The idea of an MVP is to create a product containing only the minimum amount of functionality to make it viable for the user. The limitations are expressed in the name itself.
The hard part is determining what features should be included in this product's MVP. The word minimum is the sticky point. Here is the definition of minimum:
The least or smallest amount or quantity possible, attainable, or required
The last word in that sentence is the key word: required. If you are building a product what are the required features. By required, I mean something that is essential to its existence. Make the least of amount of that for an MVP.
The least amount of any software product can be defined in a command line interface program. It is software. The main feature is programmed in code. Code can easily be run from a CLI given the right options. Luck for us the CLI has already defined the proper mechanisms: argument and options.
A lot of the time developers will get bogged down implementing the user interface. They want a fancy website with a certain look and feel. A CLI program has one (1) look and feel: the console. If you want to create an MVP for a product that you want to work on then start with the CLI.
This will allow you to focus on solving the problem. It will remove the tendency to play with the user interface. This is software. We can do anything. The goal of writing a CLI is to limit ourselves to the essential features of our product.
