TLDR. An MVP (Minimum Viable Product) should be a simple version of a concept that is meant to validate a solution for a particular scenario. Although it’s quite easy to think that our own solution is different and that it will make waves in any industry, these are almost always delusions of grandeur. And these fallacies may cost the entrepreneur quite a lot. An MVP should be simple at first, and only after it breaks concept, should it strive to extend its feature beyond the basics.
In our experience, we cannot think of a single downside of not starting with an MVP when developing a software product or any product at all. Keep on reading to understand the full story of an MVP.
Context
In a nutshell, an MVP is a minimum viable product for a certain market. Its purpose is to demonstrate the need for the solution it proposes. And this approach is applicable for all sorts of products, regardless of industry. Remember the ‘Coke Vanilla’ experiment, when people were asked to taste and give feedback about the new flavor? Well, that was an MVP, testing out the opportunity on a market 🙂
Now, when it comes to software products, the goal of an MVP is pretty much the same. Whether a product is constructed for automating a certain business process or for being launched again a market of opportunity, its main focus is to validate its own existence. That’s it!
But people find it hard to limit their vision to just an experiment at first. As a business owner, freelancer or just someone with an idea for an app, it is tempting to want to see your idea brought to life in the most grandiose way possible. Stacking features upon features and flows upon flows, for as many users as possible, in order create an absolutely ‘perfect’ experience for the end users. But what happens if the user’s simply don’t like the product?
This is when good software development companies should act as real consultants and help you restructure your vision in order to get traction first. Because in every possible industry, traction trumps technicality. By a mile!
A minimum viable product or an MVP is a starting version of a software product having only the core features or functionalities. An MVP is the balance between bare minimum and enough information to be used an tested. This last point is priceless because that means that your MVP can work as a valuable marketing tool, providing first hand feedback from first users. Attention from your target group means traction, essential for the longevity of the software solution you propose.
What it is
As you may notice by now, some important keywords have appeared when talking about an MVP:
- core functionalities, or the most crucial usage scenarios that the software product conveys to it’s users
- users / target group, or the potential customer’s profile for which the product solves some problems
- feedback, or the user’s actual experience with using the product, in the user’s words
- traction, or how much attention your product gets from potential users
To sum up, an MVP is the earliest possible version of a software product. It has just enough features to get the first group of users onboard.
What it does
An MVP is meant to collect usage feedback in order to validate its relevance. That is the single, most important aspect of an MVP. And it serves any company that wants to test an internal process automation or to validate that there is a marketplace for their software solution.
How to build it right
We do have a formula when it comes to building an MVP. That is:
1. Ideate – define the idea, what problem/problems does the product solves. Do your homework, understand what already exists on the market, what is new in your approach and who are you addressing to.
2. Inquire – test your hypothesis through communication with potential customers. Use social media for reaching your target market quickly and effectively. Use relevant hashtags and share updates on your progress to keep your followers engaged and excited about your product. Also, you can create a landing page to generate interest in your MVP and collect email addresses from potential customers. Include a clear call-to-action and highlight the key benefits of your product. This will help you build a list of interested prospects that you can follow up with when your MVP is ready to be launched.
3. Elaborate – create a list of all features that should be in the product for its viability. Then prioritize them in descending order, marking the most important ones at the beginning.
4. Build – build the minimal version to test it in practice. Run the first test version for a narrow group of consumers. Collect and analyze the feedback. Refine the MVP and put it on the market again. The length and number of testing cycles depend on the product and how quickly a complete solution can be created.
5. Validate – test the effectiveness of the product, add features that are in demand, and gradually go to a more complete version of the product.
How to use it right
When it comes to using an MVP the right way, that means that it should be built so that it can collect data regarding the level of interest in the product and the use of it.
As mentioned previously, MVPs run experiments. They are meant to test hypothesis regarding the success of a product. So be opened to adjust your expectations, identify and understand where the problems are (whether it’s the design of the product, whether the identified need is not a burning one, whether the target group has not been properly identified etc.).
So, expect the unexpected. When you embark on the journey of developing a software product, you must be opened to constantly improve the product and…yourself. There will be challenges, uncomfortable feedback, decisions to be made that will end up shaping you as a better professional and person. You will find out how empathy matters in business more than you would expect.
For example, at abac, we have manufactured project ATOM for Bosch, which currently automates the workflows of over 100 production lines in multiple manufacturing plants. But before it got here, it was tested out as an MVP on a single ‘Pilot’ production line for almost 2 years. It gathered usage feedback which it transformed into actual helpful features.
And that, is the key to success!
What should an MVP strive to achieve
An MVP should strive to be exactly that:
- a minimum viable product so that it can prove its utility;
- an MVP should be built in such a way that allows collecting feedback from users;
- an MVP should be at a minimum level of completion so that it can satisfy a need;
Pros
- An MVP allows different businesses to test different pieces of its product incrementally before building a final design. It is a strategy that speeds up the process of testing a product or a product feature in a particular market.
- The first significant benefit of building an MVP is that it brings focus and clarity to the project. Specifying which feature or features are at the core of your product brings clarity for the rest of the development process.
- Next, creating an MVP gives you something you can get into the hands of real users: you can start engaging with your target audience.
- Once you get users for your MVP, their feedback will guide the next stages of development. So you gain a better understanding of user needs. Plus, if your MVP is functional enough, your early adopters will help you spread the word about the product.
- Because you’re starting with the bare minimum and staying flexible, there’s always room for future evolution.
- MVPs allow companies to minimize developing costs and maximize learning funds.
Cons
Like mentioned earlier, we cannot pinpoint one. Only a recommendation: when developing an MVP, it’s important to make sure the architecture is flexible and adaptable enough to scale as needed in the future.
Conclusions
At this point, all we can add is that an MVP stops you from investing all of your resources in a (possible) dead-end! Starting with an MVP, you get early, critical information from customers before spending years and millions developing something no one will buy.
Also, make sure you have a well defined exit strategy. Hopefully your MVP has been strategically developed against a set of core business objectives. However, if for some reason you take it to market and it fails, you need to know when to pivot, when to refine and when to exit.
But overall, the experience of starting with an MVP should be a good one in terms of experience and maturity in testing your products. So exercise patience, be opened to feedback from all places and reap the benefits of developing a product in real-time.
Sources:
https://bubble.io/blog/minimum-viable-product-advantages/
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/advantages-disadvantages-minimum-viable-product-decision-making-/
https://www.codefirst.co.uk/blog/minimal-viable-product-approach/
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/dont-confuse-minimum-viable-product-mvp-go-to-market-short-ralph/
