think-bigger/docs/plans/milestones/mvp-definitions.md

MVP Definitions and Success Criteria

This document defines what constitutes a Minimum Viable Product (MVP) at different stages of development, providing clear success criteria and decision points for scope adjustment.

MVP Philosophy

Our MVP approach focuses on delivering tangible user value at each milestone, allowing for early user feedback and course correction. We prioritize core functionality over advanced features, ensuring users can accomplish primary knowledge management tasks.

MVP Level 1: Foundation Validation (End of Phase 1)

Timeline: Week 4 Goal: Validate that core technical assumptions are sound

Success Criteria

• Backend API serves all documented endpoints
• File system monitoring detects changes reliably
• Document processing extracts text and metadata accurately
• Dana runtime executes basic agent code safely
• Knowledge graph stores and retrieves data correctly
• Embedding service generates vectors for similarity search
• All services integrate without critical errors
• API documentation is complete and accurate

User Value Delivered

• None directly - This is infrastructure validation
• Developer Value: Confidence that technical foundation is solid

Go/No-Go Decision

• GO: Proceed to Phase 2 UI development
• NO-GO: Reassess technical approach, consider alternative technologies

MVP Level 2: Functional Knowledge Browser (End of Phase 2)

Timeline: Week 8 Goal: Deliver a working knowledge management interface

Success Criteria

• Users can navigate local file directories
• Documents (PDF, Markdown, text) display correctly
• Basic file tree navigation works
• Content renders in readable format
• Dashboard shows domain overview
• Global navigation functions properly
• UI is responsive and follows design system
• No critical performance issues (<2s load times)

User Value Delivered

• Primary: Browse and read documents in organized domains
• Secondary: Get overview of knowledge landscape
• Validation: Users can accomplish basic PKM tasks

Key Features Included

• Global Navigation Sidebar
• Dashboard with Domain Grid
• Knowledge Browser (3-pane layout)
• File tree navigation
• Document rendering (PDF, Markdown)
• Basic content viewer

Features Explicitly Deferred

• Video player integration
• Agent customization
• Cross-domain queries
• Advanced analysis patterns
• Media transcription

Go/No-Go Decision

• GO: Launch beta with power users, proceed to Phase 3
• NO-GO: Focus on UI/UX improvements, delay advanced features

MVP Level 3: Intelligent Content Processing (End of Phase 3)

Timeline: Week 12 Goal: Add automated content analysis and processing

Success Criteria

• Media files are automatically detected and processed
• Transcripts are generated and synchronized
• Fabric analysis patterns extract insights
• Domain agents process content intelligently
• Analysis results display in UI
• Background processing doesn't impact user experience
• Content processing accuracy >80%

User Value Delivered

• Primary: Automatic content analysis and insight extraction
• Secondary: Media content becomes searchable and analyzable
• Validation: System demonstrates AI value proposition

Key Features Added

• Media Scraper Agent
• Video transcript generation
• Synchronized video transcripts
• Fabric analysis patterns (Extract Ideas, Summarize, etc.)
• Domain agent integration
• Background processing queue

Go/No-Go Decision

• GO: System shows clear AI value, proceed to developer tools
• NO-GO: Focus on content processing quality, consider simplified AI approach

MVP Level 4: Developer Experience (End of Phase 4)

Timeline: Week 16 Goal: Enable agent customization and development

Success Criteria

• Agent Studio loads and functions
• Dana code editor works with syntax highlighting
• Users can modify and test agent code
• REPL executes Dana commands correctly
• Agent configuration saves and loads
• Basic graph visualization displays
• Agent testing workflow is functional

User Value Delivered

• Primary: Power users can customize agent behavior
• Secondary: System becomes extensible and adaptable
• Validation: Advanced users can tailor system to their needs

Key Features Added

• Agent Studio IDE
• Dana code editor
• Interactive REPL
• Context & Graph Manager
• Agent configuration interface
• Basic testing capabilities

Go/No-Go Decision

• GO: Developer community can extend system, proceed to orchestration
• NO-GO: Simplify customization interface, focus on presets

MVP Level 5: Full System Orchestration (End of Phase 5)

Timeline: Week 20 Goal: Complete multi-agent cross-domain system

Success Criteria

• Global Orchestrator Chat functions
• Domain scope selection works
• Multi-agent queries return coherent responses
• Response synthesis is accurate
• Cross-domain agent communication works
• System handles concurrent queries
• Performance remains acceptable under load

User Value Delivered

• Primary: Complex cross-domain knowledge queries
• Secondary: Unified interface to entire knowledge base
• Validation: System fulfills original vision

Key Features Added

• Global Orchestrator Chat
• Agent orchestration logic
• Response synthesis
• Cross-domain communication
• Query routing and optimization

Alternative MVP Scenarios

Conservative MVP (Phase 2 Only)

When to choose: Technical challenges in Phase 1, limited resources

• Deliver functional knowledge browser
• Focus on core PKM value
• Defer AI features to future versions
• Success: Users can manage knowledge effectively

AI-Focused MVP (Phases 1-3)

When to choose: Strong AI capabilities, user demand for intelligence

• Deliver content processing and analysis
• Skip full developer tooling initially
• Success: System demonstrates clear AI differentiation

Developer MVP (Phases 1-4)

When to choose: Developer community focus, extensibility priority

• Deliver agent customization capabilities
• Defer full orchestration complexity
• Success: System becomes programmable and extensible

Success Metrics by MVP Level

Metric	MVP 1	MVP 2	MVP 3	MVP 4	MVP 5
User Acquisition	N/A	10 beta users	50 active users	100+ users	500+ users
Daily Active Usage	N/A	30 min/day	60 min/day	90 min/day	120 min/day
Feature Completeness	60%	75%	85%	95%	100%
Performance (p95)	N/A	<2s	<3s	<4s	<5s
Error Rate	<5%	<2%	<1%	<0.5%	<0.1%
User Satisfaction	N/A	>7/10	>8/10	>8.5/10	>9/10

Decision Framework for MVP Adjustments

When to Expand Scope

• User feedback strongly positive
• Technical foundation exceeds expectations
• Additional resources become available
• Market opportunity expands

When to Contract Scope

• Technical blockers discovered
• User feedback indicates different priorities
• Resource constraints emerge
• Market validation suggests pivot needed

Pivot Indicators

• Users don't engage with core functionality
• Technical assumptions prove invalid
• Market has changed significantly
• Better opportunities identified

Post-MVP Planning

After achieving any MVP level:

1. Immediate: Gather user feedback and usage analytics
2. Short-term: Address critical bugs and usability issues
3. Medium-term: Plan next feature set based on user needs
4. Long-term: Consider architectural improvements and scaling

Communication Plan

For each MVP achievement:

• Internal team celebration and retrospective
• User announcement with clear value proposition
• Feature roadmap communication
• Feedback collection mechanism
• Success metrics reporting docs/plans/milestones/mvp-definitions.md