How to create and manage an MVP
Complete guide on Minimum Viable Product: what it is, how to create it, and strategies to validate your idea with minimal effort.
Let’s start with the basics. MVP is the English acronym for Minimum Viable Product, which literally means Minimum Viable Product. If you are an entrepreneur planning to launch a product or service on the market, you need to know what it is, how to create and manage an MVP.
An MVP represents the model through which the validity of the project can be verified by collecting feedback directly from potential customers. It seems this term was coined by Frank Robinson, who in 2001 argued that customer research and product development must go hand in hand to succeed.
What is an MVP used for?
A minimum viable product is nothing more than a prototype, the initial or rather minimal version of the initial product or service we intend to develop. An MVP is based on speed of execution with contained costs, to test our project. Basically, an MVP is an independent product, that can stand on its own with the minimum number of functions, solving one unique and most important problem for our customers. It must solve it well without causing any other problems in the process.
It is very important to start a project by validating the idea and solution. Therefore, an MVP allows a team to collect the maximum amount of validated customer information with the least effort. An MVP is not about making money, but about developing the process to do so. Therefore, the MVP should be seen more as a tool through which to understand:
- If the product is useful to someone
- Improve the product through feedback provided to us
- Attract investors
- Find the first customers or users
Creating an MVP: the key rules
To create the perfect MVP, it is essential to follow some rules; for example, an MVP must align with business objectives and achieve a lot with minimal work, therefore they usually have limited functionality. An MVP must offer specific solutions to specific user or customer problems to be effective.
The key rules that allow the creation of a valid MVP are:
1. Customer research
Understanding the potential customer is the foundation for developing an MVP. Simply extract a behavior model, a customer profile, and finally develop a strategy to communicate the MVP launch.
2. Competition analysis
We need to find the least traveled path with the greatest potential to proceed with development from a new approach. This phase includes identifying competitors, their positioning in relation to the customer segment, creating a customer experience map, comparing prices and distribution channels. Finally, it is important to evaluate customer reviews to understand where they fall short and where to enter.
3. Adaptability
Mistakes can be made at the beginning, but there is still little at stake, and this phase can be used to ensure that it adapts to customer feedback and improves solutions.
The advantages of managing an MVP
Being a unique product and treated as minimally investing as possible, it is possible through the MVP to understand the true interest of customers, if they really need it or want that product or service. It is a good advantage for an entrepreneur to be able to understand as early as possible if that product is attractive to their customers, because this will allow us not to waste money.
Customer feedback can allow us to adapt the product to the market, as well as start establishing solid foundations from the very beginning, and finally it is a manageable investment that reduces risk.
Finally, it is important to understand that for our project to be feasible, and for any business, it must be something people want, need, and can use to solve an existing problem.
Best regards and see you soon, Victor Blanco your digital strategist
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