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Product Strategy6 min read
Why Most MVP Timelines Are Wrong (And How to Fix Yours)
JOJames OkaforHead of Product
"We need this in 6 weeks" is one of the most common opening lines in a discovery call. It's rarely wrong because the team is lazy — it's wrong because the estimate was made before the scope was actually understood.
The three things that actually drive timeline
- Integration complexity — third-party APIs are almost always the long pole
- Authentication and permissions model — often underestimated by 2-3x
- Data migration, if you're replacing an existing system
Feature count matters far less than most founders assume. A ten-screen app with no external integrations can ship faster than a three-screen app that needs to sync with a legacy ERP system.
How we scope realistically
We start every MVP engagement with a two-week technical discovery phase, not because we like planning for its own sake, but because it's the only reliable way to surface integration risk before it becomes a launch blocker.
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