What is MVP? Why does a tech startup need an MVP?

May 18, 2021

If you have a great idea and you want to start something of your own, you once in a while might have come across the term MVP. You might have been told that to start you should first go for an MVP to test your idea, you should have an initial product prototype to test or present it to the end-user. So, here we have tried to simplify the term MVP or product prototype.

It’s an initial version of a product, companies design and develops MVP to test the acceptability and ability of their vision or you can say, it’s a base model of any product. According to Wikipedia, “A minimum viable product (MVP) 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 minimum viable product has just enough core features to effectively deploy the product, and no more. In a startup, especially a tech startup, they typically deploy the product to a subset of possible customers, such as early adopters thought to be more forgiving, more likely to give feedback, and able to grasp a product vision from an early prototype or marketing information. This way we can, at a very early stage, conclude whether the product would be suitable and interesting for potential customers, and if not suitable, then what else we can modify in it to make it market-fit or market-ready.

The author of ‘The Lean Startup’, Eric Ries defines MVP as

‘that version of a new product which allows a team to collect the maximum amount of validated learning about customers with the least effort’.

For any startup investing in an MVP is a wiser choice than investing in a final product. If it fails to impress the customers, the startup can modify the development process and alter the product idea to meet the customer demand. Steve Blank (recognized for developing the customer development method that launched the lean startup movement) typically refers to the minimum viable product as a minimum feature set.

Now the question arises, Why a business especially a tech business or startup should opt for a Minimum Viable Product (MVP)?

And the answer is very simple

1. Get the product to early customers as soon as possible
2. Allows validating the idea from real-world customers
3. Allows checking the demand of your product among the customers
4. Analyzing the approach and behaviour of customer towards the product
5. Creates value for users with continuous feedback and improvement
6. Reduce the time of development, which overall reduced the time and cost of the product
7. Gives valuable insights to grow gradually keeping customers in mind
8. Garners high retention in a small investment

How to create an MVP for any business?

The MVP process consists of various stages. Where the final stage is the end of the MVP development process and turns the development into specific product development. After the last stage, the product gets enough feedback from the customers that help in building the specific product (mobile, website, or both). Startups usually misunderstand the MVP development and consider it as a part of a specific product (mobile, website, or both) development process. The stages of a Mobile or Web app MVP development are as follows

1. Ideation, the initialization of an idea
2. Defining the concept
3. Understanding the potential market and competition
4. Designing the product architecture and UX/UI of the app
5. Development of the app with a suitable development methodology
6. Alpha testing / Internal team testing
7. Beta testing — testing that was done in real customer, for potential feedbacks and critics
8. Feedback analysis — helps in altering the development process or redefining the user experience if required
9. Relaunching with resolved feedbacks
10. MVP development process ends and now can move for the specific product development

Concluding all the above, a Minimum Viable Product is the best strategy for any tech startup to launch its product. It Reduces costs due to the fast development process. Check the project concept by collecting customer feedback. Analyzing user reactions, startups get a crystal understanding of how to tailor the app/website to their needs and preferences. If you are looking for a tech partner who can make your idea MVP ready! Connect with us today.