A beginners guide to the “MVP*”

*MVP= Minimum Viable Product 

Official definition: A minimum viable product is a version of a product with just enough features to be usable by early customers who can then provide feedback for future product development. A focus on releasing an MVP means that developers potentially avoid lengthy and unnecessary work. 

In a recent blog we covered the integral foundation of any idea, Idea Mapping and One of the next steps building out your MVP*.  

Why? Well, imagine you’ve piled all your money into your fantastic idea, but you’ve never actually stopped to ask for feedback or check if the market needs it?

You then release the product and not only are there bugs, but imperative features are missing, and the user opts for your competition instead, or even worse releases a better version of your product!

You can avoid this by building a testing your idea in the first stages.

Essentially, this concept allows businesses /start-ups/ users to determine whether an early-stage product meets their needs or needs modification. This leads to a better-rounded end product and less project risk up front.  

Taking the MVP approach is good because:  

- It allows your product to released faster  

- It gives you the possibility to test your product early with actual users  

- It reduces the initial budget requirements  

- It breaks the process down, allowing your platform to grow at the pace you want  

- Reduces risk overall 

How do I build an MVP? 

Start firstly by understanding the core user journeys and then full scope of your product v1.

From this you will be able to choose which features and functionality will offer the most value but not take an age to build.

Then design the UI and UX to be sure of what you want to build first, before moving onto the nuts & bolts of the design & engineering.

In terms of design & development, you have a two options here. If you’re comfortable then begin designing, coding and building your own product or if you’d like to get the ball rolling quickly and professionally give us a call and see how we can help. Our team has worked for many years with early-stage ideas and can give valuable feedback at this stage of your journey. 

Related post: Where to start with software development.