There are currently hundreds, if not thousands, of competitive solutions available in the mobile application market. That is why it is so important to create a product that will hit the needs of the market from the very beginning. How to achieve this? Thanks to the use of the MVP approach. Nowadays, MVP development for startups is essential.
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What is MVP?
MVP, or Minimum Viable Product, is a product in a simplified version, which with little effort, allows you to get to know the needs and expectations of potential users of the application while sufficiently showing its value to future customers. As part of the MVP model, an actual product is created that we present to recipients. Thanks to this approach, we can check and observe how users utilize our product at the very beginning, test the initial assumptions, and collect opinions from them.
In short – MVP allows us to verify the idea of the application with a relatively small investment of time, work, and money. It can be built in different ways: just take a look at Node js example sites (some of them were MVPs first).
When can MVP be helpful?
In the classic approach, work on the product runs linearly – idea, design, and execution. The planned implementation work is carried out step by step between the idea and the complete finished product. Finally, the day of the premiere comes – confrontation with the market, with the audience – which brings feedback.
Did the product hit the needs and expectations of the audience? With a well thought out, analyzed specification and tested assumptions – perhaps so. But what if some things turn out to be unobvious to users? Or unnecessary? Re-development, redesign, and changes made to the already implemented application often generate disproportionately high costs. However, an application that does not meet expectations – that is, one that does not achieve product-market fit – has little chance of success or even achieving profitability.
Unlike the standard method, MVP gives greater flexibility and security – the gradual implementation of subsequent elements in the cyclical process of development, analysis, design, and observation saves time and money and reduces the risk of failure.
MVP should be considered when you care about:
- Rapid launch of applications, so you can build a significant competitive advantage over other products.
- Checking your business idea by testing a simplified version of the app with real users even before you decide to create a complete and full-featured product.
- Getting to know users’ needs – by showing potential recipients your product, you can find out if it meets their expectations and solves their problems.
What are the benefits of MVP?
Why is it worth choosing an MVP? What advantage does it give to develop a simplified product in the form of an MVP instead of building a fully functional application right away?
Below we have collected several reasons that can convince you to choose this model.
- Gathering opinions from users – thanks to the MVP model, you can check the interest of application users at an early stage of the project. Positive reception in the MVP phase allows you to continue working on developing a fully functional version of the application, minimizing the risk of failure. In addition, you collect comments from users about what they do not like or lack, having the opportunity to refine subsequent versions of the product.
- Saving time and money – instead of spending a lot of time as well as financial resources on creating a product without seeing if users actually need it, you have the opportunity to research and make sure you are investing in a successful project.
- Checking market potential – releasing an MVP on the market and making the product available to recipients is a chance to find out if we have chosen the right direction by creating an application and realistically assessing the possibility of project success.
- Building an application user base – from the moment you implement the MVP of the application, you start collecting the community gathered around your product. What’s more, such early users – we call their early adopters – can become ambassadors of your brand, supporting you in promoting applications on the web among other potential audiences.
- Acquiring investors – by showing investors a product already built in the MVP model, which has gained popularity on the market and recognition among the first audience, you have a strong argument (proof of concept) to show that your business model is effective and the product gives real value to the audience.
MVP is ready: what’s next?
In the next step, after launching the MVP on the market, you can finally start collecting user feedback, monitoring their behavior, and analyzing opinions and information about the product. This is a very important stage because the acquired knowledge will allow you to improve the application – check whether the designed functionalities meet users’ expectations, whether the application is easy to use, and which functions should be refined.
- Use tools like HotJar or Cux to observe behavior inside the desktop version of the application.
- Use Firebase analytics to monitor mobile app movements.
- Check how you can automate messages (questions, feedback requests, incentives to give ratings in the app store) depending on behavior patterns for valuable feedback.
- Send emails with the NPS satisfaction survey.
- Build a group of beta testers and early app ambassadors.
Conclusion
As you can see, creating an MVP is a must. It is an excellent chance to make a more confident start, so don’t neglect this opportunity.
Also Read: How to Create the Perfect Booking App?
