My App Has 12 Features Planned. Which 3 Should Launch First?
How to cut a long feature list down to the few that complete the main task, so your first version ships and teaches you something.
Which features should my first version include?
Only the ones needed to complete one main task from start to finish. The count varies; the important constraint is a complete, usable task. Everything else waits until real users ask for it.
How to choose
- Write the main task in one sentence. "Someone decorating their room collects ideas and finds them again later."
- Walk through it step by step. Mark every feature the task cannot finish without.
- Move everything else to "later". Social sharing, badges, themes and settings almost always land here.
An example
Consider an app for collecting room ideas. The twelve candidates are browsing, search, boards, direct messages, stories, likes, notifications, uploads, following creators, filters, shared boards and reopening saved boards. Start with browse, save to a board and reopen the board. Those complete the first task. The other candidates need a reason to enter this version.
Why fewer is better
- You ship sooner and learn sooner.
- Each feature has to be tested, explained and maintained.
- Users judge the main task. Extra features rarely save a confusing one.
What to do with the rest
Keep a list. When three different users ask for the same thing, it moves up.
Three is a constraint, not a magic number
The aim is a complete first task, not an arbitrary feature count. An ideas app might need browsing, saving and reopening a board. An emergency communication tool has different minimum requirements. Security, accessibility and reliability are not optional extras to remove just to reach three.
For every proposed feature, ask: if this is missing, can the intended user still finish the task and receive the promised result?
Walk through the first session
For the ideas app, the person browses rooms, saves a useful example and opens the board again. The saved board confirms the result and helps them continue planning.
A public feed does not need to exist for that loop to work. Neither do badges, custom themes or a music player. A way to remove an accidentally saved idea may be more important than those extras, because errors happen in the main task.
Score ideas with a few practical questions
| Question | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Does the core task fail without it? | Identifies essential behavior |
| Did a target user encounter the problem? | Separates evidence from guesses |
| Can a simpler version solve it? | Reduces build and maintenance work |
| What does it depend on? | Reveals hidden setup and release costs |
| How will we know it helped? | Defines a useful test |
A small-looking feature can introduce payments, external accounts or moderation. Count that work before calling it an easy addition.
Keep a deliberate later list
Write down postponed ideas with the problem they would solve. 'Shared boards' might support planning with a partner, while following creators might support discovery; those are different needs. A later list with reasons is more useful than a pile of feature names.
Repeated requests can influence priority, but frequency alone is not enough. One severe failure that prevents the main task can matter more than ten cosmetic suggestions.
Test the whole small version
Use realistic sample data, handle an empty first session and check what happens after closing the app. A minimum version should still explain errors and keep the information it promises to save.
Then invite a few people who match the audience. Watch where they stop. Your next feature should follow the most important observed problem, not automatically the next item from the original twelve.
The reward of a smaller scope is faster learning with fewer moving parts. It is not permission to ship a main task that only works when you stand next to the user explaining it.
Are settings always a later feature?
No. Some settings are essential to accessibility, privacy or the core task. The point is to remove unrelated scope, not automatically delete every feature with a secondary label. Decide from the user's needs and release requirements.
What about account deletion and error handling?
If the app's first version creates accounts or performs consequential actions, the necessary lifecycle and failure behavior belong in the first version. They are part of making the promised task complete.
Should I count screens or features?
Neither count alone captures effort. One screen can require several services and complex rules. Several simple screens can share straightforward behavior. Trace the task, dependencies and verification work.
What if users want different things?
Check whether they belong to the same audience and whether requests point to a shared problem. Avoid turning the first version into a compromise serving several unrelated groups poorly.
How do I know it is ready for a small test?
A new person can understand the task, complete it, recover from ordinary mistakes and find their result afterward. Use realistic sample content and a safe test environment. You can postpone extensive polish, but do not rely on your explanation to bridge missing behavior every time the person reaches a difficult step.
Questions people also ask
What is an MVP?
A minimum viable product: the smallest version that lets real people finish the main task so you can learn from them.
What if users ask for a feature I cut?
Good. Note who asked and why. Requests from your target audience tell you what to build next.
Build it with RNBlocks
Turn the three essential capabilities into a focused RNBlocks brief. Our agent can help build and refine the complete journey through conversation. Start free, test the result and add the next feature because of an observed need, rather than because it was on the original list.
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