Most MVPs fail not because of bad code, but because of bad scope.
The core question
Before writing a single line of code, answer one question: what is the minimum that would solve the real problem?
Not the minimum you feel comfortable shipping. Not the version that impresses investors. The minimum that works.
Scope determines everything
Timeline, cost, and quality are all downstream of scope. Founders who try to control timeline and cost without controlling scope get surprised every time.
Scope is the only lever that actually works.
Three questions to lock scope
- What does the user actually need to do?
- What is the smallest surface area that enables it?
- What happens if we cut this feature entirely?
If the answer to (3) is “nothing breaks for the launch cohort” — cut it.
What this looks like in practice
One Code starts every engagement with a scoping session before any architecture decisions are made. The output: a written list of what ships and what does not, agreed on by everyone.
That list becomes the contract. Everything else is noise.