How to Prioritize Features When Building an MVP

Bringing a new product idea to life is an exciting yet challenging journey. Founders and product teams often have a long list of innovative features they want to include in their product. However, trying to build everything at once often leads to delays, wasted resources, and a lack of focus. That’s where the MVP development strategy comes in. A Minimum Viable Product (MVP) helps validate your startup idea by focusing only on the most critical features needed to solve the problem for your target audience.

But how do you decide which features deserve to be part of the MVP, and which should wait for later stages? This article will walk you through actionable frameworks, strategies, and real-world best practices to help you prioritize features effectively when building an MVP.

What Is an MVP and Why Does Feature Prioritization Matter?

An MVP is a simplified version of your product that includes only the essential features needed to solve your users’ main problem and provide value. It’s not about cutting corners—it’s about maximizing learning with minimal effort.

When you prioritize features correctly, you achieve several goals:

Validate your idea faster: You can test whether there is real demand for your solution before investing heavily in full development.

Save costs and time: By avoiding unnecessary features, you minimize wasted development effort.

Focus on the user’s core problem: The product becomes more aligned with what customers truly need.

Iterate quickly: You can gather feedback and improve the product in shorter cycles.

Without a clear MVP strategy, founders risk building products that are cluttered, expensive, and fail to meet market needs.

Step 1: Define Your Core Value Proposition

Before jumping into feature lists, you need absolute clarity on what problem your product solves and how it creates value. Ask yourself:

What is the main pain point for my target audience?

Which feature(s) directly address that pain point?

How will users benefit from the very first version of the product?

For example:

Dropbox started with a simple file synchronization and sharing system.

Airbnb began with the ability to book air mattresses in someone’s apartment.

Uber launched with the core functionality of booking a ride and paying through the app.

These companies didn’t start with loyalty programs, advanced integrations, or analytics dashboards—they focused on their core promise.

When crafting your MVP development strategy, ensure that your primary feature directly connects to your value proposition.

Step 2: Understand Your Target Audience and Market

Feature prioritization must be guided by your users. Conduct research through:

Surveys and interviews: Gather insights into what potential users expect as the most critical functionality.

Competitor analysis: See which features are considered “standard” in similar products.

Market segmentation: Identify which group of users you want to serve first (e.g., early adopters vs. mainstream users).

By aligning features with your initial market segment, you avoid the mistake of trying to please everyone.

For SaaS startups, this step is especially important. A well-defined MVP development strategy SaaS requires knowing whether your target audience prioritizes ease of onboarding, integration with other tools, or scalability.

Step 3: List All Potential Features

Brainstorm with your team and write down all possible features—no matter how big or small. At this stage, don’t filter ideas. Group them into categories:

Must-have features (critical for solving the problem)

Nice-to-have features (improve the experience but not essential)

Future features (for later versions)

Example for a task management app:

Must-have: Create tasks, assign deadlines, mark as completed.

Nice-to-have: File attachments, team collaboration chat.

Future: AI-powered task prioritization, advanced analytics.

This exercise gives you a full view of the product vision while helping you distinguish between essentials and extras.

Step 4: Apply Feature Prioritization Frameworks

Several frameworks can help systematically decide which features belong in your MVP. Here are the most effective ones:

1. MoSCoW Method

Must-have: Essential features for core functionality.

Should-have: Important but not crucial for the first release.

Could-have: Nice additions if resources allow.

Won’t-have (for now): Features to postpone.

2. Kano Model

The Kano model categorizes features into:

Basic needs: If missing, users will abandon the product.

Performance features: Directly improve user satisfaction.

Excitement features: Delight users but are not expected.

3. RICE Scoring

Evaluate each feature by:

Reach: How many users it impacts.

Impact: How much it improves user experience.

Confidence: Certainty of success.

Effort: Development time required.

Score features and prioritize based on the highest value-to-effort ratio.

4. User Story Mapping

Build a visual map of the customer journey and identify which steps are absolutely necessary to achieve the main goal. This helps prevent feature creep.

By using these frameworks, your MVP strategy becomes more structured and data-driven.

Step 5: Focus on the User Experience

Even though MVPs are minimal, they must still deliver a seamless experience. A product with broken flows or confusing interfaces will fail to attract users.

When prioritizing features:

Ensure the user can complete the main task without friction.

Prioritize usability over complexity.

Test wireframes and prototypes with real users before coding.

For example, if you’re building a SaaS product for project management, the core task is creating and managing projects. Features like dark mode or third-party integrations can wait.

The MVP development strategy SaaS often emphasizes smooth onboarding, as users will quickly abandon products that feel difficult to use.

Step 6: Validate with Prototypes and Feedback

Before committing to coding, create low-fidelity prototypes (wireframes, clickable mockups) to validate your feature choices. Share them with potential users and gather feedback:

Are these features enough to solve the problem?

Which features are confusing or unnecessary?

What’s missing for the MVP to be useful?

This validation ensures that your prioritized features align with real user expectations, not assumptions.

Step 7: Balance Business Goals with User Needs

While user needs are critical, business goals also matter. Some features may not directly solve user pain points but are essential for your business model. For example:

A subscription or payment system for monetization.

Basic analytics to measure engagement.

Security features to ensure compliance.

When creating your MVP development strategy, balance between:

User-centric features (problem-solving, usability).

Business-centric features (revenue, compliance, data).

Step 8: Build, Measure, Learn

The MVP is not the final product—it’s a learning tool. Once you’ve prioritized and built the core features:

Launch quickly: Release to your target audience.

Measure performance: Track metrics like user engagement, retention, and conversion.

Gather feedback: Use surveys, analytics, and direct conversations.

Iterate: Refine existing features and add new ones based on validated insights.

This “build-measure-learn” cycle ensures your MVP evolves in the right direction.

Common Mistakes to Avoid When Prioritizing Features

Adding too many features: Trying to please all users often leads to a bloated MVP.

Ignoring core functionality: A product with advanced features but broken basics will fail.

Skipping user research: Building based on assumptions instead of real needs.

Delaying launch for perfection: An MVP doesn’t need to be perfect—it needs to work.

Lack of clear success metrics: Without KPIs, it’s hard to know if your MVP succeeded.

Real-World Examples of Feature Prioritization in MVPs

Twitter (originally “Twttr”): Launched with just status updates and following other users. Retweets, hashtags, and images came later.

Spotify: Started with music streaming and simple playlists, then expanded into podcasts and personalization.

Zappos: Tested its idea by posting pictures of shoes online and buying them from stores when orders came in—no complex inventory systems at first.

These examples show how effective [MVP strategy](https://gloriumtech.com/mvp-development-strategy/) allowed companies to validate ideas before scaling into full-featured platforms.

Conclusion

Prioritizing features when building an MVP is both an art and a science. By focusing on your core value proposition, understanding your audience, and applying structured frameworks, you can avoid feature overload and build a product that delivers real value from day one.

A strong [MVP development strategy](https://gloriumtech.com/mvp-development-strategy/) empowers startups to validate ideas faster, save resources, and create user-centered products. For SaaS businesses in particular, having a clear MVP development strategy SaaS ensures that your product can onboard users smoothly, generate early traction, and scale effectively.

Remember: your MVP is not about having every feature—it’s about having the right features. Start small, test, learn, and iterate. That’s the path to building products that succeed.