What to Prepare Before an MVP Planning Call

You do not need a formal product requirements document before an MVP planning call. You do need enough clarity to make one useful decision: what is the smallest production-ready workflow worth building now?

A little preparation keeps the call focused on trade-offs instead of spending the whole meeting reconstructing the idea. Bring rough answers; the purpose of the call is to sharpen them, not grade them.

1. Name the User, Problem, and Outcome

Describe one specific person and the problem they face today. Then write the outcome they should reach in the product. Avoid starting with a feature list.

• The primary user is: ________.
• Today they solve this problem by: ________.
• The costly or frustrating part is: ________.
• The product is useful when they can: ________.

2. Draw One Complete Workflow

Write the steps from entry to value in plain language. Include where the user starts, what information they provide, what the system does, and what confirms success.

If the workflow needs several different user roles or breaks into separate outcomes, mark the natural split. That is often where the first launch should end and a later phase should begin.

3. Bring Existing Assets and Access Constraints

List what already exists: brand files, copy, a prototype, repository, customer research, domain, data, vendor accounts, or an earlier app. Do not send passwords or secret values in a planning form or email.

• Which assets are final, and which are placeholders?
• Who owns each account and can approve access?
• Does existing data need to move into the new workflow?
• Are payments, private files, regulated information, or third-party integrations involved?

4. Decide What Done Means — and What Can Wait

Bring three to five statements that can be demonstrated at sign-off. Then list the tempting additions you are willing to defer. This gives the planning conversation a real boundary.

• Done when a user can complete the core flow without manual intervention.
• Done when protected data is only available to the right user or role.
• Done when the workflow is deployed and its handover path is documented.
• Not in the first launch: advanced settings, secondary roles, bulk actions, or speculative automation unless essential to the core outcome.

5. Be Ready for One of Three Recommendations

A useful planning call does not force every idea into the same package. A narrow workflow may fit Launch Sprint. A launch that benefits from two standard capabilities and added polish may fit Founder Launch. An idea with unresolved dependencies or too much scope may need to be narrowed or paused before implementation.

The best result is not always an immediate yes. It is a clear next step, a written boundary, and fewer expensive assumptions.