MVP in software development process is the first and very important step. Tech companies build a Minimum viable product (MVP) to test it against market standards and needs. Many of the biggest tech companies have used MVP as their stepping stone.
As a startup founder, you must be wanting to know what exactly your customer wants and likes. MVP can be the best way to achieve that. With MVP you can test your product by building it with minimum necessary features and at low cost. By using this method you can learn, validate and optimize the product in the process.
In this guide, we have covered everything about MVP development, right from why you should invest in it and how to make it a success. But before going into details, let us be clear about what is an MVP.
What is an MVP (Minimum Viable Product) in software development?
An MVP is a product that offers enough features for the early-adopters. It helps the product owners to validate their product idea early. They can get user feedback to iterate and work upon the product for a wider user base.
The lean startup methodology serves as the inspiration behind MVP software development. This approach reduces the need for a complete product building which may incur high costs and consume a lot of development team’s time.
MVPs play a crucial role in the agile methodology. It is because the latter depends on validation and iteration to develop products.
Why build MVP?
Building an MVP is essential for several reasons:
1. Validate idea:
An MVP helps you validate your business idea by testing it with real users. This ensures that you are building a product that meets the needs of your target audience and addresses a genuine problem. Without an MVP, you risk investing time and resources into a product that may not resonate with users or have a market demand.
2. Minimize risks:
Developing an MVP allows you to test your product with minimal costs and resources. Focusing on the core features allows you to assess your product’s viability quickly before committing to full-scale development. It minimizes the risk of spending too much time and money on a product that may not be successful in the market.
3. Gather feedback:
An MVP enables you to gather feedback from early adopters, which can be invaluable in refining your product and meeting user expectations. If you don’t build one and launch your product, you may end up without any takers.
4. Secure funding:
Investors are more likely to fund startups with a proven concept backed by real user feedback. An MVP demonstrates that your product has market potential and shows investors you are serious about your venture. If you don’t build one, your investors may view your idea as risky or unproven.
The MVP Software Development Process
The MVP development process can be broken down into several key steps, which help validate your business idea, test the market, and gather essential feedback for future development. Here is a detailed breakdown of the process.
1. Market research:
Before starting the development process, conduct some research on your target market to:
- Identify your competitors
- Understand customer pain points
- Create a unique value proposition based on insights
- Identify what you want to solve with your product
Market research will also help you understand market trends, customer preferences, and potential market gaps. These are must to position MVP effectively.
2. Define your hypothesis:
Based on the research, develop a hypothesis with the outline of the problem your MVP will solve and the expected outcome. It can also spot the most critical and risky assumptions. A clear hypothesis can boost the MVP development process and help you set key performance indicators (KPIs) to measure its success.
To make the hypothesis work, you must ask the following questions:
- Is there a demand for the product?
- Are the users willing to adopt it?
- Are they ready to pay for it?
- Can the hypothesis provide a better alternative than the existing one?
This hypothesis should be testable and measurable. Only then it can accurately evaluate your MVP’s effectiveness.
3. Identify core features:
List the features you want in your product, then prioritize them based on what your audience want and the problem you are trying to solve. Identify the core features that directly tackle the problem and are essential for an MVP.
These features should provide immediate value to your users and help you get feedback on your value proposition. You can use frameworks like Value vs. Complexity Quadrant, Kano Model, Weighted Scoring Prioritization, RICE framework, ICE Scoring Model, MoSCoW method, Opportunity Scoring, and others.
Your framework should answer four primary questions:
- Are you working on the highest business value item?
- Is your product delivering value to customers?
- Does your work align with broader business objectives?
- Is the product to the viable for the market?
An MVP is a lean version of the actual product. Avoid unnecessary features to reduce development time and costs.
4. Design and develop:
Create a wireframe or a prototype to visualize your MVP. This is crucial to refine the user interface (UI) and user experience (UX). UX and UI are important to make the product easy to navigate and engage users. Experienced UX/UI designers can groom the user story easily to make visually appealing MVP that are easy to use and loaded with core features.
A well-designed MVP can also help you convince stakeholders and investors. It can simplify the process of raising fund for the future.
Once you finalize the design, start developing the product. Your developers must follow best practices, such as using version control, writing clean and modular code, and an agile development methodology.
5. Test and gather feedback:
Once the MVP is ready, test it with your target audience to:
- Collect feedback
- Derive actionable insights
- Analyse results
- Iterate
- Refine the product
You can do testing via different channels like beta testing, focus groups, and user interviews. Collect both quantitative and qualitative feedback for a comprehensive understanding of your MVP’s strengths and weaknesses.
6. Iterate and improve:
Based on the feedback, refine your MVP, and repeat the testing process until your product meets your target audience’s needs. Be prepared to make changes to your MVP, such as adding new features, removing unnecessary ones, or adjusting the UI/UX.
This iterative approach takes your product closer to the user expectations and provides maximum value.
The MVP development process is a continuous cycle of research, development, testing, and iteration. These steps can help you create a solid foundation for your product, minimize risks, and increase the chances of success in the market. Always prioritize user feedback, as it helps refine your MVP and meet your target audience’s needs.
Product Team Structure for MVP Software Development
Developing scalable MVP requires proper grooming of the user story and effective prioritization of features. User story gives insights regarding what problems the product will solve. Prioritizing features is crucial to get the product-market-fit in time.
To get these points right, the MVP team must:
- Test the product hypothesis with minimum resources
- Come up with a basic solution to solve the problem
- Design and develop a viable product
- Gather and analyse feedback for iteration and improve
The productivity of these steps depend on the product team structure. The team must include- An efficient product development team for MVP should have the following roles:
1. Product manager:
Product managers are responsible for defining the product vision, setting priorities, and managing the development process. They act as the bridge between the business and technical sides of the project, ensuring that the product aligns with both user needs and company goals.
2. UX/UI designer:
UX/UI designers ensure the product is visually appealing and user-friendly. They design wireframes, mockups, and prototypes to visualize the product and work closely with the development team to implement the designs.
3. Full-stack developer:
Full-stack developers handle both front-end and back-end development, ensuring the smooth functioning of the product. They work with the product manager and UX/UI designer to build and maintain the product according to the specified requirements.
4. Quality assurance (QA) specialist:
QA specialists monitor and test the product to make it bug-free and meet quality standards. They work closely with the development team to identify and resolve any issues that may arise during the development process.
5. Marketing specialist:
Marketing specialists promote the MVP and gather user feedback. They develop and execute marketing strategies to reach the target audience, generate interest, and collect valuable feedback to iterate on the product.
Most used architecture and tech stacks for MVP development
Specific product requirements, budget, and timeline drive the architecture and tech stack choices for an MVP. Here are some suggestions for popular and reliable technologies to help you build a robust MVP:
Front-end:
The front-end in software development includes the software and hardware necessary to build the user interface. This is the part which the user sees or interacts with.
1. React:
A popular JavaScript library developed by Facebook, React is known for its flexibility, performance, and large developer community. It is suitable for creating interactive user interfaces for various back-end frameworks.
2. Angular:
Developed by Google, Angular is a powerful front-end framework that enables developers to build dynamic web applications. Its extensive set of features and two-way data binding make it ideal for creating complex applications.
3. Vue.js:
A lightweight and easy-to-learn JavaScript framework, Vue.js is suitable for small to medium-sized projects. Startups prefer it for its simplicity, flexibility, and performance.
Back-end:
The back-end in software development involves site structure, system, data, and logic. It is normally a computer application or a program’s code that users cannot access.
1. Node.js:
A popular choice for building scalable and high-performance applications, Node.js is a JavaScript runtime that allows developers to use the same language for both front-end and back-end development.
2. Ruby on Rails:
A full-stack web application framework built on the Ruby programming language, Ruby on Rails is known for its simplicity, convention-over-configuration approach, and fast development cycles. Startups looking to build and iterate on their MVPs quickly prefer this.
3. Django:
Built on Python, Django is a high-level web framework that encourages rapid development and clean, pragmatic design. Its built-in features and extensive library support are ideal for developing feature-rich applications.
Database:
A database, in a computer system, is an organized collection of electronically stored structured information or data. Accessing the same requires a database management system or DBMS.
1. PostgreSQL:
A powerful, open-source, object-relational database system, PostgreSQL is known for its reliability, extensibility, and performance. It is suitable for handling large volumes of data and complex queries.
2. MySQL:
A popular open-source relational database management system, MySQL is known for its ease of use, performance, and scalability. It is suitable for small to medium-sized applications and compatible with various programming languages.
3. MongoDB:
A NoSQL database, MongoDB is known for its flexibility, horizontal scalability, and high performance. It is perfect for applications that require handling large amounts of unstructured data.
Tips and Thumb Rules for Perfect MVP Development
Developing a perfect MVP doesn’t require the knowledge of rocket science. The following tips can help you turn your MVP into a great success. To develop a successful MVP, startup founders should follow these tips and thumb rules:
1. Clearly define your target audience:
A well-defined target audience is crucial for tailoring your MVP to users’ specific needs and preferences. Conduct market research to identify your ideal customers, their demographics, and their pain points to build a product that users will love.
2. Keep it simple:
MVPs help you validate your core value proposition with minimal features. Focus on the essential features that directly address the problem and provide value to users instead of distracting users and creating additional complexity with unnecessary features. A simple, streamlined MVP enables you to gather feedback more effectively and iterate quickly.
3. Prioritize user experience:
A great user experience (UX) is vital for user adoption and retention. Collaborate with your UX/UI designers to build an MVP that is visually appealing, user-friendly, engaging, meets users’ expectations, and delivers a seamless experience. Pay attention to details like navigation, layout, and content to make your MVP more adoption-ready.
4. Collect and analyze feedback:
User feedback is the cornerstone of MVP development. Implement various feedback channels like surveys, interviews, and analytics to gather insights from your early adopters. Analyze them to identify patterns, trends, and areas for improvement, make data-driven decisions, and iterate on your product to meet users’ needs.
5. Be prepared to pivot:
Not every MVP will be an instant success, and that’s perfectly fine. If your MVP doesn’t achieve the desired results or the market conditions change, be prepared to change your approach or the entire business model. Use the feedback to identify new opportunities and pivot.
6. Set realistic expectations and timelines:
Building an MVP requires time, effort, and resources. Avoid rushing the development. Instead, set realistic expectations and timelines for your team to focus on quality and ensure that your MVP reflects your vision.
7. Involve stakeholders early:
Engage key stakeholders, such as investors, advisors, and potential customers, during the MVP development process. Their feedback and insights can help you refine the product and increase its chances of success. By involving them early, you can build trust and foster strong relationships that may prove valuable in the long run.
8. Stay flexible and adaptable:
The MVP development process involves constant iteration and learning. Be open to change and adapt your product based on the feedback received. Embrace a growth mindset and view setbacks as opportunities to learn and improve.
By following these tips and thumb rules, you can create an MVP that effectively validates your business idea, provides valuable user insights, and sets the foundation for a successful product.
Real-Life Examples of MVP Development
If you study MVP examples, you will get valuable insights about what worked for them and what didn’t. They will help you ensure better outcomes from your own MVP.
Successful Cases
1. Dropbox:
The file-sharing platform’s MVP was a simple video demonstrating the product’s core functionality. This approach helped Dropbox gauge user interest and attract early adopters without investing in full-scale development. The video showcased the seamless file synchronization and sharing capabilities, generating a waiting list of over 75,000 users overnight.
What worked:
Dropbox used early validation to refine the product, raise funding, and scale up. In the following 7 months, they acquired over a million users.
2. Airbnb:
The founders of Airbnb initially launched a basic website to rent out air mattresses in their own apartments to conference attendees. The MVP was simple, featuring only a few listings and no advanced features like online payments or messaging.
What worked:
The initial success and user feedback allowed the founders to iterate the platform and add more features, eventually growing Airbnb into the global marketplace it is today.
3. Zappos:
Before becoming a billion-dollar online shoe retailer, Zappos’ founder Nick Swinmurn started with an MVP, essentially a simple website with photos of shoes from local stores. He didn’t hold any inventory; instead, he would buy shoes from the store after an order on the website.
What worked:
Nick Swinmurn’s approach helped him to validate the demand for online shoe shopping without investing in inventory or infrastructure. Once validated, the company expanded its offerings as the business grew and developed a full-fledged eCommerce platform.
Read also: Case Study- MVP to enterprise ready
Unsuccessful Cases
1. Quibi
Quibi was a short-form streaming platform launched in 2020, targeting mobile users. It raised over $1.75 billion in funding and had an all-star lineup of content creators. But the company didn’t develop a proper MVP before the full-scale launch and got shutdown within six months of launch.
What didn’t work:
Quibi invested heavily in content production and marketing without understanding their target audience’s preferences. The lack of user feedback and market validation led to the collapse.
2. Google Glass:
Google’s ambitious augmented reality glasses project aimed to provide users with a hands-free, immersive experience. Despite the initial hype, Google Glass faced criticism over privacy concerns, battery life, and a high price tag. Google released the product to a limited group of early adopters called “Glass Explorers”.
What didn’t work:
Google’s feedback loop was not as effective as it should have been. This led to bad product-market fit and forced the company to discontinue the project.
3. Juicero:
Juicero, a smart juicer startup, raised over $120 million in funding. The company’s MVP was an expensive, WiFi-enabled juicer that could only press proprietary juice packs. It failed to find customers due to its high price, unnecessary complexity, and the fact that the juice packs could be squeezed by hand.
What didn’t work:
The company didn’t groom the user story properly due to which they built an over-engineered and expensive product.
Read also: Innovation in Startups: 5 Experience Based Examples
Conclusion
In conclusion, a well-executed MVP development process is critical for startup founders to validate their business ideas and create successful products. By following the steps outlined in this guide, assembling the right team, and learning from both successful and unsuccessful examples, you can significantly increase your chances of developing and launching a successful MVP product.
