The 5-Day MVP Scope: Ship Faster by Building Less

TL;DR: Any idea can become a testable MVP in 5 days if you scope it right. Cut features, not corners. Ship the smallest thing that proves your hypothesis.

Most MVPs fail because they're not minimal enough.

Why 5 Days (Not 5 Weeks)

The problem with longer timelines:

Feature creep becomes inevitable
Market conditions change
Team motivation declines
Scope confusion grows

The 5-day advantage:

Forces ruthless prioritization
Maintains urgency and focus
Enables rapid iteration
Limits technical debt accumulation
Creates real shipping deadlines

Constraints breed creativity. 5 days breeds MVPs that actually ship.

The 5-Day Framework

Day 1: Scope and Strip (Planning Day)

Morning: Define the core hypothesis Afternoon: Cut everything non-essential Evening: Technical architecture decisions

Day 2: Foundation (Backend Day)

Focus: Database, API, authentication basics Goal: Core data models and endpoints working No UI yet: Just API testing and data flow

Day 3: Core Feature (Logic Day)

Focus: The one thing that makes your product unique Goal: Main user workflow functioning end-to-end Basic UI: Functional, not pretty

Day 4: Interface (Frontend Day)

Focus: User interface that actually works Goal: Complete user journey from signup to core action Polish later: Ship functional, improve continuously

Day 5: Deploy and Test (Ship Day)

Morning: Production deployment Afternoon: End-to-end testing and bug fixes Evening: Share with first 10 users

Day 1: The Scoping Session

The One-Hypothesis Rule

Start with your assumption: "I believe that [target customer] will [take specific action] because [specific reason]."

Examples:

✅ "Freelance designers will pay $29/month for instant client approval workflows because approval delays kill momentum"
✅ "Restaurant managers will use daily profit tracking because they currently have no visibility into real-time margins"
❌ "Small businesses need better project management" (too vague)
❌ "People want to be more productive" (not specific enough)

The Feature Elimination Process

List everything you think you need:

Example: Client Approval Tool
□ User registration/login
□ File upload system
□ Approval workflow
□ Comments and feedback
□ Version control
□ Email notifications
□ Client billing integration
□ Analytics dashboard
□ Mobile app
□ API access
□ White-label options
□ Team management

Apply the 5-day filter:

Keep (Essential for testing hypothesis):

✅ User registration (simple email/password)
✅ File upload (basic, no fancy preview)
✅ Approval workflow (approve/reject buttons)
✅ Email notifications (simple alerts)

Cut (Nice-to-have):

❌ Comments and feedback (can be email for now)
❌ Version control (file naming convention works)
❌ Analytics dashboard (Google Analytics sufficient)
❌ Mobile app (responsive web works)

Cut (Future phases):

❌ Client billing integration (manual invoicing works)
❌ API access (no integration needs yet)
❌ White-label options (prove core first)
❌ Team management (single user sufficient)

Technical Stack Decisions (30 minutes max)

Use what you know, not what's trendy:

Frontend: React/Vue if you know it, HTML/CSS if you don't Backend: Node.js/Python/Rails - whatever's familiar Database: PostgreSQL/MySQL - avoid NoSQL complexity for MVPs Hosting: Vercel/Netlify for frontend, Railway/Render for backend Auth: Clerk/Auth0 - don't build authentication yourself

The wrong decision: Spending Day 1 researching the "best" tech stack The right decision: Using familiar tools to build faster

Day 2: Backend Foundation

Database Schema (First 2 hours)

Start with the core entities:

-- Users table (basic auth)
CREATE TABLE users (
  id SERIAL PRIMARY KEY,
  email VARCHAR UNIQUE NOT NULL,
  password_hash VARCHAR NOT NULL,
  created_at TIMESTAMP DEFAULT NOW()
);

-- Projects table (main entity)
CREATE TABLE projects (
  id SERIAL PRIMARY KEY,
  user_id INTEGER REFERENCES users(id),
  name VARCHAR NOT NULL,
  status VARCHAR DEFAULT 'draft',
  created_at TIMESTAMP DEFAULT NOW()
);

-- Files table (what gets approved)
CREATE TABLE files (
  id SERIAL PRIMARY KEY,
  project_id INTEGER REFERENCES projects(id),
  filename VARCHAR NOT NULL,
  file_url VARCHAR NOT NULL,
  status VARCHAR DEFAULT 'pending', -- pending, approved, rejected
  created_at TIMESTAMP DEFAULT NOW()
);

Avoid over-engineering:

No complex relationships yet
No optimization (indexes can wait)
No audit trails or soft deletes
Basic data types only

API Endpoints (Remaining 6 hours)

Focus on CRUD operations:

// Essential endpoints only
POST /auth/register
POST /auth/login
GET /projects
POST /projects
GET /projects/:id
POST /projects/:id/files
PUT /files/:id/status

Don't build:

Complex filtering/searching
Batch operations
File processing/thumbnails
Advanced authentication (just basic JWT)

Testing (API only)

Manual testing with Postman/Insomnia:

Can create users and log in
Can create projects and upload files
Can change file approval status
All endpoints return proper errors

No unit tests yet: Ship first, test later

Day 3: Core Feature Implementation

The Single User Journey

Map the critical path:

User uploads file to project
System sends approval request to client
Client clicks approve/reject link
System notifies user of decision
User sees updated status

Build this flow completely before anything else

File Upload Implementation

Simple, not scalable:

// Basic file upload - no fancy features
app.post("/projects/:id/files", upload.single("file"), async (req, res) => {
  const file = req.file

  // Save to local storage or basic cloud storage
  const fileUrl = await saveFile(file)

  // Create database record
  const fileRecord = await db.query(
    "INSERT INTO files (project_id, filename, file_url) VALUES ($1, $2, $3) RETURNING *",
    [req.params.id, file.originalname, fileUrl]
  )

  // Send approval email immediately
  await sendApprovalEmail(fileRecord.id)

  res.json(fileRecord)
})

What we're NOT building:

File type validation (accept everything for now)
File size limits (beyond basic server limits)
Preview generation
Multiple file uploads
File versioning

Approval Workflow

Dead simple approach:

// Approval endpoint - accessible via email link
app.get("/approve/:fileId/:token", async (req, res) => {
  const { fileId, token } = req.params

  // Verify token (simple approach)
  if (token !== generateSimpleToken(fileId)) {
    return res.status(400).send("Invalid approval link")
  }

  // Update file status
  await db.query("UPDATE files SET status = ? WHERE id = ?", ["approved", fileId])

  // Notify user
  await sendStatusEmail(fileId, "approved")

  res.send("File approved! The designer has been notified.")
})

// Same for reject
app.get("/reject/:fileId/:token", async (req, res) => {
  // Similar implementation for rejection
})

Simple token generation:

function generateSimpleToken(fileId) {
  // Not cryptographically secure, but fine for MVP
  return Buffer.from(`${fileId}-${process.env.SECRET_KEY}`).toString("base64")
}

Day 4: Functional Interface

The Brutally Simple UI

HTML/CSS that works:

<!-- Project dashboard -->
<div class="container">
  <h1>Your Projects</h1>
  <button onclick="createProject()">New Project</button>

  <div id="projects">
    <!-- Projects loaded via JavaScript -->
  </div>
</div>

<!-- File upload -->
<div class="upload-area">
  <input type="file" id="fileInput" />
  <button onclick="uploadFile()">Upload for Approval</button>
</div>

<!-- Status display -->
<div class="file-status">
  <span class="status pending">Pending Approval</span>
  <span class="status approved">✓ Approved</span>
  <span class="status rejected">✗ Rejected</span>
</div>

Basic styling (1-2 hours max):

.container {
  max-width: 800px;
  margin: 0 auto;
  padding: 20px;
}
.upload-area {
  border: 2px dashed #ccc;
  padding: 40px;
  text-align: center;
}
.status {
  padding: 5px 10px;
  border-radius: 3px;
}
.status.approved {
  background: #d4edda;
  color: #155724;
}
.status.rejected {
  background: #f8d7da;
  color: #721c24;
}
.status.pending {
  background: #fff3cd;
  color: #856404;
}

JavaScript Functionality (No Framework)

Keep it vanilla and functional:

// Project creation
async function createProject() {
  const name = prompt("Project name:")
  if (!name) return

  const response = await fetch("/projects", {
    method: "POST",
    headers: { "Content-Type": "application/json" },
    body: JSON.stringify({ name }),
  })

  if (response.ok) {
    loadProjects() // Refresh list
  }
}

// File upload
async function uploadFile() {
  const fileInput = document.getElementById("fileInput")
  const file = fileInput.files[0]
  if (!file) return

  const formData = new FormData()
  formData.append("file", file)

  const response = await fetch(`/projects/${currentProjectId}/files`, {
    method: "POST",
    body: formData,
  })

  if (response.ok) {
    alert("File uploaded! Approval email sent.")
    loadFiles() // Refresh file list
  }
}

User Authentication (Minimal)

Simple login form:

<form id="loginForm">
  <input type="email" placeholder="Email" required />
  <input type="password" placeholder="Password" required />
  <button type="submit">Login</button>
</form>

Basic session handling:

// Store JWT in localStorage (not secure, but functional)
async function login(email, password) {
  const response = await fetch("/auth/login", {
    method: "POST",
    headers: { "Content-Type": "application/json" },
    body: JSON.stringify({ email, password }),
  })

  if (response.ok) {
    const { token } = await response.json()
    localStorage.setItem("token", token)
    showDashboard()
  }
}

Day 5: Deploy and Ship

Morning: Production Deployment

Choose the simplest deployment:

Frontend: Netlify/Vercel (drag and drop)
Backend: Railway/Render (Git deploy)
Database: Planet Scale/Supabase (managed)

Environment variables checklist:

DATABASE_URL=postgresql://...
JWT_SECRET=your-secret-key
EMAIL_API_KEY=your-email-service-key
FILE_STORAGE_KEY=your-storage-key

Don't optimize yet:

No CDN setup
No caching
No load balancing
No monitoring beyond basic logs

Afternoon: End-to-End Testing

Test the complete user journey:

✅ User can register and log in
✅ User can create a project
✅ User can upload a file
✅ Email is sent to intended recipient
✅ Client can approve/reject via email link
✅ User receives notification of decision
✅ Status updates correctly in dashboard

Bug triage rules:

Fix immediately: Anything breaking the core flow
Fix before sharing: UI bugs affecting usability
Log for later: Nice-to-have improvements

Evening: First User Testing

Share with 10 people:

5 potential customers (ideal users)
3 friends/colleagues (honest feedback)
2 strangers (unbiased perspective)

Ask specific questions:

"Can you complete [core action] without help?"
"What's confusing about this process?"
"Would you pay $X/month for this?"
"What's the biggest thing missing?"
"How often would you use this?"

Scope Creep: The 5-Day Killer

Common Scope Creep Triggers

"This would be easy to add..."

Extra form fields
Additional user types
More file formats
Extra notification channels

"Users will expect this..."

Advanced search
Bulk operations
Mobile optimization
Real-time updates

"It's industry standard to have..."

User roles and permissions
Advanced security features
Comprehensive reporting
Integration capabilities

The Anti-Scope Creep Protocol

When tempted to add features:

Stop and document: Write it down for next iteration
Ask the core question: Does this prove/disprove my hypothesis?
Estimate truthfully: How many hours would this really take?
Remember the goal: Ship something testable, not something perfect

The 5-day rule: If you can't ship it without this feature, your scope is too big.

Post-Launch: The Next 5 Days

Days 6-10: Iteration Based on Feedback

Focus on:

Critical bugs that prevent core usage
One-click improvements (copy changes, button placement)
Most requested feature (if it fits the hypothesis)

Ignore:

Feature requests that change core value proposition
Technical debt that doesn't affect users
Scaling concerns (unless you have 100+ active users)

Week 2: Decide the Direction

Three possible outcomes:

1. Hypothesis Confirmed (Users love it)

Double down on core feature
Improve UI/UX based on usage patterns
Start building sustainable infrastructure

2. Hypothesis Partially Confirmed (Mixed feedback)

Pivot slightly based on strongest positive feedback
A/B test variations of core feature
Focus on specific user segment that responded best

3. Hypothesis Rejected (Users don't engage)

Kill it fast
Document learnings
Start next 5-day MVP based on learnings

FAQ

Q: What if my idea is too complex for 5 days? A: Your scope is too big. Find the smallest testable version of your hypothesis.

Q: Can I use this framework for hardware products? A: Adapt it to hardware: Day 1-2 for design, Day 3-4 for prototyping, Day 5 for testing with users.

Q: What if users expect more features? A: Users who really need your solution will use a basic version. Users who demand features first weren't real customers anyway.

Q: How do I handle technical debt from 5-day sprints? A: Refactor incrementally as you validate product-market fit. Don't optimize prematurely.

Ready to scope your 5-day MVP?

We use this framework to ship testable MVPs in one week, not one month. No feature creep, no over-engineering.

Quick Build ($750) • Full Sprint ($7,500)

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