Every product development company is racing against the clock to bring its product into the market before its competitor. Companies have adopted numerous methodologies to make that possible, Agile being the most prominent one. A core tenet of the agile methodology is the reliance on customer feedback to evaluate a product and improve it. But this results in a catch-22 situation. For instance, a mobile app development company in India using agile cannot produce a product without thoroughly evaluating its functioning and flaws. But it also cannot evaluate and improve the product without its customers’ feedback about its initial use.
The MVP app is the solution to this problem. Introduced by the creator of the Lean Startup methodology Eric Reis. It lets developers build a functioning product that is capable of performing only the minimum set of its intended functions.
MVP has facilitated Agile possible by creating a feasible cycle of development and improvement. But, what’s the true appeal behind this aspect of the product development lifecycle? How can manufacturers benefit from using it besides gaining valuable feedback data? This blog answers these questions and more about its development process. You’ll also learn the importance of hiring MVP app development services to succeed at getting a software MVP for your app.
Designing And Building An MVP App
An MVP may only contain the most essential features of a product. But that does not excuse it from having a well-structured development process. You must put as much thought into its design and development as the full version would require. This is because the MVP app planning and execution become the blueprint for the creation of the complete product.
Here are the steps you need to follow to create a rewarding MVP app development pipeline.
1. Conduct Thorough Market Research
The more you know your customer base, the better your chances of developing a product that they will buy. Gather as much data as you can about said market using various market research tools, like online and offline surveys. It also helps to employ the services of a dedicated market research agency for speedy xecution of process.
Use the latest software to analyze the data gathered and gain meaningful insights into your target market. Every crucial piece of knowledge you gain this way will help you sculpt the MVP to better produce the intended results by aiding in the creation of a buyer persona. Add any feedback you get about the MVP into the present customer data to enhance it.
Also, don’t forget to conduct competitor research. Their MVPs and finished products can provide clues about your target market’s behavior towards MVP.
2. Define The Product’s Goal and Function
With the available market data, you now have the knowledge you need to understand your target customer’s pain points. You can align your product development goals to solve those issues efficiently and cost-effectively. Simultaneously, you can verify if the MVP’s goals are in line with your overall business objectives.
Defining its function helps with analyzing the role it will play in plugging any market gaps found during market research data analysis.
Once you find such a niche in the market, you can position your product better during its marketing and trial period, increasing the chances of the MVP’s uptake.
3. Create Its Features List
Once the goals have been ascertained, you can proceed with defining the features and functions of the product. These two aspects are the manifestation of the goals, serving as the product’s selling points. The more unique they are, the better your product will stand out from the competition in the market and bring in conversions.
When creating a list of features your product should have, you should go all-in and add all the viable features you can have in the final product. Then, create a trimmed-down version of that list for MVP development.
If you are utilizing an external agency, to create your company’s app, you should work with them to create the MVP features list. The coordination helps provide a clear pathway for the development and reduces mismatches in the ideas each party may have about the MVP.
4. Allocate The Required Resources
Now that you have an idea of what your MVP should entail and how it will be developed. You should allocate the necessary resources for it. In case of an in-house operation, you should get the required personnel and equipment for the purpose. For an outsourced one, you should decide on what service package you want to pick from their list of offerings.
Most important of all, you should allocate the necessary budget for the development process in each case. Your timeline for the process should also be defined now, with the same being communicated to the external development agency for clarity. Keep the allocation flexible to accommodate unforeseen delays and budget overruns.
5. Build, Launch, And Analyze It
With all the necessary prerequisites to build an MVP in place, you can go ahead with its development. Whether the process occurs in-house or elsewhere, the result should be a lean, minimalistic product that doesn’t try to be everything it can. You should validate the development process for speed, efficiency, and cost-effectiveness over perfection.
You can use a fake MVP as well if you need it, which is a simpler version of the MVP that only contains the core function to gauge viability.
An example would be a simple webpage that contains the core functionality of an app that users can enable with a simple action like clicking on a button. It could lead to another page describing the product and your brand story in detail as a means of generating interest and possible feedback. You can do this inexpensively and effectively if you hire mobile app developer in India due to the availability of quality, budget-friendly talent.
Choose a launch window and marketing mechanism to launch the MVP. This window should be opportune for high ROI (An online gifting app launch before the commencement of the holiday season is one such example).
Then, gather the necessary data from the MVP and analyze it to extract the information you need to develop the final version of the product.
Reasons For Companies To Opt For MVP App Development
When trying to outdo a highly competitive marketplace while trying to squeeze out every bit of profit from low margins, it helps to have every possible advantage by your side. With an MVP, you get those advantages and more.
Here are some of the reasons companies have made MVPs a priority:
Quick Customer Feedback using MVP
With product development, there’s always the element of guessing customer needs and experimentation. And if the product does not meet the expectations of the target market in any way, it would mean a loss of investment. Delay in the development pipeline may result in launching the product when there’s no longer an appetite for it in the market.
MVPs provide a workaround to this problem. By allowing you to launch a basic version of the product, you can gather vital feedback from the target customer. This may happen with the use of a focus group, a limited launch, or a full launch.
This early customer feedback lets you know about the product’s upside and downsides. While it’s still in the development part of its life cycle instead of the completed one. Making it easy to incorporate the required changes.
Easy Investor Pitching
Potential investors are likely to fund your company only if they are convinced of your product’s ROI potential. A pitch with a demonstrable product, like an MVP, is more likely to convince them of that potential than mere numbers. On the plus side, an investor may offer suggestions about improving the product along with the funding.
Trimming Resource Wastage
For a small business that’s into product development, resources tend to be limited and profit margins low, especially during the initial phase. Even large companies can struggle with budget overruns during product development due to various reasons. If such a product fails in the market, then all that resource would turn into waste. MVPs can put a stop to such wastages by preventing the development team from making the mistakes that cause them in the first place.
Whether it’s a tangible, real-world product made in a factory or a virtual one created by an MVP app development company. A basic version doesn’t use as much time and money as its full version counterpart.
Such resource savings can be utilized to improve the product in the later stages of its development lifecycle.
Quick Learning Curve using MVP
Mistakes during product development are bound to occur despite efforts to mitigate them. And the sooner they occur in the development pipeline, the easier it is to learn from and rectify them. An MVP provides product developers the opportunity to identify and correct errors in their product before it is too late. It gives them the ability to refine the production process, the product’s functioning and features.
Another advantage of using MVPs is the insight they can provide into the testing process itself. When the QA aspect of the pipeline improves, fewer errors make it through to the final products, saving resources and brand reputation in the process.
Thus, the use of an MVP is the best option for any product development company to get the best results. This methodology offers the right balance between resource management and usable product generation. For gaining valuable feedback and a clear path towards product improvement that is in line with market demands.
In Conclusion
The process of product development is evolving with continued technological methodological advances. Today, you have options like MVPs to grow your business while minimizing the associated risks.
By incorporating the design and construction practices mentioned in this blog, your business can also compete against established players. These practices will also help keep your budget in check and obtain valuable customer feedback.
And, if you plan to hire a professional MVP app development company, you will likely have a clearer understanding. How to coordinate with them to create an MVP that can support improved market targeting and overall product development enhancement.
