An MVP or Minimum Viable Product is the version of the product with just enough features to meet the essential needs of the customers and solve a specific problem effectively. The term was first coined by Frank Robinson in 2001. However, MVPs existed before 2001 too.
The concept works exceptionally well when a new product is being brought to the market.
For example, when Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniack came up with the concept of the Apple I, they first tested the idea to see whether people would pay for personal computers.
As a result, they were able to sell approximately 175 Apple I personal computers out of 200, which was enough for them to get feedback on what to improve. With the feedback, they came up with Apple II, and the rest of it is history.
An approach like MVP has several benefits, including minimal risk, cost efficiency, and many others featured in this article.
1. Focus On Core Functionality
The MVP approach will help you focus on the core functionalities of your product.
Many product owners add redundant features before it even enters the market. As a result, it is very easy to lose focus on the problem that the product was first aiming to solve.
2. Minimal Risks
Large-scale apps take years to craft and require a lot of money, effort, and time. All well-known products started small and then came up with features according to the trends over the years.
Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, Uber, Spotify, Airbnb, Dropbox, Zappos, etc., were all first developed as MVPs.
3. Better Understanding of Consumer Needs
Detailed data about your target audience can not be overestimated.
In addition, the early adopters will provide you with valuable feedback regarding your product, which you can then use to better your development. The users will tell you which features they liked the most and the least, and what features they expect in the next release.
4. Verifying Market Demand
An MVP is all about testing – seeing what is working and what isn’t. It is more about understanding the market demand than it is about trying to acquire new users or selling.
It allows companies to check the market demand for their product, discovering if potential users will use it without investing large amounts of money.
Based on these findings, the owners can either re-work the product’s solutions or develop a new product altogether.
5. Cost-Efficiency
As discussed above, many widely-used products are the result of years of development. Since these products were created over a period of time, the cost was also spread over time.
Once you start gaining more users and gathering more feedback, you can invest more accordingly.
How is the MVP cost estimated?
1. Developers estimate how many hours it will take to create the MVP.
2. The time in hours is then multiplied by the developer’s payment rate per hour.
3. Viola! You have your estimate of how much it will cost to build an MVP.
Conclusion
Whether you’re an established business or a startup, the MVP approach will save your costs, time, and resources and help test your idea when entering a market before you implement too many features or overextend your budget.
