What is the Minimum Viable Product?
Minimum Viable Product is a term coined by Frank Robinson describing a technique applied to an item that is sent into the market for an initial analysis. The technique is applied for better product development, as the product is sent into the market, and a team of professionals notes the customer behavior toward that product. All of this helps the team to collect the maximum amount of validated learning about the product, which helps in highlighting new ways to develop the product shortly.
If you’re wondering how the technique works, then you have to know the premise of this operation. Eric Ries popularized the entire idea through his startup business. A company releases a certain product, manual or technological into the market, where it is observed by a team of professionals regarding how it is being used and what it is being used for by the valued customers. The product that is released into the market isn’t the final version but is generally a rough draft. The team gets all the information regarding the areas of interest in the product, which helps to focus on its shortcomings and high points.
BENEFITS:
Here are some of the major benefits of building the MVP of your product:
- HELPS IN GETTING STAKEHOLDERS
Most companies and businesses need stakeholders and investors to fund their business. MVP can build investor’s confidence in the product because of the product review of the initial draft. The product review can determine if the final draft will be successful or not, which aids in building the investor’s confidence.
- UNDERSTANDING DEMAND IN THE MARKET
By applying the MVP technique, companies can get a clear picture of the market demand. The company can observe the product’s user-need and popularity through testing and in a cheaper way, which helps in launching a successful product in the market.
- ATTAIN MORE MONEY
Monetization is an important aspect of the launching of a product into the market. Through the MVP technique, companies can know for certain which monetization strategies can prove to be successful in a certain market.
- BUSINESS CONCEPT TESTING
Through the MVP technique, companies can test their business concepts regarding the customers they believe to be their target customers for a particular product.
DISADVANTAGES:
- UPFRONT WORK
MVP requires a lot of upfront work to observe the product to get reliable feedback from the customers. This can help in reducing future risks, but in certain cases, this technique might not work and can result in a greater loss.
Steps to build Minimum Viable Product
Here are the steps in building a Minimum Viable Product:
- Understand what the customer needs
This is the most important step in building MVP. You have to understand what the customers want from your product and base the product on your customer’s expectations.
- Know Your Competitors
Any product is eligible for fierce market competition. Before you release your product in the market, you must know what you are up against and what it’ll take to succeed.
- Determine the user Journey
It would be best if you determined the user journey before you release it into the market. You need to know all the possible scenarios that follow before a customer buys your product. You need to prepare and stay prepared for all of them.
- Prioritize and make a list of all the product features
With the customer review, you can make a list of all the features of your product that needs a revision, for better or worse. This helps in its remodeling and future success.
- Testing and Development of the product
This is the final step. Once you have your list, you would need to test and develop the product finally.
