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description: 'PRD MVP-framing reference - repository-original thinnest-viable-slice rubric written from scratch, anchored to a cite-only bibliography of the Lean Startup (Ries) and product-discovery (Cagan/SVPG) sources - Brought to you by microsoft/hve-core'
---

# PRD MVP Framing

This document supplies the rubric the PRD Builder uses to scope a minimum viable product (MVP) or thinnest viable slice. The rubric prose below is repository-original Microsoft content. The Lean Startup and SVPG sources that inform the framing are listed in a cite-only bibliography; no upstream prose is redistributed.

## When to apply

Apply this reference during the PRD Discover and Scope phases when:

* Deciding what belongs in the first releasable slice versus a later increment.
* Justifying In-Scope and Out-of-Scope entries in the canonical PRD template.
* Pressure-testing a scope proposal against learning goals and risk.

## Thinnest-viable-slice rubric (repository-original)

A candidate MVP slice passes when every check below is satisfied. Record the answers alongside the Scope section.

1. **Learning goal is explicit.** The slice names the single most important assumption it tests. A slice that tests nothing is a release, not an MVP.
2. **Delivers standalone value.** A real user can complete one end-to-end job with the slice, even if narrow.
3. **Smallest credible scope.** No requirement is included that is not needed to deliver the value or test the assumption.
4. **Measurable outcome.** The slice defines an observable signal (a metric or a qualitative threshold) that tells the team whether the assumption held.
5. **Reversible or contained.** The slice limits blast radius — a feature flag, a pilot cohort, or a bounded rollout — so a failed assumption is cheap to unwind.
6. **Out-of-scope is deliberate.** Each excluded capability is listed with a one-line reason, not omitted silently.

Scoring guidance: a slice that fails check 1 or check 3 is not yet an MVP and should be re-cut before requirements are committed.

## Cite-only bibliography

The sources below inform the MVP framing. They are cited by name only; the rubric above is written from scratch and reproduces no upstream text.

### Eric Ries — *The Lean Startup*

* **Author / source** — Eric Ries, *The Lean Startup* (Crown Business, 2011).
* **URL** — [https://theleanstartup.com/](https://theleanstartup.com/)
* **Why the PRD Builder cites it** — Origin of the build–measure–learn loop and the "minimum viable product" framing used to justify thinnest-slice scoping. Referenced by name as an external depth pointer; never paraphrased clause-by-clause.

### Marty Cagan (SVPG) — *Inspired*

* **Author / source** — Marty Cagan, Silicon Valley Product Group (SVPG), *Inspired: How to Create Tech Products Customers Love*, 2nd ed. (Wiley, 2017).
* **URL** — [https://www.svpg.com/inspired-how-to-create-products-customers-love/](https://www.svpg.com/inspired-how-to-create-products-customers-love/)
* **Why the PRD Builder cites it** — Product-discovery bibliography for distinguishing discovery (testing value and viability) from delivery. Used as an external pointer for readers who want depth beyond the in-bundle rubric; the PRD Builder's rubric prose is original.

## License

This reference file is original Microsoft content licensed under [CC BY 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). The thinnest-viable-slice rubric is HVE-Core IP and may be reused under the same license. The sources named in the bibliography remain the property of their authors and publishers; their prose is accessed by the reader through the cited URLs and is never redistributed here.

> Brought to you by microsoft/hve-core
