New Year's Resolution - A Blog Series
Part 4: Yes, Coffee is MVP, for me and anyone on the trip with me.
By Retta Witter, Senior Consultant, J. Geiger Consulting, Inc.
In my earlier blog, Go the Distance, I talked about minimum viable product, MVP. Today, I am going to expand my options for my MVP. I am thinking about what is needed for camping overnight away from my vehicle, where I can store stuff. MVP is used a lot when you are trying to decide what is that line in the sand on must haves for a go live when implementing a computer system. However, there can be multiple options to meet MVP. Today I am going to expand on my options to help me narrow down which one will work.
Minimum required items for camping overnight. (TRUE MINIMUMS, I will talk about nice to haves in just a bit)
Friendly reminder, my hike is not your hike and my MVP may not be your MVP. Each business and organization are different as well. The ‘What is my MVP’ for one customer or division may not be for another.
“Carry as little as possible, but choose that little with care.”
While I was really looking at the MVP, I started feeling old. While I just had another birthday, I am realizing I may be able to hike out and camp overnight with the MVP. I am not sure I would be able to walk back to the car successfully the next day without a lot of whining, which no one in my group needs to hear. I am not old but sleeping on the ground in just a sack to keep me warm sounds uncomfortable and my back may be extremely stiff the next day.
Nice to haves:
Warm EVERYTHING.
1) Tent / Hammock
2) Sleeping bag / sleeping mat
3) I want warm food and beverages.
4) Rope. You can always use it for nifty projects around camp like hanging your water filtration so gravity can work while you are doing something else.
Based on my minimum pack weight from my earlier post, I have about 3 lbs. to get my extra clothes/socks/ knife I know I can do that.
Some items I need to consider is finances. How much money do I want to spend on this hobby/adventure? I will need to look at financial analysis to determine what options meet my budget.
Sunrise over Sawyer Lake
The area I think I have the most options for impacting the weight is in housing. I did some research and learned A LOT about hammock camping and how to pull it off successfully when the weather can change a ton!
Here is my side-by-side comparison on weight.
By choosing option 2, I will need to spend $73 however my pack weight minus the food, water and clothing is down to just under 13.5 lbs.
Good news as I was doing some research last night, I discovered there was a portable pour over coffee maker that weighs ½ once that will allow me to have good coffee for camping. They cost anywhere from $5 to $20. That find made my day. There is also a single serve pour over filters which are inexpensive and lightweight. There appears to be hope for me yet.
How do you consider what your solution options are to accomplish MVP and achieve your goal?