenHal l .me.uk
Blog.BenHal l .me.uk

2. Author
@Ben_Hall
Tester > Developer > Founder > Freelancer
Ocelot Uproar

3. Table Of Contents
• Phase One – Idea To MVP
• Phase Two –Bui ld
• Phase Three –Launch

4. FOREWORD

12. PHASE ONE
IDEA TO CONCEPT

13. CHAPTER 1
THE IDEA

15. Start With A Vision

17. Wi thout A Vision Di ff icul t To
Adjust

19. Disney – To make people happy
Ikea – To create a bet ter ever y day l i fe for the
many people
Wal -Mar t – Become a $125 bi l l ion company by
the year 2000
Honda – in 1970: We wi l l dest roy Yamaha.
Nike – in 1960s: Crush Adidas.
Stanford Universi ty – To become the Har vard
of the West

20. Telsa - To accelerate the advent of
sustainable t ranspor t by br inging
compel l ing mass market elect r ic cars to
market as soon as possible
SpaceX - To accelerate development of
rocket technology, al l for the goal of
establ ishing a sel f -sustaining, permanent
base on Mars

21. Own Problems

23. Be Careful Following Trends

26. What makes for a good
idea?

27. Made
Paid
Laid

29. CHAPTER 2
DESIGNING THE TEST

30. Depends on what you want to
learn

31. An MVP is the smal lest
possible thing you can bui ld to
test your idea

32. An MVP is the smal lest
possible thing you can bui ld to
test your idea

33. “An MVP i s a n e x p e r ime n t
that tests a critical ,
falsifiable hypothesis of your
b u s i n e s s ”
De v i n Hu n t - h t t p : / / d e x . i o / h a i l p i x e l /mvp s -
i n - p r a c t i c e /

35. Anything can be an MVP
Even i f i t only lasts 33 seconds

36. Three Types of MVP

37. Research

38. Pitch

39. Concierge

40. What should you test?

41. What shouldn’t you test?

42. CHAPTER 3
BEFORE THE CODE

43. Speak To People

45. Go To Where Your Users Are
BabyOnBoard === MumsNet

47. http://www.ide-smith.co.uk/?tag=lean-ux

48. D O N ’ T SELL. LISTEN.
CHANCE TO LEARN.
I T ’ S L I K E A D AT E

50. Paper Prototypes

51. §

54. Landing Pages

62. PHASE TWO
BUILD

63. CHAPTER 4
TIME FOR CODE

68. “A prototype is an early
sample, model , or release of a
product bui l t to test a concept
or process or to act as a thing
to be repl icated or learned
f r om”

69. Not An Excuse For I t To Be
Shi t .

76. Don’t reinvent the wheel

77. iOS UI Kit Actions for Photoshop

81. Follow the standards
People have expectat ions about
w h a t t h e y ’ l l s e e

82. Font Awesome

86. Once validated. Innovate

87. Show people. Use i t in every
day l i fe
LastOrders wi l l be used at night
so why is everything whi te?

88. It should tell a story

91. Know When To Stop

92. 30 Day Launch
Medium – 31 Days
Google Wave – 300 Days

94. Take Screenshots

95. JOINSCRAPBOOK.COM

96. PHASE THREE
“ LAUNCH”

97. CHAPTER 5
TESTING THE APPLICATION

98. OTHER PEOPLE SPOT MISTAKES
EASIER THAN THE CREATOR.

99. Users wi l l never do what you
expect

100. peek.usertesting.com

109. CHAPTER 5
GETTING MORE USERS

115. CHAPTER 7
DID IT WORK?

116. https://baremetrics.io/blog/idea-to-5000-in-5-months

118. CHAPTER 8
BUT MY BOSS SAYS…

121. I t 's easier to ask forgiveness
than i t is to get permission.

123. CHAPTER 9
COMPETITORS

127. Lifestyle is fine!

128. • Bui ld Shi t That Mat ters
• Bui ld I t
• Speak Wi th Users
• Launch wi th 30 days
• Rinse, Repeat .
• JoinScrapbook.com

131. My Second Talk, tomorrow, 13:15.
What Developers Need To Know About Visual Design and UX
The End!
@Ben_Hal l
Ben@BenHal l .me.uk
Blog.BenHal l .me.uk