What is an MVP for Software Development?

Today, the MVP became a very popular and effective instrument for launching new products. To ensure a high-quality minimum viable product, Softvoya provides customers with the most effective MVP service solutions during all stages of development.

What is an MVP?

The creation of a Minimum Viable Product (MVP) is the easiest way to prove the viability of a product idea. The term MVP stands for the first version of a new product that includes just enough features needed to satisfy early adopters. An MVP development helps companies to launch a project faster with fewer expenses and make improvements after gathering user feedback.

There are 3 main objectives of an MVP:

· Verify viability. An MVP determines if the product you offer meets market and user needs before the final product is launched.

· Reduce cost and time. Focusing only on core product features, this approach helps companies to introduce a product quickly with less effort, allowing developers to make adjustments step-by-step.

· Analyze feedback. While the final product must satisfy all users, an MVP is built for early adopters only. Analyzing feedback from the latter ensures all adjustments will be made according reviews from real people.

An MVP for Software Development

In software development, an MVP can be any product: a website, an application, or even a CRM system. An MVP development becomes the most efficient way to start any product as it envisages agile development cycles. The users get access faster and share their feedback, and the product can be improved in the next development cycle.

Taking the above into account, here are the main points of an MVP for software development:

Advantages of Using a MVP programming for Startups

In today’s world, nine out of ten startups fail. Here are the most common reasons why:

· lack of budget

· lack of market demand

· development of user-unfriendly solution

· ignoring customer feedback

When creating an MVP for an application or website, it is crucial to define the target audience and conduct market research first, then focus on potential problems for further design and development. Therefore, building MVPs for startups helps companies find their place in the market and make a profit. As a part of a product development strategy, MVP programming can help to:

1. Define target audience and find early adopters. Building an MVP for a startup with a ton of features makes it harder to make adjustments in the future. Later, based on user feedback, you can add the desired elements during next steps of an MVP development. ·

2. Save time and money. An MVP leads to early learning and release with a minimal budget. In the future, you can invest in further product development when the project turns a profit.

3. Attract investors. Although the final product may look good on paper, an MVP is more likely to attract investors as it is a functioning project. In a world where almost all new projects fail just after their release, building MVPs for startups enables companies to avoid the risk of negative feedback, reduce costs and save time.

Getting Started with Developing an Effective MVP

Conduct market research Start by researching your idea to determine if it meets the needs of the market and early adopters. Ensure your project is innovative and interesting by interviewing potential users, and don’t forget about competitors. Conduct market research to analyze your closest rivals’ strengths.

Define MVP key feature list

List all the features users may need and organize them based on priority. Leave only crucial features that are vital for performance of the initial version and move forward to MVP programming. Later, more detailed feedback from users is required, so you need to:

· Choose users

· Make a list of main features

· Prepare CustDev questionnaire

After the evaluation, you can move on to build an MVP.

Begin MVP software development and testing

Creating a basic prototype is critical here, as it shows whether users really want to install the app on their computers or mobile devices. After CustDev is ready, the development team prepares Technical Specifications and provides a clear picture of the product, as well as estimates cost and timeframe for development.

Basically, MVP development consists of interface design, front-end and back-end development. The aim is to get a high-fidelity interactive prototype of the product, which allows users to navigate through the app/website. For apps, you can choose one platform for development (iOS or Android) or select a cross-platform approach.

When the client is in touch with the development team at every stage, the process becomes more productive due to immediate feedback and prompt actions towards adjustments. That’s why the use of Scrum is preferable here, as it allows finding a product’s weak points at early development stages. The customer and the development team perform each task from sprint together to monitor the results efficiently and provide proper MVP service solutions during the development process.

Learn from feedback

The MVP for software development should be tested on a regular basis. The goal is to collect feedback and make appropriate adjustments to the product in the future.

Crucial mistakes in MVP software development

A minimum viable product creation is about sticking to a plan. Here are common mistakes made when building an MVP for software development:

1. Disregarding market research

One of the biggest mistakes many product owners do is ignoring target audience demands and market peculiarities. Lack of proper research can cause huge financial losses, not to mention time and effort spent on MVP development.

2. Unprofessional development team

No matter what creative techniques you use, if you don’t have an experienced and skilled team of developers, the project is likely to fail. To create a strong MVP, your team should consist of professional designers, developers, QA engineers, and PMs to provide effective MVP service solutions, otherwise, you may face the following problems:

· Missed deadlines

· Need to hire additional specialists/another development agency

· Poor feedback analysis

3. An overloaded MVP

Adding too much to your project may cost you money and time, rendering the development process meaningless. If it’s hard for you to choose key features, follow an Agile methodology: divide the complex requirements into several simple features and set a deadline for every feature you have.

4. Ignoring the prototype creation

You should provide the users with a functioning product, so it needs to be user-friendly and appealing. Thus, the app/website should have an interactive prototype, reflecting the product information architecture and including interactive elements.

5. Disregarding user feedback

User opinion determines whether the product will be in demand or not. You should take it seriously: it’s not about simply gathering information, but also reaching proper conclusions. Reviewing user feedback ensures you will make appropriate adjustments to the project and satisfy users’ needs.

Wrapping up

Today, MVP software development is the best method for finding out whether the product will be successful or not on the market. Building an MVP means finding a balance between minimum efforts spent and creating a functioning product. Softvoya enables project analysis during all stages of development, providing assistance based on the established strategy.

Also published on: https://softvoya.com/blog/mvp-for-software-development-bring-your-idea-to-life-with-minimum-efforts