Whether you're brand new to Product Management or learned on the job and have been working for years, Minimum Viable Product is always coming up in work. Fred Chong Rutherford from AMEX talked about hot to learn to unravel this mysterious topic by focusing on what’s viable. At first, he focused on The Viability Principle, giving us a framework for determining viability, and then applied this to the Fisher Space Pen.

1. What Is Minimum Viable Product by fmr
AMEX Sr. Product Manager
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8. Tonight’s Speaker
Fred Chong Rutherford

9. Finding Viable Products
The Viability Principle: Understand People
fred chong rutherford

10. INTRODUCTION

11. INTRODUCTION
Product Management
● Maximize Impact
● Improve ROI
● Create the vision
and the lifecycle
● Be the CEO

12. INTRODUCTION
Product Management
● Maximize Impact
● Improve ROI
● Create the vision
and the lifecycle
● Be the CEO
… essentially, these are
effects. We’re talking
AROUND what
Product Management is
about ...

13. INTRODUCTION: The Viability Principle Solves
Confusion

14. INTRODUCTION: The Viability Principle
The Viability Principle
● Minimum = Viable
● Viable = Problem Solved
● Problem Solved = A Useful Tool for
People
● QED: Minimum = A Useful Tool for
People
TL;DR - understanding the people you’re
trying to help is the only path to viability

15. WHAT ARE WE TALKING ABOUT?
● Definitions
● The Viability Principle
● Example: A Screwdriver
● Case Study: The Fisher Space
Pen is a Viable Minimum
Product

16. DEFINITIONS

17. DEFINITIONS
● PRODUCT
● FEATURE
● TOOL

18. DEFINITIONS
PRODUCT

19. DEFINITIONS
PRODUCT
“A thing
produced by
labor”
“ … material objects without life or consciousness created by activity involving
mental or physical effort done in order to achieve a purpose or result …”

20. DEFINITIONS
PRODUCT
literally
anything
people make.
This isn’t helpful.

21. DEFINITIONS
FEATURE

22. DEFINITIONS
FEATURE
special
attractions (of
a product).

23. DEFINITIONS
FEATURE
the things a
product can
do ...

24. DEFINITIONS
FEATURE
the things a
product can
do ...
These aren’t helpful for us ...

25. DEFINITIONS
TOOL
Anything Used To
Accomplish a Task or
Purpose.

26. DEFINITIONS
TOOL
Anything Used To
Accomplish a Task or
Purpose.
This sounds like software ...

27. DEFINITIONS

28. DEFINITIONS

29. DEFINITIONS
PRODUCT
Tools that
help people

30. DEFINITIONS
PRODUCT
Tools that
help people
Now we’re getting somewhere!

31. DEFINITIONS
MINIMUM
VIABLE
PRODUCT

32. THE VIABILITY PRINCIPLE
MINIMUM
VIABLE
PRODUCT
= process

33. THE VIABILITY PRINCIPLE
MINIMUM
VIABLE
PRODUCT
(for WHO?)

34. THE VIABILITY PRINCIPLE
42% of Start-Ups
fail because there’s
no market need
(for the product)
- CB Insights (2/8/2018)

35. THE VIABILITY PRINCIPLE
What is the
problem that a
person needs
solved?

36. THE VIABILITY PRINCIPLE
The Viability Principle
● Minimum = Viable
● Viable = Problem Solved
● Problem Solved = A Useful Tool for
People
● QED: Minimum = A Useful Tool for
People
TL;DR - understanding the people you’re
trying to help is the only path to viability

37. THE VIABILITY PRINCIPLE
Olaf Needs Help
● Handy
● Weak Grip Strength
● Has Do-It-Yourself Mindset
● Probably owns zero tools
● Needs to screw and unscrew boards
from new house

38. THE VIABILITY PRINCIPLE
Olaf Needs Help - MVP 1?

39. THE VIABILITY PRINCIPLE
Olaf Needs Help - MVP 2?

40. THE VIABILITY PRINCIPLE
Olaf Needs Help
● Handy
● Weak Grip Strength
● Has Do-It-Yourself Mindset
● Probably owns zero tools
● Needs to screw and unscrew boards
from new house

41. THE VIABILITY PRINCIPLE
Olaf Needs Help - MVP = Power Tools

42. THE VIABILITY PRINCIPLE
The Viability Principle
● Minimum = Viable
● Viable = Problem Solved
● Problem Solved = A Useful Tool for
People
● QED: Minimum = A Useful Tool for
People
TL;DR - understanding the people you’re
trying to help is the only path to viability

43. THE VIABILITY PRINCIPLE
Understand the people
you’re trying to help

44. CASE STUDY: THE FISHER SPACE PEN

45. CASE STUDY: THE FISHER SPACE PEN

46. CASE STUDY: THE FISHER SPACE PEN
What is the
problem that a
person needs
solved?

47. CASE STUDY: THE FISHER SPACE PEN
Astronaut Needs Help
● Write down orbital trajectories
● Write down instructions
● No gravity, ink won’t flow up*
● Environment is fragile
● Little margin for error

48. CASE STUDY: THE FISHER SPACE PEN
Astronaut Needs Help - MVP 1?

49. CASE STUDY: THE FISHER SPACE PEN
Astronaut Needs Help - MVP 1?

50. CASE STUDY: THE FISHER SPACE PEN
Astronaut Needs Help
● Write down orbital trajectories
● Write down instructions
● No gravity, ink won’t flow up*
● Environment is fragile
● Little margin for error

51. CASE STUDY: THE FISHER SPACE PEN
Astronaut Needs Help
● Write down orbital trajectories
● Write down instructions
● No gravity, ink won’t flow up*
● Environment is fragile
● Little margin for error
MVP 1 could kill Astronaut

52. CASE STUDY: THE FISHER SPACE PEN
Astronaut Needs Help
Both NASA and the
Soviet Space Program
used pencils until 1968.

53. CASE STUDY: THE FISHER SPACE PEN
Astronaut Needs Help
FYI: Space Pencils that
can be used by an
astronaut were very
expensive -
~$128.84/pencil
Caused a scandal in 1965

54. CASE STUDY: THE FISHER SPACE PEN
Astronaut Needs Help - MVP2

55. CASE STUDY: THE FISHER SPACE PEN
Astronaut Needs Help - MVP2
● Inventor Paul C. Fisher started work
on the pen
● Fisher spent $1 million researching
the pen (no research grant)
● Fisher filed Patent US3285228 on
5/19/1965 - Anti Gravity Pen
● Used special ink
● Created a pressurized cartridge
● NASA tested the pen for 2 years

56. CASE STUDY: THE FISHER SPACE PEN
Astronaut Needs Help - MVP
● Write down orbital trajectories - YES
● Write down instructions - YES
● No gravity* - PRESSURIZED
● Environment is fragile - OK
● Little margin for error - OK
MVP 2 helps Astronaut

57. EPILOGUE
Astronaut Needs Help - MVP2
● Fisher charged $2.39 per pen to
NASA (wholesale price)
● NASA bought 400
● Soviet Space Agency bought 100
● https://www.scientificamerican.com/a
rticle/fact-or-fiction-nasa-spen/
● https://history.nasa.gov/spacepen.html

58. EPILOGUE
Pedro Duque’s - 2003 Soyuz
● Wrote in space with ballpoint pen
● Tested and proved they worked
● http://www.esa.int/esl/ESA_in_your_c
ountry/Spain/Pedro_Duque_s_diary_f
rom_space
*tl;dr - ballpoint pens work in space

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