A minimum viable product (MVP) is the development approach in which a new product is developed with the number of features that are sufficient for early users. The final set of more advanced features is only designed and developed after receiving and analyzing feedback from the product's first users. MVP software development allows for Agile development to get a product to end-users faster. You don't need to dedicate a lot of time developing a full-fledged product and investing a lot of money into its creation. The main idea is getting a product to the market faster and safely testing your idea without risking all your money.

An image below compares MVP Agile development and traditional waterfall development methods.

WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN AN MVP AND A PROTOTYPE?

Minimum viable product development and prototype creation are often confused. Let's clear the air when it comes to these two notions.

A prototype and MVP are both early versions of a product. However, there are several differences setting them apart.

A prototype is something that you come up with when you have an app idea.

In its nutshell, a prototype is a theory behind a product that is formed into something tangible. It might be as simple as a sketch or something more interactive and functional like digital prototypes and mockups. The main idea of a prototype is to help communicate with design and engineering teams.

Prototyping offers various designs and solutions for a single MVP soon to be finalized for a new product. Unlike MVPs, prototypes are not always supposed to become a final product. Before creating an MVP, you might create several prototypes.

WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF MVP SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT

Minimum viable product development is associated with several benefits, with the main being safe ideas testing with small budgets and reduced risks.

Let's review some of the critical benefits of MVP app development.

• Testing product ideas – no matter how interesting your idea might sound, you need to do thorough market research. After you identify the main idea behind your product, you can start MVP software development and test an idea further by releasing a minimum viable product to gather hands-on feedback from the target audience.
• Faster product release – MVP app development shortens the time to create a solution and release it to the market.
• Cost-efficiency – instead of going all the way out and investing all the money into developing a full-fledged product, you can create an MVP and continue investing in its further development gradually. Investments are made only when they are needed; thus, you minimize risks and reduced costs.
• Space for evolution – minimum viable product development is gradual. With further versions, you improve the core components of your product and can adopt innovations painlessly.
• Reduced engineering hours – thanks to a gradual process, MVP software development minimizes the volume of reworks and features rebuilding. You won't wake up one morning understanding that development went in the wrong direction and you need to rebuild many components and features.
• Product launch with minimum resources – MVP software development makes it possible to create a product without hiring a huge development team. Reduced resources lead to reduced spending and better cost-efficiency.
• Get the product to early customers ASAP – in just a few months, you can deliver a product to the market and get feedback from early users. The target audience has a direct influence on the direction for the product to follow.

KEY TYPES OF MVPS

There are different approaches to minimum viable product development that you can use for your project. Before moving to the development stage, make sure that you have a clear understanding of all the types and which will benefit your project the most.

1. Single-feature MVP

This is not the most popular type of MVP software development. The main difficulty hides in finding the single feature that is key for your target users. After successfully identifying it, you can launch an app with a single feature, gather feedback, and move on with the software development process.

2. Piecemeal MVP

This is quite a popular MVP app development model among the startups which helps to speed up the development process thanks to the reuse of various ready-to-use elements. The main disadvantage of this approach is the need to sacrifice the uniqueness of your product to achieve the needed development speed and efficiency. At the same time, it's a good model if you need to deliver the product to the market under tight deadlines.

3. Landing page MVP

This model is ideal if you don't have much money and need to test an idea. The model entails creating a single web page optimized for search results and providing essential information about your product, advantages, value, etc.

By creating a landing page, you can strike interest among potential users, receive their feedback, collect a potential user base, and spread the word about the upcoming product.

4. Wizard of or MVP

This model has a few other names, such as Flintstone MVP or Manual-first MVP. This model of MVP software development implies that for the outside world, your product seems completely functional. In reality, all back-office tasks are operated manually by humans. For example, your users or clients might not even realize that there are only humans in customer support.

5. Product designs

This model entails creating simple sketches or complex mockups that show the user's journey in more detail.

Sketches, usually created in free-hand format, are a great solution to present your idea to investors or to start a crowdfunding process.

6. Demo videos

A demo video is a great way to demonstrate your product. The idea behind it is to gather feedback from the audience. Such videos can be used to test your concept among target end-users or present it to potential investors to raise investments.

HOW TO START MVP SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT: KEY STEPS

The process of minimum viable product development consists of 7 main stages with multiple steps. This part of the article presents a step-by-step process of MVP app development and describes each stage with all details.

1. Come up with an app idea

If you don't know where to start, try coming up with an app idea. Usually, at this stage, you already know what solution you want to create.

The best ideas come out of the blue, right?

Creating an app solely to make money might not be the best solution. You need to live and breathe your idea. The most popular solutions and startups are created with an app idea that keeps creators up at night.

2. Validate the app idea

Your idea might seem to be the next Facebook or Netflix. In reality, you might be creating something that no one needs. At this stage, you need to validate your app idea. Make comprehensive market research, identify your potential competitors and check whether there is a need for such an app or not.

3. Identify the target audience

After you've successfully validated an app idea and made sure that the market needs your solution, it's time to define your target audience. You need to understand who will use your application and learn about the target audience as much as possible. Make a market research and make user profiles, specifying even the smallest details, like their gender, age, occupation, etc.

4. Decide on the set of features

Now that you know your audience and their pain points, it's time to move on to the next step of MVP software development – defining the features that will form your MVP. At this stage, the main goal is expanding your app idea into the product specifications.

5. MVP software development & QA

At this stage, the development of an MVP happens. Time is a crucial factor at this stage. The faster you develop an MVP and deliver it to the market, the better. Otherwise, the situation on the market might change along with the needs of users, and you will end up with a product that no one needs.

6. MVP testing

Now that your app is ready, it's time to release it to the market and test it with a wide audience. You can get in touch with your target audience and ask for feedback.

MVP development is a popular approach to software development. The popularity of MVP comes from the offered benefits, such as cost efficiency, faster product delivery to the market, gradual and consecutive delivery of new features.