A minimum viable product (MVP) is the smallest version of a product that lets real users do the one thing that tests your riskiest assumption. It is not a cheaper copy of the full product. Six weeks is a useful constraint: long enough to build something real, short enough that the scope cannot quietly grow. This is the plan we follow.
Week by week
- Week 1, discovery: we define the problem, the target user and the one assumption to test. We list every feature idea, cut everything not needed to test that assumption and agree on how success will be measured.
- Week 2, design and setup: we map the user flows, build a clickable prototype and test it with a handful of target users. In parallel we choose the stack and set up the repository, environments and deployment pipeline.
- Weeks 3 and 4, build: we deliver the core flow end to end first, then the remaining must-have features, with a demo of working software at the end of each week.
- Week 5, polish and test: we fix bugs, cover security basics, add analytics events, check performance on real devices and finalize the Arabic and English content.
- Week 6, launch: we release to a first group of users, watch errors and usage closely and collect feedback for the next cycle.
What we cut, and what we never cut
We cut custom admin panels when a ready-made tool or a simple internal screen will do, complex user roles, extra payment methods, native apps when a responsive web app can test the idea, and automation of tasks that can be done by hand for the first users. We never cut secure authentication, backups, the analytics needed to measure the assumption, error monitoring, or a codebase clean enough to keep building on.
What you need to bring
Six weeks only works if someone on your side can make decisions. That means a product owner who is available every week, answers questions within a day and accepts trade-offs. It also means access to a few target users for testing, and content such as texts, prices and policies ready by week four. Without these, the schedule slips no matter how large the team is.
An MVP succeeds when it answers your riskiest question, not when it has every feature on the list.