October 8, 2020

What is a Minimum Viable Product (MVP)?

What is a minimum viable product (MVP)?

A minimum viable product (MVP) is an approach to take when developing a new website or mobile app (as well as other products and services). The new product is created with enough features to be useful for early users, but with fewer features than what are planned in total.  A minimum viable product (MVP) is the simplest version of a product that can still have value to a set of users.

Three key characteristics of a minimum viable product:

  • It has enough value that people are willing to use it.
  • It demonstrates enough future benefits to keep early users.
  • It provides user feedback to the creators.

What are the benefits of a minimum viable product (MVP)?

A minimum viable product (MVP) is a smart way to:

  • Release your product in the shortest amount of time.
  • Reduce your design and development costs.
  • Test the demand for your product or service.
  • Gain feedback on what works and what doesn’t work.

Original Image by Henrik Kniberg

How do I create a minimum viable product (MVP)?

Like the illustration above demonstrates, a minimum viable product doesn't reduce the functionality of a product or service until it's unusable. The goal is to design a product or service that still has value in it's most basic form and that future revisions and additions will add more and more value to the user. The MVP in the image above is the skateboard, not just a pair of wheels. All 5 stages of the final product is a final product in itself since they each provide transportation. The car obviously has more features than the skateboard, but both can get you around.

To design and build an MVP, you need to start with a list of features that you think are the most critical to the functionality of the website or mobile app. Then you break them down in terms of ease of design and development. If you find a feature that is easy to implement and has a high impact on the product, then it's a no brainer and should definitely be included in your minimum viable product! In the end, you want to make sure that you’re building something that meets users’ needs, while also being something they are willing to pay for.

Once your MVP is launched, it is important to get feedback on the functionality to see what would be useful to add to the next version and so on.

Are you planning on designing a new website or mobile app? I can help create an MVP for you! Please contact me to get the conversation started on how we can serve your customers.

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