Disclaimer: An MVP is an opportunity to check the viability of your business idea without investing much time and resources.

Startups tend to be very enthusiastic about their business ideas. However, without proper testing, an idea that seemed brilliant in the beginning may turn out to be a complete failure. Here is where MVP development comes in handy.

A Minimum Viable Product is a working product with core functionality that provides developers and business owners with the opportunity to test their ideas before their official release. When you create a business using the waterfall methodology, you devote a significant amount of time and effort to its development. The process reminds of sailing down a river. Finally, you have a release and it feels like falling down with the water flow without any idea if your business will survive or smash into pieces. To avoid stress, it is preferable to follow the lean philosophy, which entails spending the fewest resources at the start, followed by testing and iteration of the entire cycle.

The benefits of an MVP for a startup

In the previous article, we discussed the detailed steps that should be taken to build an MVP. Now, let’s figure out the benefits of an MVP for a startup:

1. Minimum resources
   Creating an MVP usually does not take longer than 1.5 months. This period is sufficient to evaluate the market, examine the target audience, plan the design and architecture of the future product, and develop the core functionality without any advanced features.
2. Understanding the core functionality
   An MVP separates the primary functionality from the supplementary features. As a result, it allows you to better understand your product and target the pain points of potential clients.
3. First feedback
   The main goal of an MVP is testing. So, that is the main benefit. After the release of an MVP, you will understand if your product or service is in demand, whether you need to modify it somehow, or completely give up the idea.
4. Attracting investors
   If your MVP is successful, it is much easier to find investors. Most of them do not like to take risks.
5. Building customer loyalty
   With an MVP, you have a chance to attract your first customers and provide them with an excellent user experience.

You might wish to test your company idea in the discovery phase before embarking on the MVP development process. It is a brainstorming session with experts that will provide you with an understanding of whether your plan has the potential to become a profitable future business.

Useful MVP outputs

Creating an MVP is not as easy as it may seem. Neglecting some of the steps, you risk gaining incorrect feedback and misinterpreting the outcomes of the release. Besides, if you are planning to deal with a complicated product, it may be hard to define the core features. The team of ITSDev offers a full cycle of the MVP development process that will bring you the following results:

• Visual concept
  With this output, you will have a clear visualization of your product. It includes the schematic structure of textual blocks and images and the general design of the solution. The layout is designed to achieve the best user experience.
• Architecture
  The structural compilation of the front and back ends will demonstrate how the components of your product interact with each other. You will get an accurate and deep understanding of the internal processes.
• Prototype
  This is a preparatory stage before the main MVP delivery. A prototype is a working model of a product that lacks major functionality as well as the final design touch.
• Finalized MVP
  This is a viable version of the product ready for release.

After the release of an MVP, you get the feedback and plan your future strategy. Usually, further product development takes place. You adjust the core functionality, supplement it with additional features, deal with quality assurance and maintain the whole system.

If you are interested in the possibility of developing an MVP for your business idea, do not hesitate to contact us.