Many businesses fail to find product-market fit and end up wasting time, money and resources on an ineffective product. This is where Minimum Viable Product can save your business.
The MVP approach reduces development costs by iterating through a Build-Measure-Learn loop with the least amount of investment and risk. This article will cover what an MVP is, how to develop one and some examples of well-known brands that started out as barebone MVPs.
Definition
In software development, an MVP is a prototype or early version of a product that is released to customers for feedback. It has only the core functions needed to satisfy initial users and does not include all of the features that will eventually be included in the final product.
A minimum viable product is an essential tool for startups and small businesses that want to test the market. It reduces the risk of spending resources on a product that does not appeal to consumers and allows companies to learn valuable customer feedback before investing in a full-featured software product.
Several well-known companies, such as Airbnb and Buffer, began with an MVP before launching their fully-scaled products. Taking the time to release an MVP can help companies validate their assumptions about their target audience and market needs, reducing the risk of costly mistakes. An MVP is typically more cost-effective than a fully-featured software application, and it can be delivered to potential users much sooner.
Goals
The main goal of an MVP is to validate a product idea with users early on in the development process. This is done by releasing a minimally-featured version of the app in the market, which will then be used to collect feedback. The data gathered from this process will then be used to develop the full product.
This approach minimizes the risk of wasting time and money on a product that does not appeal to customers. It is a key component of the Lean Startup method developed by Eric Ries.
A well-known example of an MVP is Dropbox, which started out as a simple video demo to show consumers how their data would be stored online. This strategy enabled the company to receive important feedback from their audience before committing large amounts of time and resources to developing a fully-fledged software application. Moreover, they were able to build a successful business around their product. This is a clear example of how an MVP can help startups and other companies test ideas and increase revenue.
Requirements
For business owners, a Minimum Viable Product allows them to test and validate a hypothesis with minimal effort. This approach to product development is often referred to as the build-measure-learn loop and is central to agile methodologies. A MVP is an early version of a product with core features that can be deployed to a small group of users who are willing to give feedback and demonstrate product-market fit.
Creating a prototype of an app can help determine whether your concept has potential before investing significant time and money. It can also reduce the risk of a failed launch and save valuable resources. Companies like Amazon and Dropbox began by placing a minimum viable product on the market before building out a more complete offering. This is a common strategy for startup businesses and can even be utilized by established organizations that want to experiment with a new product.
Testing
Using the MVP approach, entrepreneurs can accelerate their learning from customer analysis without having to invest as much time and resources. This allows them to put a product on the market earlier, so they can collect feedback and gather valuable insights about their target audience.
One of the most important things that a company can do is to test its assumptions in real-world markets before investing a lot of money into building a full-fledged product. For example, many well-known businesses started out by releasing an MVP before gradually moving toward a robust and proven development strategy.
To find the right features to include in an MVP, use customer development tools like interviews and surveys to determine the jobs-to-be-done of your target audience. This can help you identify the most risky assumption you have about your business. Then, create a minimum viable test to de-risk your biggest assumption. This process may take several iterations. For example, Buffer launched as a landing page and then added features to meet the needs of its users.
