Minimum viable product

Minimum viable product is the cheapest and the fastest product that we can build to get feedback about its value. A product that satisfies the basic needs of early customers, and can provide feedback on future product development. is the quickest thing you can do to learn about your most risky hypotheses.

The beginning

The first attempts to define are attributed to Frank Robinson, already in 2000, William S. Junk in his work touches the essence of MVP describing the basic principle of project equilibrium. However, it is Eric Ries who most often touches on this topic, to define MVP as such a version of the product that enables the execution of a complete Build-Measure-Learn loop.

The Goal of MVP

MVP is needed to get the early data that confirms user interest in a product:

• Saving time and resources
• Project verification: is it attractive to potential users
• Building a database of first users
• Information about the optimal way for full product development
• Minimizing waste, so important for the Lean Starup methodology

The Build-Measure-Learn Feedback Loop

Speed is an important element of product development. Efficiency is determined by the ability to build ideas and ideas (MVP), then measuring the effects of the market, and then drawing conclusions or learning. This is a cycle consisting of transforming ideas into products, collecting measurements about its effectiveness and, in turn, drawing conclusions that aim to improve. This loop is repeated until the effect, and all its phases are: Ideas → Build → Product → Measurement → Data → Learn.

Fig. 1 The Build-Measure-Learn loop

Examples of Minimum viable product

• A mobile application with the basic functionality: A mobile app that allows users to create accounts, log in, search for and view products, add items to a cart, and check out.
• An e-commerce website: A simple website with a few pages that allows customers to search for items, view product details, add items to a cart, and check out.
• A chatbot: A chatbot that can understand simple commands and answer basic questions about a product or service.
• A customer feedback survey: A survey that collects feedback from customers about a product or service. The survey can be sent via email, SMS, or other channels.
• A social media campaign: A campaign that promotes a product or service by utilizing different social media platforms. The campaign can include content such as videos, images, and text.

Advantages of Minimum viable product

Minimum viable product is a great way to launch a product quickly and cheaply in order to test its value. It has many advantages, such as:

• Reduced development costs: By focusing on the essential features and functions, MVPs are cheaper and faster to develop than a complete product.
• Faster time to market: MVPs can be developed and tested quickly, allowing the product to be released to customers faster.
• Easier to test and measure success: MVPs are easier to test and measure user engagement and feedback, allowing teams to quickly iterate and improve the product.
• Ability to focus on customer feedback: By quickly releasing an MVP and getting feedback from customers, teams can quickly adapt and improve the product based on user needs.
• Easier to manage risk: By releasing an MVP, teams can manage risk by testing the market before investing time and money into a complete product.

Limitations of Minimum viable product

Minimum viable product (MVP) has some inherent limitations that need to be taken into consideration before building one. These limitations include:

• Limited features: MVPs are generally built with limited features, which means that it is not a complete product and may not provide the full value proposition.
• Limited testing: Due to limited time and resources, MVPs are often tested on a limited number of people. This means that the product could be released without having been tested on the full user base.
• Limited implementation: MVPs are not designed to be implemented on a large scale. This means that certain features may be missing, leading to a sub-optimal user experience.
• Limited feedback: MVPs may not get sufficient feedback from users due to the limited features and limited testing. This means that the product could be released without having been tested on the full user base.
• Limited scalability: Due to the limited features and limited implementation, MVPs may not be able to scale to meet the demands of a larger user base. This could lead to user dissatisfaction and ultimately lead to product failure.

Other approaches related to Minimum viable product

In addition to Minimum Viable Product, there are several other approaches that can provide valuable feedback about a product's value. These include:

• Prototype: A prototype is a basic version of a product, designed to test and demonstrate its functions. Prototypes can be used to test the feasibility of a product, as well as to get feedback about features and design.
• Minimum Marketable Product: Minimum Marketable Product is a product that has just enough features to be marketable. This approach is often used to validate the market demand for a product, before investing in more costly developments.
• Minimum Viable Experiment: Minimum Viable Experiments are small tests designed to quickly validate hypotheses about a product or its features. They are useful for testing assumptions and gaining feedback.
• Minimum Loveable Product: Minimum Loveable Product is a concept that emphasizes the importance of creating an emotional connection with a product. This approach focuses on creating a product that users love, rather than just a functional MVP.

In summary, Minimum Viable Product is a great way to get feedback about a product's value, but there are many other approaches that can also be useful. These other approaches focus on validating assumptions, testing market demand, and creating an emotional connection with users.

Footnotes

Minimum viable product — recommended articles

MoSCoW technique — Interactive agency — Lean startup — Social media optimization — Value innovation — Productize — Innovation models — Lean development — Lean software development

References

• Garbugli G., (2014)Lean B2B: Build Products Businesses Want Étienne Garbugli, Mar 25, 2014
• Junk S. W., (2000)The Dynamic Balance BetweenCost, Schedule, Features, and Qualityin Software Development ProjectsUniversity of Idaho, April 17, 2000
• LeMay M., (2018)Agile for Everybody: Creating Fast, Flexible, and Customer-First Organizations "O'Reilly Media, Inc.", Oct 10, 2018
• Lenarduzzi v., Taibi D., (2016) MVP Explained: A Systematic Mapping Study on the Definitions of Minimal Viable Product Conference Paper, August 2016
• Nandakumar M., (2018)Lean Product Management: Successful products from fuzzy business ideas Packt Publishing Ltd, May 31, 2018
• Olsen D., (2015)The Lean Product Playbook: How to Innovate with Minimum Viable Products and Rapid Customer Feedbacks John Wiley & Sons, May 21, 2015
• Ries E., (2011)The Lean Startup: How Today's Entrepreneurs Use Continuous Innovation to Create Radically Successful Businesses Crown Publishing Group, Sep 13, 2011
• Robinson F., (2000) Proven Methodology to Maximize Return on Risk" http://www.syncdev.com/minimum-viable-product SyncDev, Inc.

Author: Agnieszka Katarzyna Sikora

.