MVP - Minimum Viable Product

In Scrum, when a team develops a solution, they often iterate in ways that allow the customer to provide feedback and make adjustments to the design as it evolves. This is because the unseen is difficult to imagine, and by providing a working solution, no matter how ugly or off the mark, gives the customer an opportunity to see her vision come to life. You wouldn’t want to design all the features you want in a car from the ground up. It’s easier to see the basic model that has most of the features you want, and then add leather seats or a sunroof.

The same is true in our personal development. We may think we want a career change, but how can be sure? Is there a way to explore a day in the life of this new career without giving up what you have? Today, augmented reality allows us to see ourselves in new clothes, see furniture in our homes or choose a configuration for a car before ever making a commitment. This avoids the remorse of making a bad decision because you can experience before hand.

If you have big items in your Sprints, use this technique to test your interest and commitment. Do you want to travel to a foreign country? What can you learn about that experience before buying plane tickets:? Would you like to move to a more rural environment? Can you spend a week or two living that way before packing up and leaving your current home. You may find that just a small adjust to your current situation can provide some of the same benefits as a major change.