Investing in an idea that’s not feasible and doesn’t resonate with the market is worse than not executing it. The damage done to your resources and credibility is irreversible. Testing your idea and market demand is essential. You can build a minimum viable product (MVP).
This blog dives deep into everything I know while working for a mobile app development company offering app developers for hire, such as what a minimum viable product is, why it matters, and how to develop an MVP from scratch. By the end, you’ll have a clear overview of how to build a successful MVP that resonates with your target audience. Let’s begin:
What is a Minimum Viable Product (MVP)?
A minimum viable product (MVP) is a basic, launchable product version containing only the minimal get must-have features. The end goal of an MVP is to quickly validate a product concept and gather real-time feedback from early adopters.
The next step after building the MVP is to gather feedback and use it to enhance the MVP till it becomes a fully-fledged product.
Note: The ideal MVP is not just minimum but also viable, reliable, and considerate of user requirements.
Why Should I Build an MVP?
Building an MVP matters because
- An MVP can help you gain a competitive edge by launching your product and service into the market faster.
- With an MVP, you can test the market and your idea’s potential before releasing your product. Also, you can gather real-time feedback to improve it in the future.
- Developing a complete product can be expensive. But with an MVP, you can quickly build and release it into the market at a much lower cost.
- MVP minimizes the risk of developing a product that fails to meet market requirements and user expectations. Instead, you can make informed decisions by gathering initial insights and feedback about your product.
Last, you can attract early adopters and build a strong user base using an MVP. It is essential because the last thing you want is to be unable to find the right users for your product.
How to Build a Successful MVP: 6 Essential Steps
Here are the steps involved in building an MVP:
Step 1: Conduct market research
Only some of the ideas fit the market requirements. Hence, it’s essential to conduct market research to ensure it is viable and meets the target users’ needs.
Here are a few ways businesses can conduct market research:
- Surveys
- Interviews
- Focus groups
- Analyzing consumer behavior in real-world situations
- Competitor analysis
- Data analysis
- Online research
Step 2: Ideate how the product idea adds value to users’ lives
No user would buy a product unless it solves their purpose, and not a single investor would invest in it if there weren’t any buyers. Hence, the first question before building an MVP is how the product idea improves users’ lives. Is it saving them from a hassle or offering a unique value? If not, they wouldn’t buy it.
It’s essential to address the value addition and introduce your product’s USP in its initial state. This way, you would have more chances of securing investors and building a loyal customer base.
Step 3: Map out the user flow
Design is a critical stage in MVP development because it’s the first thing users notice. Hence, you must build your app in such a way that it engages users.
Look at the MVP from different users’ perspectives, as everyone’s journey may differ. Ensure that you don’t miss anything. Otherwise, you would miss out on many users. Also, ensure no user has to struggle to find what they’re looking for, as a confusing interface can throw them off.
Step 4: Prioritize the features of your MVP
It’s not possible to add all the features in an Minimum viable product. It’s also not a good idea because too many features can lead to analysis paralysis and make users immediately dislike your product.
However, how to decide which features to include in the MVP and which to keep for later stages? For this, you must prioritize features based on their importance and significance for the end user. So, start by categorizing features based on priority and include them in the product backlog.
Next, build your MVP or an MVP prototype if you want to showcase to an investor or client how the product will look in the future.
Step 5: Launch your MVP in the market
Your MVP may look perfect to you and your stakeholders. Still, you can’t be sure of it unless you launch it into the market and test its efficiency in real time. Hence, the next step is establishing your MVP in the market and observing users’ feedback.
While launching your product into the market, remember that your MVP should not be perfect but easy and engaging for users.
Step 6: Build, measure, learn, and improve Your MVP
MVP creation is not a one-time task. Instead, releasing a high-quality product into the market is part of a longer process.
Once your MVP is in the market, measure its performance, learn from the findings, and use them to improve it. Then, release the improved and iterated version of the MVP in the market and repeat the same process.
This way, you can ensure that your product stays relevant in the market and always has a competitive edge.
What Mistakes Should I Avoid While Building an MVP?
Creating a successful MVP is about avoiding pitfalls that may turn dangerous later. Here are a few MVP development mistakes that can become a massive business disaster later:
- Never start building the MVP unless you’ve figured out your target audience. It’s like building a key without finding a door, i.e., useless.
- Don’t skip prototyping. A good-looking MVP is useless if it’s not practically feasible. So, besides building an MVP for your product, also create a prototype to help end-users visualize how the end product would look like.
- Most products fail because they’re targeted at an audience that’s the least interested in them. Don’t repeat this mistake; choose your product’s target audience.
- Qualitative and quantitative feedback is essential for building a successful MVP for product development. Don’t neglect either.
So, that was everything you need to know for building a successful minimum viable product (MVP) for mobile app development. Now, it’s time to put everything you learned into practice and witness the results. Best of luck!
