A Wizard of Oz MVP appears to the user as a finished, automated product but is manually operated behind the scenes. The goal: testing demand and user experience before investing in expensive technology. The user does not know that a person is doing the work behind the interface — and that is precisely what makes the test realistic.
The most famous example is Zappos: founder Nick Swinmurn photographed shoes in local stores, posted the photos online, and only purchased the shoes from the store when an order came in. The user experienced a functioning online shop. Behind the scenes, everything was manual. This allowed Swinmurn to test whether people are willing to buy shoes online — without warehousing, logistics, or a platform. Today, one might use this approach to test an AI-based recommendation feature by having the recommendations initially created by humans whom the user believes to be an algorithm.
The name derives from the Wizard of Oz — the man behind the curtain who simulates a machine. The format is especially suited when the technical effort for automation is high and the core question is whether the service itself is wanted.
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