Why is an MVP Approach Important for Your Business?
The technology research firm, Gartner reports that new product failure rates in the software industry are between 40% And 80%. If you don’t want to be included in those statistics, you may wish to consider building a Minimum Viable Product or MVP. One of the benefits of building an MVP for a potential software app or a new set of features in a software product is to reduce the failure rate for your product and to better prepare for the final product features in order to achieve the desired customer satisfaction.
‘If the business maintains a clear understanding of Minimum Viable Product development goals and how and when to use the concept, your start-up or business can realize the potential of the MVP process and go on to develop a successful product.’
The Minimum Viable Product (MVP) approach is ideal for start-up businesses because most start-ups don’t have a lot of capital. Even if you do have the capital, you still want to improve your return on investment (ROI) and your total cost of ownership (TCO). An MVP approach allows you to comprehensively plan the product and its features and functionality.
Consider some of the reasons the minimum viable product approach can help your business achieve its goals:
- Build trust with customers – confirm what is important how a product will best serve the customer
- Test the business understanding – define and test requirements and competitive advantages
- Avoid costly missteps in the market – understand the customer reaction and adapt before you release a product
- Reduce time to market for final product design – integrate feedback into the final design to avoid re-work
- Evaluate product plans while limiting resources – make the most of your time, investment, and resources
- Accelerate customer feedback – don’t wait to hear from your customers until the final product is released
- Understand customer and user behavior – use customer feedback to implement user experience (Ux) concepts
- Reduce development time – optimize your design and development time to decrease expenses
- Mitigate risk – avoid missteps in the market
- Discover gaps in product and/or market fit – understand what your customers really want
- Find hidden opportunities – gain insight into ‘what you don’t know’ but giving customers a chance to weigh in
- Create a tangible working version of a concept, product, or idea – attract investors and educate stakeholders
- Design a final product roadmap – create a product that is cost-effective and based on feedback rather than guesswork
Now, more than ever, a start-up or small business is pressed for funds and must build its reputation in the market as quickly as possible. An Entrepreneur Business Publication recently noted that developing an MVP can mean the difference between success and failure. The research indicates that that the businesses can use an MVP to experiment and identify new opportunities while, at the same time, maintaining a stable product portfolio.
When you engage in start-up MVP development your business can reduce costs and mitigate risk, test concepts and ideas, and prove economic viability and customer satisfaction. With a rapid development strategy and a feedback loop, the business gains valuable insight into projected products and feature sets.
With the right focus, MVP development can provide a solid foundation for results. When you undertake an MVP software development project, keep the following factors in mind:
- MVP is meant to avoid a product misstep, and will allow you to avoid products or features that do not serve your business or your customers.
- MVP is NOT meant to represent a fully functional product or to be a short-cut to full product design. Remember to focus on ‘minimum’ (include only the basic features you need to get customer feedback) and ‘viable’ (be sure what you are designing is actually a viable (workable) solution.
- MVP should focus on the 20% of functionality that 80% of your customers will use and is meant to build a sustainable product foundation.
- MVP can be a test of viability for a new product or new features so you can test business assumptions BEFORE you make a major financial and resource commitment.
If the MVP software development process is used effectively, it can help your business plan for product success. Start-up businesses use minimum viable products to test assumptions and receive customer feedback. Start-up business that successfully used MVP include Airbnb, Uber, Dropbox, Snapchat and Foursquare.
Remember that the MVP process is not for every company and is not suitable to address every product development situation. As beneficial as the MVP process can be, your business must plan carefully to avoid failure. If the business maintains a clear understanding of Minimum Viable Product development goals and how and when to use the concept, and if the right resources and skills are applied to the project, your start-up or business can realize the potential of the MVP process and go on to develop a successful product.
‘An MVP approach allows you to comprehensively plan the product and its features and functionality.’
Take your start-up, small or medium (SME) business to new heights with a software product that will put you head and shoulders above your competition. No matter the size of your business, when the enterprise is considering MVP product development consulting, it is important to get the best skills, and the most responsive services.
Let us help you get your MVP software product out into the world! Click on these links for more information about services to Support Start-Ups, and crucial considerations for Choosing A Partner For A Start-Up Business. For an in-depth discussion of MVP, read, ‘MVP Software Development: Everything You Need To Know (The What, Why And How).’, and explore MVP here: ‘What Is A Minimum Viable Product (MVP)? And Why Should My Business Care?,’ ‘Why Is A Minimum Viable Product (MVP) Important To My Business?,’ ‘How To Build A Minimum Viable Product (MVP): A Brief Discussion,’ ‘Engage An Offshore Expert To Achieve Your Minimum Viable Product Software Goals.’
