The Role Of MVP In Product Development

Anastasiia Kanarska
By Anastasiia Kanarska,
3rd January |
22
The role of MVP in product development

The Concept of MVP

As industries keep evolving and market competitiveness is rising increasingly, businesses – startups as well as huge corporations with years of trusted experience – have to adapt to the dynamic changes in order to stay on track. And for those who only enter the turbulent business landscape, it is now much more challenging to gain a competitive advantage than ever before. It takes a lot of innovating, bringing new visions to life, experimenting, brainstorming, and eventually, a lot of hard work. 

Businesses begin with simple ideas. But not all ideas are doomed to success. 

According to CB Insights, about 90% of startups fail; the number one reason is unmet market demands (42% of cases). 

How do you know you will deliver value? How do you know people really need what you’re developing? How do you know you are not wasting your resources? It’s hard to guess. In fact, you shouldn’t. 

What you should do is start with an MVP. MVP development is a powerful tool for startups to avoid these dangers. 

MVP stands for Minimum Viable Product. This version of the product under development includes only core features. It is released to get to market as quickly as possible while minimizing risks and collecting user feedback which is essential for further iterations. In a broad sense, MVP is an effective way to test a hypothesis through testing. 

The main goal of an MVP is to provide immediate value and validate the core concept of the product. 

MVP is not a one-time effort but rather the starting point of an iterative development process. It benefits future processes largely as it allows for refining and expanding the product’s features until it evolves into an advanced digital solution that meets the objectives. 

Key Characteristics of an MVP

You must know well what the market needs to create a good product. This is what the MVP stage is all about – about testing and finding out what will work out best. 

However, it also takes to develop a good MVP to gain meaningful insights and a clear understanding of what should be done next. 

Here are the 5 key characteristics of a Minimum Viable Product:

  • It clearly translates the essence of the future product. This means creating an MVP with just the basic core feature set just enough to effectively deploy the product and gather feedback. There might often be features that are not used at all, and, therefore, are not in demand by users. An MVP is the easiest method to identify those.
  • It should be small in scale, fast to release, and low-cost. The main idea of an MVP is to provide value quickly with minimum resources spent. 
  • It must bring real value. Sounds obvious yet it is tricky. This means giving the target users insight into the final product and the benefits they will get. This requires analyzing the target audience deeply to understand their preferences and pain points. 
  • Possibilities for iterations. An MVP is not a final product but a starting point for iterative development. There must be enough space for changes based on user input. 
  • Testability and market validation. An MVP is meant to help validate a product idea, identify its strengths and weaknesses, and gather insights into what resonates with the target market. 

Importance of MVP in Product Development

Do you know what the most successful apps have in common? They all evolved from MVPs. Dropbox, Instagram, Twitter, Spotify, Uber, Pinterest, Airbnb, and many others started their way to users as minimum viable products. And they became the leading products we all recognize today. 

It’s all about the build-measure-learn approach. You start with an MVP and gradually build functionality while eliminating risks. Launching a product with the basic functionality helps you understand whether it can drive profits in the long term.

However, there are many more benefits to mention. They are as follows:

  • Saving precious resources. When it comes to software development, time and money are considered critically important assets. An MVP enables product concept testing with minimal investments. 
  • Attracting investors. An MVP provides a physical product that stakeholders can see and use. This is a great chance to build trust and involve investors. Investing in an already released version of a product is more reasonable than sponsoring a simple idea.
  • Developing a user-centric product. The features that an MVP has cater to the needs of early adopters. Their feedback then shapes further development. 
  • Clear product vision. An MVP provides insight into what the future product will be and defines its strengths and weaknesses.
  • Connection with customers. Building trust and strong relationships with target users in advance makes sense. If early adopters enjoy using an MVP, they will remain loyal to the product. 
  • Picking a perfect monetization strategy. You can test multiple options during the MVP phase to see what users are willing to pay for. 
  • Flexibility and constant updates. MVP creates space for numerous updates and new features that customers ask for, keeping the product relevant in a competitive market. 
  • Risk mitigation. With an MVP you reduce the likelihood of investing significant time and resources into a product that may not meet the desired goals. 

Steps to Create an Effective MVP

Launching an MVP requires a strategic and systematic approach to verify the economic viability. In fact, it doesn’t differ much from a regular software development cycle. The steps are quite similar yet the timeline and goals vary.  

In this section, we’ll guide you through the entire process of creating an effective MVP step by step. Now, take a deep dive into the critical processes.

  1. Research the market. Your goal here is to obtain a full understanding of user needs and pain points. Identify the problems your product aims to solve and ensure there is a genuine demand for the solution. It’s essential to know your idea will survive in the highly competitive landscape. Absorb as much information as possible. Watch out for your competitors and analyze the existing products in the market. Define your target audience. 
  2. Prioritize features. Identify core features for the initial release based on market research. Place a strong focus on the core functionalities that define your product’s value proposition. These features should align with your MVP’s minimalistic approach. Leave the non-essential features to later iterations. This allows for streamlining development and ensures a faster time-to-market for your MVP.
  3. Build a prototype. Make it user-friendly and engaging to attract early users. This prototype should be a tangible representation of your MVP’s functionality. It serves as a visual and interactive model for stakeholders to understand the product’s potential. A prototype is meant to put the design and functionalities into perspective, validate UI & UX, and therefore bring early feedback for the necessary improvements.
  4. Develop and test. Consider agile development based on MVP principles and conduct thorough testing to ensure the quality, reliability, and security of the product. At this stage, you can address issues promptly to maintain the integrity of the MVP.
  5. Feedback collection and analysis. Launch the MVP to a limited audience or a specific market segment and start gathering feedback as soon as possible in a controlled environment. Monitor users’ responses to define the vital features that must be added to your MVP. The data obtained at this level will be a foundation for future improvements.
  6. Iterative improvement. Make your product better taking into account users’ reactions. This is the only way to develop a product that people really need. It takes a profound analysis to spot the areas for improvement. Prioritize enhancements based on user needs and market dynamics. Release updates and new features iteratively. Develop, test, and refine continuously. Let your MVP evolve gradually to meet changing requirements and user expectations.

Challenges and Considerations in MVP Development

We wish the whole process – from conceptualization to the final deployment – was smooth and completely stressless. But in reality, it’s not. There are several challenges, pitfalls, and considerations that you need to know. Ignoring them will lead you to operational inefficiencies, poor customer experiences, and, eventually, failure. 

Now, you must be wondering how you can get to the safe side and prevent a catastrophe. First of all, explore thoroughly all the possible issues related to the MVP development process. Get ready to face them. Create an effective plan for solving them. Be sure you will be able to act properly once a problem comes up. 

Good news – we’ve done some work for you and shed light on some of the most significant bottlenecks in MVP development. 

  • Balancing minimalism and functionality. MVP is meant to be minimal while still offering genuine value to users. Overcomplicating will cause extended timelines and costs. It contradicts the main purpose of an MVP. On the other hand, a too simplistic product will fail to address key user needs. You should manage to strike the perfect balance between simplicity and sufficient functionality.
  • Lack of strategic planning. Starting the development process without a clear direction will just lead to unfocused efforts and a poor MVP that has no value proposition.
  • Weak usability. This means frustrated users and no engagement whatsoever. Even the most functional MVP will go down unless it is user-friendly. Pay enough attention to the UI/UX. Even though a product has few core features, it still has to be easy to navigate. 
  • Unclear success metrics. Define factors that will adequately measure the success of your product; they must align with the MVP’s core objectives. With vague metrics, you cannot assess the effectiveness properly and see whether the solution brings real value. 
  • Ignoring user feedback. Remember that your product is developed for people so their reaction is essential. Otherwise, how do you know whether it is relevant and useful? Neglecting user input results in missed opportunities for enhancement and eventually a product that caters to none. 
  • Providing continuous communication. Educating users about the iterative nature of MVP development is essential. Make sure they’re aware that the MVP will evolve based on their feedback and that additional features are planned for future releases. Bring transparency and build trust and understanding.

Conclusion

Summing up, we can say that initiating the development process with an MVP is not just a choice but a strategic imperative.

MVP is a risk mitigation strategy, allowing businesses to test the waters with minimal investment. With accelerated time to market, companies can seize opportunities swiftly and stay ahead in competitive landscapes.

Moreover, the MVP makes it possible to gain valuable user feedback and validation that is critical for further development and improvements.

All in all, starting with an MVP means following the principles of agility, responsiveness, and customer-centricity.