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Minimum Viable Product (MVP): Definition, Benefits & Use Cases in Product Development
- Pille Korobov
- Nov 13, 2023
- 6 min read
Updated: Nov 24
The Minimum Viable Product (MVP) has become a cornerstone concept in modern product development, especially in the fast-paced world of startups. But what exactly is an MVP? Why are so many successful companies using it? And most importantly, how can you create a minimum viable product for your next project? This article covers everything you need to know about MVPs, from definition and benefits to real-world examples and practical steps for building one.
In this article, we will go through:
What is an MVP (Minimum Viable Product)?
The concept of Minimum Viable Product was popularized by Eric Ries as part of the Lean Startup methodology. He defines an MVP as the version of a new product that allows a team to collect the maximum amount of validated learning about customers with the least effort.
In simpler terms, an MVP is a basic version of your product that includes only the core features necessary to solve the main problem for early adopters. Rather than aiming for perfection, the goal is to launch quickly, validate your assumptions and iterate based on real user feedback.
An MVP is not a prototype, but rather a fully functional product — minimal in features, but viable enough to deliver value.
Why Build a Minimum Viable Product?
Building an MVP offers multiple strategic benefits:
Market Validation
An MVP allows you to test real-world demand for your idea without committing to full-scale development. You can quickly determine whether customers are willing to pay for your solution.
By building a basic version of the product and releasing it to early adopters, you can gauge customer interest and gather valuable feedback. This feedback allows to make informed decisions about the future direction of the product, ensuring that it aligns with customer needs and preferences.
Faster Time-to-Market
Instead of spending months (or years) perfecting a product, an MVP enables you to launch quickly, gather feedback and adapt before investing heavily.
By avoiding time-consuming development of advanced features and focusing on the core functionality and value proposition, you reduce development time and can launch your product sooner. This rapid launch enables your business to gain a competitive advantage by being the first to address a particular need in the market.
Reduced Development Costs
Minimum Viable Products are cost-effective because they require fewer resources to build and maintain.
By prioritizing essential features only, you can allocate your resources efficiently and avoid investing in unnecessary functionality.
Risk Reduction
Launching an MVP helps you avoid the trap of building something nobody wants.
Since you're not heavily investing in a fully-featured product from the outset, you minimize the risk of investing time and resources into product ideas that may not resonate with the target audience.
If the MVP doesn't satisfy the customers, it's easier to pivot or make changes without major losses.
User-Centered Design
With a Minimum Viable Product, you're able to gather real-world feedback from early adopters to ensure that your product roadmap is built on real data, not assumptions.
The feedback loop is invaluable, as it helps you understand how well your product addresses users' needs and what improvements are necessary. It's a direct path to learning and adapting.
This customer-centric approach results in products that are more likely to succeed in the market.
Iterative improvement
Rather than building a product in isolation and hoping for the best, MVPs encourage continuous improvement. You can release subsequent versions of your product with added features, gradually improving it based on user feedback.
Encouraging users to provide feedback is crucial for the continuous development and refinement of your MVP.
How to build a Minimum Viable Product (MVP) – step by step
Here’s a practical 6-step framework for developing an MVP:
Step 1: Identify the Core Problem
What customer pain point are you solving?
Why is your solution better than existing alternatives?
Step 2: Conduct Market Research
Analyze competitors, interview potential users and validate that the problem is worth solving.
Step 3: Define Your Core Features
Create a feature prioritization list and identify the must-have functionalities that solve the main problem.
Step 4: Design & Build the MVP
Focus on simplicity and usability. The minimal viable product should be simple enough for the users to interact with it seamlessly. The user experience should be intuitive and straightforward, enabling early adopters to understand and use the product with minimal guidance.
Don’t forget that the product also has to be viable - an MVP should not be a combination of incomplete tools and features, it must enable customers to complete a task or project and deliver a high-quality user experience.
Step 5: Launch to Early Adopters
Release the MVP to a small, targeted group of users who are open to testing and providing feedback.
Step 6: Collect Feedback & Iterate
Use analytics and customer input to improve the product incrementally. Every iteration brings you closer to a market-ready solution.
Challenges and Misconceptions about MVPs
While the MVP approach is powerful, it comes with its challenges:
Managing Customer Expectations
One of the main challenges is managing customer expectations. Since an MVP is a stripped-down version of the final product, customers may have certain expectations that are not met initially. Proper communication and setting realistic expectations are crucial to mitigate this challenge.
Competition Risks
Another limitation is the risk of competition. By launching an MVP, you expose your ideas to potential competitors who may replicate or improve upon the concept. To counter this, it is essential to continuously iterate and improve the product based on user feedback to maintain a competitive edge.
Impression of a low-quality product
Some people might think that an MVP is synonymous with a low-quality product. While an MVP may have limited features, it should still meet a certain level of quality and usability. The focus should be on delivering value to early adopters, not compromising on the overall user experience.
“One and Done” Misconception
Another misconception is that an MVP is a one-time release. In reality, an MVP is an iterative process that involves continuous improvement based on user feedback like we mentioned earlier. It is an ongoing cycle of testing, learning and iterating to ensure that the product evolves and remains relevant in the market.
Examples of Minimum Viable Products (MVPs)
Several successful companies have decided to go with the MVP approach to test their idea and launch their products:
One notable example is Airbnb, which actually started off as 2 designers trying to cover increased rent by creating a basic website and offering 3 air mattresses and breakfast in their apartment during a design conference. It then became a website that enabled homeowners to rent out their spare rooms. By focusing on the core functionality of connecting renters with hosts, Airbnb was able to validate its business model and keep expanding its offering over time.
Another great example is Dropbox, which launched with a basic file-sharing feature before adding more advanced functionalities. By starting with a minimalistic approach, Dropbox was able to attract early adopters and gather valuable feedback to shape its product roadmap.
Thinking about physical MVPs, during one of the business trips, one of our engineers stayed at a hotel where he found this interesting product shown on the images below. It is a "ladder" for emergency exit in case of a fire. A great example of an older MVP as it addresses the core problem which is getting out of the building during fire but it doesn’t have any extra features like comfortability, modern look etc. You can also find our thoughts on the product in our LinkedIn post where we covered it in a bit more detail.
Conclusion
The Minimum Viable Product (MVP) is not just a cost-saving technique — it’s a strategic framework for building successful products. By starting small, testing your assumptions, and iterating based on real user data, you can minimize risks, accelerate time-to-market and ensure your product truly meets customer needs.
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