Minimum Viable Product: The 5 Things You Need to Know

A minimum viable product is a version of a product that has enough functionality to attract early adopters. The main purpose of building an MVP is to test whether there is enough interest in a product to warrant further development. In the case of a manufacturing enterprise, the question is whether to go into mass production. In the case of app development, the MVP determines whether to invest in further improvement of the product through more app features.

Here are a few things you need to know about an MVP.

1. An MVP Reduces Time to Market

Building a working version of the product and being able to release it into the market quickly is often a priority for the product team. This happens when there is a need to fulfill an urgent need or be the first to get to the market before the competition. Building an MVP does not take as much time as it would if the app was bloated with features.

2. An MVP Helps Navigate Budget Constraints

When the product team is faced with limited resources, they can always list and prioritize the most important features for a product. By concentrating on functionality, they are able to optimize the available resources. More auxiliary features can be added in newer versions of the app when it’s already generating revenue.

3. An MVP will Help Learn the Market

When faced with uncertainty about what the market likes, the development team can build a working version of the product and test it on a small segment of the market. Feedback more the real marketplace is more valuable than insights drawn from boardroom opinions. By learning what resonates with the market, the product team builds a customer-centric product.

4. It Adds Flexibility to Product Development

By building a minimum viable product, the product development team leaves itself in a position to make changes should the need arise. In fact, while building the MVP, the team expects to make changes down the road based on feedback received. The architecture makes changes easy to make. This is an agile approach to product development, where changes can be made quickly, and new versions of the product are released in quick iterations.

5. It Requires an In-Depth Market Study

Before you start building an MVP, there needs to be a detailed definition of the problem at hand. Do you have a specific problem you are trying to solve? Are there any existing solutions in the market? What’s wrong with the existing apps in the market? What differentiates your solution from the rest? Such a question will determine whether your application can gain market share. You need to be sure whether you are joining an existing market category or building an entirely new niche. The MVP will then tell you whether your hypothesis was correct.

A Minimum Viable Product Requires Ample Testing

An MVP requires in-depth testing, sometimes from a third-party company that specializes in app testing. They will carry out both automated performance testing and in real-world scenarios. They are best placed to give objective feedback on what needs to be improved on a minimum viable product.

If your company is looking to build a business application, NS804 can help come up in the development process. We will analyze your needs, prioritize them, and build a minimum viable product within the shortest time possible.

For more information, schedule a free consultation with our team.