The Minimum Viable Product (MVP) is an approach that aims to avoid building products that customers don’t need or want by maximizing your learning about what is valuable for them. In this article, Sergej Hermoni shares seven reasons why you should include building an MVP in your Agile approach.
Author: Sergej Hermoni, Impltech
What is MVP?
The minimum viable product (MVP) is a concise product that can be created based on a value proposition. This is the earliest version of a product which requires a minimum of possible characteristics, specifications, or functionalities, which gives us a chance to demonstrate the value of the idea the way it covers the needs of a targeted audience. The MVP gives an idea of how the final product will look like.
There are two approaches that can be used when developing a MVP: validating MVP and invalidating MVP. The validating MVP uses a product that has a worse quality than the final product to test the market, while the invalidating MVP is an improved product, which exceeds the final product. The invalidating MVP is almost always the best approach to use.
Seven Reasons To Build MVP For Your Business
- To save time and money Planning is a major factor in the success of any business and it helps to save time and money. No one wants that business fails. The MVP stands as a checkmate as even a failure at this stage does not mean the whole idea will crash. It only gives you a tip, that you need to overthink, change or improve some features before launching the final product. Also, it helps you to add all the required features at once, thereby getting rid of the need to constantly postpone the release dates.
- To create the perfect business plan You may believe it or not, but business plans often fail after the first contact with prospective customers. Having an MVP automatically gives you a privilege because in the process of creating the MVP, you would have gone through all the planning stages in a demo-like manner. This would have given you a heads-up on how to go eventually with the final product. You end up having a perfect business plan crafted from the experience gathered from the MVP sale.
- To have an earlier release The general idea of the minimum viable product is the ability to come up with effective key functionalities of a minimal feature of the whole product idea. This helps to release the product at the scheduled time. You don’t have to postpone release dates because you want to include new features. You can always stay on schedule with the minimal features in place and then release subsequent features later. This will give you the ability to answer the market questions in terms of need more effectively as new features would get influenced by feedback received.
- To dispel doubts around the product idea At the early stages of your product development, it is important that you itemize the core features and functionalities, customer value of the software or goods, packaging requirements, a clear marketing strategy before web app development starts. After you’ve created a list, share it with everyone in the team and ask them to look it through and approve it. This is when brainstorming about possible missing features and subtractions is welcome. This primary vision will help you to stay on track and take better decisions in the long run.
- Clear user interface The aim of MVP is to stop your product from getting clustered by too many unnecessary features. This is why, if you develop an app, involving a good UX designer and copywriters is extremely important. Nowadays, users look for a product that will draw their attention not only by appearance, but quality content and speed as well. That is why every feature must be well-thought in order to make the usage of the app easy for all users. All this can be easily tested with the help of MVP and corrected or retained based on the client’s feedback. This works not only for digital but for physical products too.
- Development with minimal risks.As stated earlier, the MVP development takes away the guesswork of the game. It shows you the risk of the business before you launch the final product, making you avoid possible problems in the future. It is like having a simulation, you are already aware of the difficulties you’ll probably face and when you will face them.
- To establish an early contact with potential customers Now let’s check the most important factor. Every business needs a set of customers, and what is the better way to acquire customers than having them ready to purchase your product even before it is launched? The group of people you market the minimum viable product to, are your first perspective buyers when the final product is launched. Most of them are already waiting for it because they want to see if the changes or additions suggested by them have been implemented and there is a great chance that they would refer your product to other people as they were a part of the development team.
Conclusion
In order to conquer the market, especially being a startup, MVP development is highly welcome as it takes away a lot of possible troubles, challenges, risks and grants you instead the opportunities to make your final product even better.
The development of MVP is not something to be done alone. You need a whole team of professionals that are capable of achieving goals. Therefore, it is better to hire a fully equipped MVP development company that is ready to assist you with your product.
About the author
Sergej Hermoni is managing director of Impltech and is a highly experienced professional in business development. His business studies at the Humboldt University in Berlin provide him with a deep know-how of the customer journey and creating the best customer experiences. He is also a passionate writer and has already written several academic papers on financial market efficiency and portfolio optimization. With the opportunity to work with different cultures and business styles in Berlin, New York and London, he has a solid understanding of what is required to make businesses successful.