In today’s fast-paced and ever-changing business environment, MVP is a popular method for product development that helps companies avoid wasting resources on a product that has no place in the market. By creating an MVP, companies can test the feasibility of a product idea and refine it based on customer feedback. Refer to the steps below to be able to build an MVP.
What is an MVP?
Minimum Viable Product (MVP) is a development technique that allows startups and businesses to quickly bring a product to market with just enough features to satisfy early adopters. The idea behind MVP is to validate product ideas with minimal effort and resources. This helps businesses save time, money, and resources by reducing the risk of developing a product that may fail.
Why do you need to build an MVP?
The goal of the minimum viable product (MVP) is to validate the product idea with the minimum amount of effort and resources. The MVP approach allows startups and businesses to quickly bring products to market with just enough features to satisfy early adopters. The idea is to test the product with real customers, gather valuable feedback, and make the necessary changes before launching the final product. The main benefits of an MVP are:
- Reduce risk: MVP helps reduce the risk that product development might fail by allowing businesses to validate their product ideas with real customers.
- Faster time to market: By launching an MVP, businesses can get their product to market faster than if they had developed a finished product in the first place.
- Collect valuable feedback: MVPs provide an opportunity to gather valuable feedback from early adopters, which can then be used to improve the product before rolling it out to a wider audience.
- Stay Acumen: The iterative process of refining and improving MVPs based on customer feedback keeps businesses agile and responsive to market trends and changing customer needs.
Steps to build an MVP
You need to take the following steps if you want to build an MVP:
Step 1: Identify the problem
Accurate problem identification will guide the entire development process of your startup. This activity also helps you stay focused, avoiding distractions or being attracted by features that sound cool but do not bring value to users. Thinking in the direction of problem development will lead to more solutions. By answering questions like, “Why do I need this product? And how will it help me?” will help you understand the main goal of the product and find the best solution for the real needs of your customers in the future.
Step 2: Identify target customers
A fairly common mistake ambitious people make is that they believe their product will solve the problems of many people. However, reality has proven that You should only focus on a specific target audience. Fix the image of the user, who will inevitably become your customer and who will buy your product or service because it solves the problem they are facing.
The more research there is about factors (gender, age, social status, income level, needs, habits, and devices they want to use), the better. To do this, it is best to do a survey of a group of users. Not exactly where Uber started. At first, it was just an app to find “premium black cars” in some urban areas. Although the meaning of the word “premium” is expensive, Uber is the opposite. Uber’s service targets an underserved segment of customers, such as those who can’t afford to order a premium black car from a traditional taxi service because it’s too expensive.
Step 3: Research the main competitors
You will be lucky if your idea does not coincide with any other ideas on the market. Conversely, if you have to compete with several competitors, focus on analyzing the top three: study their product development process, consult the products they are selling, and see the price proposal. What are their values, and see if you can offer better products than they do?
In addition, you must also continue to learn about the position of these competitors in the market by gathering as much information about them as possible. Here are some suggestions you can refer to:
- Learn about strategy, market share, revenue, and profit. This way, you will understand why they are successful and what you can do to beat the competition (and, most importantly, how much money you will have to spend).
- Take a close look at their official website, presentations, annual reports, advertising campaigns, etc. This information can give you new ideas for your product development.
- Find out what media channels say about your competitors, such as news sites, videos, reviews, interviews, ratings, etc. This information will help you better understand your chosen industry and find out more about the situation in the market.
Step 4: Identify core features
At this stage, make a list of the “minimum and usable” features you need to build to launch the product. A common mistake that most startups make at this stage is that they are confused about countless features, not knowing which features to keep and which to leave. They also fear that their MVP is too simple, not meeting the needs and gaining the trust of users.
Michael Seibel (CEO and Partner of YC) shares: Set a time limit. If you only have 3 weeks to build an MVP, what should you do? Which of the features on that list can be completed in three weeks? Then immediately remove the remaining features.
In addition, you can also do some of the following tasks:
Business Analysis: Conduct a market survey, narrow down the target audience, and define the target market. Set a product selling price, develop a business plan, and a financial plan, make a pitch deck calling for investment, and identify some KPIs that need to be achieved for the MVP.
Product Roadmap: Visualize what the finished product will look like. What features are included, and how long does it take to implement them? Prioritize the features that need to be developed, placing them in the development stages that correspond to the business milestones to be achieved.
MVP architectural design: It is necessary to pay attention to information security requirements and requirements on the form and design of technical architecture that can be expanded later, avoiding the need to dam and rebuild when the project is in the early stages. business expansion.
Third-party integration: Consider third parties who can provide solutions for some of the features you need instead of building them all yourself.
Selected synthesis of technology used to build and develop the application.
Step 5: Build an MVP
After a business has decided on key features and learned about market needs, it can build an MVP. At this stage, your only goal is to get the application released in the shortest time possible to test your assumptions with the least amount of risk.
- Planning to build an MVP
You need to clearly define a few things: the budget for the MVP, the project scope for the MVP, the project deliverables (a term in project management often used to describe quantifiable goods or services to be delivered upon project completion), the MVP development timelines, the project management methodology (commonly the Scrum model), and possible risks when developing the MVP. - Focus on developing MVPs
MVP development without programming
To save money and be able to launch MVP instance users in a few days, your MVP at this step could be as simple as:
An MVP in the form of a landing page: On your website, you will introduce to your target audience a new idea and describe to them how this software works, either through a video or just text. You will evaluate the feedback from this target group of customers with product registration forms or a survey to determine which features they prefer to develop first.
A manual-first MVP: Advertise a new piece of software that handles automated processes, but you’re actually running it manually behind the scenes and silently developing the product so it’s actually automated later.
MVP development requires programming
UX Design for MVP: Design product flows and how screens will be linked together, ensuring a seamless user experience. The end product of this step is a UX that is compatible with the user persona and user journey. MVPs are easy to understand, easy to use, and drive conversions.
UI design for MVP: Based on the UX framework, interface design includes color scheme, font, font size, tabs, menus, buttons, etc. The finished product of this step is easy to see and user-friendly.
MVP programming includes:
Backend Programming: Writing APIs, configuring the server… Basically, the parts are behind the scenes that users can’t see.
Frontend Programming: Transforming images from UI design into MVPs that users will use and interact with while ensuring protocol with the server side
Testing: The testing team will test the product in parallel with the programming team.
The final product of this step is an MVP and accompanying supporting documents.
Step 6: Verify MVP
At this stage, the MVP has been completed and will be released to production for actual users to access. Then, your questions will be discovered right after the launch of the MVP: “Is the product well received by users? What features do they like? What feature do they not know how to use? How do they use the product? Has anyone paid for the product yet?”
Step 7: Learn and improve MVP
Based on studying user feedback, you will know what to do next. If your product is on the right track, you will continue to upgrade it by adding features, making the UI better, upgrading servers, improving performance, etc. On the contrary, if MVP fails, find out why due to product improvement. It may be to change some features, adjust the selling price, or even pivot (e.g., change the business model from B2C to B2B).
How much does it cost when we build an MVP in 2023?
The cost of creating a minimum viable product in 2023 can range from $20,000 to $150,000 or more. The resources and effort required to develop an MVP depend on its complexity and scope. We can divide the cost of creating an MVP into several main categories:
- User Experience and Design: This includes the cost of creating wireframes, mockups, and other visual elements, as well as user testing and user research.
- Development: This includes the cost of coding, testing, and deploying the MVP, as well as the cost of any required hardware or infrastructure.
- Project Management and Other Expenses: This includes project management costs, including tasks such as requirement gathering, planning, and stakeholder communication. Other costs may include legal, accounting, and marketing costs.
It’s important to note that the cost of creating an MVP can vary depending on the development platform and tools used, such as whether you decide to build the MVP yourself or outsource it. Building an MVP can be more expensive than hiring an external MVP development company. Another advantage of outsourcing to an MVP development company is that the company will take full responsibility for everything from initial product design to final product development.
Mistakes to avoid when we build an MVP
Building an MVP can be a complicated process, and there are a number of common points that businesses need to overcome that can lead to delays and increased costs. Here are some development mistakes to avoid when we build an MVP:
- Focusing too much on features: One of the most common mistakes businesses make when we build an MVP is including too many features. This can lead to an MVP that is too complex and time-consuming to develop and can also make it harder to gather feedback and make the necessary adjustments.
- Failure to consider the target audience: Inadequate target audience research can lead to the creation of a product that does not meet the needs or preferences of the intended users, resulting in poor acceptability and low levels of interaction.
- Don’t involve users in development: It’s important to get users involved in development, as their feedback can help ensure that the MVP meets their needs and addresses issues. their weak points.
- Don’t Focus on a Specific Problem or Need: An MVP should focus on solving a specific problem or need rather than trying to be all things to all people.
- Neglect design and user experience: An MVP should have minimal design and user experience. Neglecting this aspect can lead to a product that is difficult to use and does not meet the needs of your target market.
- No clear roadmap: A clear roadmap and development plan are crucial to ensuring that the MVP is developed on time and within budget. With a clear roadmap, the development process can be organized and timely.
- Don’t consider scalability: The MVP is a minimal version of the final product, but it’s important to think about scalability and how the MVP can be extended in the future. Not considering scalability can lead to a product that is difficult to scale and update in the future.
- Working with an inexperienced development team: Working with an inexperienced development team can lead to costly mistakes and delays in the MVP development process. It is important to ensure that you work with an MVP development company with a team that has the skills and experience needed to effectively build an MVP.
Building an MVP can be challenging, but with the right approach and team, it can be a valuable investment that will help you validate your product idea and get it to market quickly and efficiently.
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