Untapped MVP & Prototyping™
Decide what makes the cut.
Define the leanest version of your product that still meets the bar for users, then test where “good enough” ends and “ideal” begins.
R&D expertise trusted by world-class brands
At some point, you have to draw the line.
There’s always another feature to add or another round of refinement. MVP asks which changes make enough of a difference to be worth keeping.
Everything we could improve
- Flavour options
- Texture
- Packaging
- Appearance
- Shelf life
- Size range
- Ingredients
- Sustainability
- Price
- Ease of use
- Performance
- Safety
- Format
- Manufacturing process
- Claims
- Sensory experience
- Brand cues
- Regulatory requirements
- Portion size
- Recyclability
- Cost of goods
- User instructions
- New technology
- Durability
What this version needs
- Texture
- Appearance
- Safety
- Price
- Ease of use
- Regulatory requirements
TextureSimplify the product, not the experience.
A strong MVP keeps the essentials without losing what makes the product appealing.
Delightful differentiators
Delightful differentiators
Details that give users an extra reason to choose it.
Must-haves
Must-haves
Attributes that make users trust it and want to use it again.
Core and hygiene
Core and hygiene
Basics needed for the product to function and meet expectations.
Translate user feedback into product specs.
Inside Innovation Gym®, Untapped MVP & Prototyping™ guides R&D through prioritising product attributes and setting user-led specification ranges, showing where the product already meets the user bar and where to push further.
Prioritise
Focus on what matters most.
Explore the range
Use prototypes to explore how each element could vary.
Test with users
Use user feedback to pinpoint the range each one needs to hit.
Case study: From 12 attributes to one global standard.
With Plain Digestives made across multiple factories and markets, McVitie’s wanted to define the product experience that should stay consistent wherever the biscuit was made.
12
Product attributes
The team started with a broad view of the product experience.
5
Key attributes
Research with loyal Digestive users in three countries narrowed the focus to five key attributes spanning flavour, texture and appearance.
10
Samples
Users evaluated 10 samples designed to vary those attributes and establish acceptable and ideal ranges.
1
Best-in-class benchmark
Across all three regions, one version came closest to what loyal Digestive users wanted from the product.
The result: McVitie’s had a user-backed benchmark to align global formulations and plant specifications.
Simpler operations
Lower costs
Consistent brand experience
Where Untapped MVP & Prototyping™ fits in the bigger picture.
Untapped MVP & Prototyping™ rounds out the Product Design side of Untapped’s Connected R&D Playbook.
It builds on Untapped Ideal Product Model™, using what you’ve learned about the product to decide what this version really needs. From there, the playbook moves into Story Design.
