Scope your first software version smaller than feels comfortable

Every first product brief contains features borrowed from mature competitors. Those companies added them over years of feedback — starting with all of them means paying for guesses.

We scope first versions around one painful workflow: the task your team or customers do weekly that costs the most time or errors. Ship that, measure it, then expand.

A smaller scope isn't just cheaper. It launches sooner, which means real feedback sooner, which means the second phase is built on evidence instead of assumptions.

The practical test: if removing a feature wouldn't stop your first ten users from getting value, it belongs in phase two.