The Concierge Experiment for Digital Product Success
In the relentless pursuit of product-market fit, the tech industry rightfully embraced the concept of the Minimum Viable Product (MVP). Coined by Frank Ries in the Lean Startup methodology, an MVP is that version of a new product that allows a team to collect the maximum amount of validated learning about customers with the least effort.
But for those of us who have been in the trenches for decades, we’ve seen a critical flaw in this approach. Too often, “viable” is conflated with “technically functional,” and “minimum” becomes an excuse for poor quality. The result? A stream of products that work but are devoid of the usability, delight, and intuitive flow that users not only want but have come to expect. They function, but they fail.
This is where the concept of a Minimum Viable User Experience (MVUX) must take center stage. It’s a philosophical and practical shift from building a product that can be used to crafting an experience that will be used and loved. The cryptic notes from the image—”Concierge Experiment,” “O’Sura Kennin,” “Anothermind Test”—are not gibberish; they are the fragmented blueprints for this very philosophy. Let’s decode them.
1. Beyond the MVP: Why “Viable” Must Include “Valuable”
The traditional MVP asks, “What is the smallest thing we can build to test our core technical hypothesis?” The MVUX, instead, asks, “What is the smallest experience we can craft to deliver genuine value and test our core user hypothesis?”
The difference is profound. A functioning login feature is MVP. A seamless, secure, and frustration-free authentication journey that makes the user feel safe and efficient is MVUX.
The note “HUMAN ORIGINAL USE IN BUSINESS” points directly to this. Technology serves business, but business serves humans. Any solution that forgets the human—their frustrations, motivations, and behaviors—is destined for mediocrity. As Don Norman, the godfather of UX, famously stated, “Design is really an act of communication, which means having a deep understanding of the person with whom the designer is communicating.” 1
The Inputs and Outputs: MVP vs. MVUX
| Aspect | Minimum Viable Product (MVP) | Minimum Viable User Experience (MVUX) |
|---|---|---|
| Primary Goal | Test technical feasibility & market demand | Test user desirability & value perception |
| Focus | Features & functionality | User journey & emotional response |
| Output | A working product with core features | A compelling experience around a core value |
| Measurement | Can users complete the task? (Completion Rate) | Will users choose to complete the task again? (User Satisfaction, NPS) |
| Team Lead | Product Manager / Engineering | Product Designer / UX Research |
2. The Concierge Experiment: The Ultimate MVUX Prototype
The most prominent phrase on the image is “CONCIERGE EXPERIMENT.” This is not just a clever name; it is the most powerful tool in the MVUX arsenal.
A Concierge Experiment is a form of Wizard of Oz testing where you manually deliver the service your product aims to automate, simulating the intended user experience. Instead of building a complex algorithm to recommend movies, a team member (“the concierge”) manually curates lists based on user queries. The goal isn’t to test the code, but to test the value of the recommendation itself and the interaction flow of the request.
The note “ASK WHAT WE’LL NEED FOR A MINUTE AND FELD [likely ‘FEED’] BACK” is the core instruction. The experiment is about setting up a rapid feedback loop to learn:
Is the recommended output actually valuable to the user?
What questions did the user ask to get there? (This informs your UI)
Where was there confusion or friction in the dialogue?
Tools & Inputs for a Concierge Experiment:
Inputs: A clearly defined value proposition hypothesis, a script or flow for the “concierge,” a handful of target users.
Tools: Communication tools like Slack, email, or even face-to-face interaction. A simple form to collect user requests (e.g., Typeform, Google Forms) can be the “interface.”
Outputs: Qualitative data on user needs, language, and expectations. Validation of the core value proposition before a single line of code is written.
Companies like Spotify brilliantly advocate this method and has deep roots in Lean UX practices. It moves you from building in the dark to building with confidence. 2
3. The “Anothermind Test”: Embracing 0th Userday Testing
The image mentions “ANOTHERMIND TEST: A 0 USERDAY TEST.” In software, we have “Day 0” for patches and launches. In UX, we need “0th Userday” testing. This means testing before the user even knows they are using your “product.”
This is the mindset of the Concierge Experiment. The “product” doesn’t exist yet, so you have “0 users.” But you can still test the experience. The notes “GET YOUR TEXT START” and “TRY TO BE MORE THAN ANYTHING” suggest moving beyond the functional and into the emotional and value-driven realm from the very first interaction.
“YOU ARE NOT ONLY AT ALL” is a crucial, albeit cryptic, reminder. You are not your user. Your team’s perspective is inherently biased by proximity to the product. This is why rigorous, early testing with true outsiders is non-negotiable. Jakob Nielsen’s law of elasticity states that the results of a test with just five users will reveal about 85% of your usability problems. 3 Don’t wait for a polished UI. Test the concept, the copy (“YOUR TEXT IS… SPOT?”), and the flow on day zero.
4. The Culture Change: “NO ONE LIKES CHANGE”
Perhaps the most honest note on the image is: “ENTRETAGE SYSTANDES: … NO ONE LIKES CHANGE.” This is the fundamental truth that every UX architect and designer must overcome.
Implementing an MVUX approach is not just a process shift; it’s a culture change. It shifts power away from pure engineering velocity and into the sometimes messy realm of qualitative research and iterative design. Teams accustomed to shipping features may see Concierge Experiments and extensive prototyping as a slowdown.
The architect’s job is to demonstrate that this is “THE ALL THANKS TO ALL TEAMS”—that this approach de-risks development and ensures that what is built is truly valuable, ultimately saving immense time and resources that would have been wasted on building the wrong thing.
Best Practices for Leading This Change:
Show, Don’t Tell: Run a small, successful Concierge Experiment for a discrete project and present the compelling learnings to stakeholders.
Empower the Teams: “THE MANY KIDS EVACE CHOICES, ENTRANTINGS” likely points to empowering team members to make user-centric decisions and run their own lightweight tests.
Focus on Outcomes, Not Outputs: Shift the conversation from “How many features did we ship?” to “How did we improve user satisfaction or engagement?”
5. A Framework for Implementing MVUX
So, how do you operationalize this? Follow this framework, pulling from Agile, Lean UX, and Design Thinking methodologies.
Phase 1: Discover & Define
Inputs: Business goals, user personas, problem statements.
Activity: Conduct stakeholder interviews and user research to define the core value proposition you need to test.
Output: A one-sentence hypothesis: “We believe that [doing this] for [these people] will achieve [this outcome].”
Phase 2: Design the Experience
Inputs: The value hypothesis.
Activity: Storyboard the ideal user journey. Map out the key touchpoints and emotions you want to evoke. “GET RIGHT SHOPS” – get the right steps in the right order.
Output: A experience map or a low-fidelity flow diagram.
Phase 3: Prototype & Test (The Concierge Phase)
Inputs: The experience map.
Activity: Choose your MVUX testing method. This could be:
Concierge: Manual service delivery.
Wizard of Oz: A fake UI fronting a human-powered backend.
Clickable Prototype: A high-fidelity, interactive model built in Figma or Adobe XD. 4
Tools: Figma, Sketch, InVision, Typeform, Google Docs, even role-playing.
Output: Validated (or invalidated) learning about your value hypothesis and user flow.
Phase 4: Learn & Iterate
Inputs: Feedback from testing.
Activity: Synthesize the data. What surprised you? What needs to change? “BLANKET” might imply covering all your assumptions with evidence.
Output: A revised hypothesis and a pivot or persevere decision.
Recommended Frameworks:
Lean UX: Its build-measure-learn cycle is perfect for MVUX. 5
Design Sprints: A five-day process for answering critical business questions through design, prototyping, and testing with customers. It’s a packaged MVUX process. 6
Jobs-To-Be-Done (JTBD): A framework that focuses on the fundamental “job” a user is hiring your product to do, which is central to defining the MVUX. 7
Conclusion: “All you need to know is…”
The image ends with the phrase: “REMARKING: All you need to know is…”
After 20 years in this field, all you need to know is this: The winning product is rarely the one with the most features. It is almost always the one with the most thoughtful, frictionless, and valuable experience. The MVUX is your strategy to find that experience efficiently and effectively.
It’s a commitment to being human-centered from the very first sketch. It’s about being a concierge for your users, understanding their needs so deeply that the product you eventually build feels like it was made for them, and them alone. Because it was.
Stop building minimally viable products. Start crafting minimally viable user experiences.
Image belongs to: Dean Meyers
References & Further Reading:
Don Norman, “The Design of Everyday Things”: https://jnd.org/design_is_a_method_of_communication/
William Bakker, “Using Concierge Testing to Validate Ideas”: https://medium.com/@william/using-concierge-testing-to-validate-ideas-b3086dfb17c7
Nielsen Norman Group, “Why You Only Need to Test with 5 Users”: https://www.nngroup.com/articles/why-you-only-need-to-test-with-5-users/
Figma Prototyping Features: https://www.figma.com/prototyping/
Jeff Gothelf, “Lean UX”: https://www.uxpin.com/studio/blog/lean-ux-vs-design-thinking/
Google Ventures, “The Design Sprint”: https://www.gv.com/sprint/
Harvard Business Review, “Know Your Customers’ ‘Jobs to Be Done’”: https://hbr.org/2016/09/know-your-customers-jobs-to-be-done
The Lean Startup Methodology: http://theleanstartup.com/principles
Interaction Design Foundation, “Wizard of Oz Prototyping”: https://www.interaction-design.org/literature/topics/wizard-of-oz-prototyping
