What Is A Minimum Viable Product?
Eric Ries, the author of Lean Startup concept defines a minimum viable product as:
“a version of a new product which allows a team to collect the maximum amount of validated learnings about customers with the least effort.”
Eric Ries
In a more simple term, a minimum viable product (MVP) is a prototype that has only enough functionality for initial users to use and give input for potential product growth.
The purpose of having a minimum viable product include:
- The rapid development of a product
- Building other products upon this foundation.
- To quickly get the products to your initial customers.
- The ability to evaluate a product’s hypothesis with available resources.
The main advantage of an MVP is that it allows you to learn about your customers’ interest in your product without having to completely create it. The earlier you can determine if your product will attract consumers, the less time and money you’ll waste on a product that won’t sell.
How to Plan Your MVP
1. Establish and comprehend the business’s and market’s demands. To do this, analyze the product’s long-term target and make notes then set the yardstick for your success.
2. Look for opportunities by:
- Building a user journey map; that involves determining the consumers, the end goal, and establishing all the consumers’ steps to achieve the desired outcome.
- Making a “pain and gain” map for each action. Do this by making a list of the: actions that the user takes when using the product, pain points associated with each action, and benefits of each action.
- Make opportunity remarks out of the pains and gains.
3. Make a list of the features you want to use. To do this, use opportunity statements, outline features that should be included in the product roadmap, and implement features using the prioritization matrix.
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