Nowadays, having a technical plan is not enough to successfully launch a new product or service - you need a strategic vision to guide development at every stage. This is especially important when building complex, feature-rich applications where time and resources are critical. A key approach to speeding up the development process is the concept of the Minimum Viable Product (MVP).
Some companies that are now quite famous started with MVPs, Dropbox and Airbnb didn't always offer users as many features as they do now, but thanks to the minimal version of the product, we have access to the advanced features of these services.
MVP software development: meaning, definition and stand for in business
Eric Ries is the person who made the idea of MVP famous. While working as the Chief Technical Officer at IMVU, a social media company, he suddenly realized that this traditional approach to product development was just plain broken. Instead of spending months or even years perfecting a product and then launching it, crossing your fingers, and hoping for the best, Eric suggested building a simple product "the MVP" — which would let startups test their ideas fast and get real user feedback. It was a game-changer, born of his experiences and observations in the fast-moving world of startups.
In his book The Lean Startup, Ries stressed the importance of learning in MVP software development with his definition of the MVP. ‘‘The minimum viable product is that version of a new product which enables a team to gather the maximum amount of entrepreneurship learning about the potential customers with a minimum investment.’’ And that is how the MVP became a mainstay of modern entrepreneurial strategy, thanks to Eric Ries's keen eye and willingness to challenge the status quo.
What is MVP in software development
Minimum viable product software development focuses on creating a product with the minimum set of features necessary to solve key user problems and test the viability of a business idea. In contrast to prototypes, MVPs are working products where hypotheses are being tested with real users. This allows companies to make use of resources optimally and adapt to market needs. MVPs provide companies the ability to learn early on what the user does not like, which saves them from building a product that users may avoid.
Ultimately, MVP phase meaning is not only a way to speed up development but also an effective tool for testing whether a product meets user expectations. It allows companies to innovate more deliberately, reduce development costs, and increase the chances of success in the marketplace by constantly adapting and improving based on real-world feedback.
What does MVP stand for in business
It is safe to say that MVP app development is crucial in the context of creating software. Yet, why is it important? There has to be a rationale for why a company would decide to build an MVP rather than launch a business with a complete product.
There are several reasons for that:
Reduced Risk: Developing a comprehensive computer science solution is extremely expensive and time-consuming. By launching an MVP, companies can validate a product concept with a lower investment than building a fully featured final product.
Gather User Feedback: MVPs also allow companies to gather feedback from real users early in the product lifecycle. These early customer thoughts help teams understand user needs, identify pain points, and refine the product based on actual usage patterns. Instead of guessing which features will be popular, companies can make data-driven decisions that align with user expectations.
Faster Time to Market: It has been stated that building a complex product that improves performance and enhances the company's core value proposition does not happen overnight; it takes time, testing, and refinement. An MVP app allows companies to quickly launch a functional version that demonstrates the product's core value and begins to build customer interest. This rapid entry not only positions the company ahead of the competition but also provides a platform for iterative improvement.
Focus on Core Functionality: Of all the potential mistakes that one may make in creating your product, perhaps the biggest one is forming a never-ending list of features that the software has to support. An MVP makes companies concentrate on the result of a particular user issue.
Minimum viable product examples
The concept of Minimum Viable Product (MVP) is applicable to many different areas and types of software development. Many of today's technology giants did not begin with the prominence they enjoy today. They started with modest ideas, distilled down to their essential elements. By focusing on the most critical features needed to solve specific problems, these companies were able to validate their concepts, iteratively improve their offerings, and scale successfully.
Dropbox: This software development example began as nothing more than a tool for sharing files. There were no fancy features or complex algorithms—only the basic ones to upload and share documents. But this was enough to start a revolution in cloud storage. By focusing on the core problem of how hard it is to share files, Dropbox validated a market need and began building a foundation for future product service growth.
Uber: This is a true minimum viable product example. The story of Uber is no less an inspiration. What started as a text message-based service to connect passengers with drivers in the vicinity has grown into the ride-sharing giant it is today. At its core, it was just a raw, simple solution for a widespread problem: getting a ride. Testing this basic idea proved that a market actually existed for on-demand transportation, and the company could further iterate from there by adding features such as app-based booking, real-time trackability, and ride-sharing options.
Airbnb: Even Airbnb, the giant for accommodations, had humble roots. The initial focus was on creating a platform that would provide special kinds of accommodation in New York City. The niche market enabled them to test the product of whether people would actually stay in someone else's home. This type of MVP would help gain knowledge about customer preferences and would serve as a base for developing a platform catering to customers worldwide.
Top 10 minimum viable product examples
Looking to develop your own innovative product? The ten minimum viable product examples across different industries can inspire immensely in many ways. Through such successful examples of MVPs, you will learn how to test the idea of your product effectively and then refine it before it goes into full development:
The healthcare basic version proves the necessity of convenient appointment setting up and establishes the basis for a full-spirited healthcare application. For example, Zocdoc started as a straightforward platform where patients could easily book doctor appointments online.
Education MVP evaluates users’ readiness to engage in online learning and the insights needed to expand a library of courses. The initial version of Duolingo supported basic language-learning functionality via game lessons.
Trello's SaaS MVP used a Kanban-style board and proved the demand for collaborative task management in future product development. Along the way, it developed into a big project management system with a feature like team communication and automation.
E-commerce MVPs confirm market demand and obtain early resources before full scale production begins. By the way, American company Groupon began by emailing a deal on a local business each day.
Social Media MVPs underline the necessity of having the proper MVP application and serve as the basis for forming a more vast social network. For example, the first Facebook MVP was designed to connect Harvard students.
MVPs give credibility to your fitness app idea and help collect information for future iterations. Also, Fitbit's MVP was an essential wristband that measured steps and sleeping.
FinTech MVP acronym software verifies the need for budgeting apps and setting up the basis for a more complex PNFM application. Mint.com's first MVP was to aggregate all of a user's financial accounts in one place.
Music MVPs deliver an audience for your music curating and design and will guide the expansion of a complete music library. Spotify's first MVP offered a small library of free ad-supported music-streaming
Travel MVPs prove users' interest in non-traditional experiences and collect customer feedback to add to your service line. Airbnb's MVP was a simple website connecting travelers with people with spare rooms to rent.
On-demand services confirm the existence and demand for pet care services and contribute to constructing a target market of on-demand services. For instance, Wag! started with a fundamental platform connecting pet parents to dog walkers.
We can turn your business idea into a reality. Also, if you don't have an MVP developed, we can provide you with a free 40-minute consultation and discuss these aspects:
Which technologies may be suitable for custom MVP software development for you?
What kind of development team is needed to develop a specific product: software developer, UX/UI designer, project/product manager, or quality assurance?
Advantages of a minimum viable product
Reduced complexity & Focused efforts: The process of MVP application development forces you to weed out other less important efforts and distill your energies into this core offering. You don't spread yourself too thin; you streamline development by eliminating distractions.
Accelerated learning & Adaptation: MVP software engineering allows companies to quickly learn about market response and make informed decisions. The rapid learning process helps the company to pivot or adapt its offering based on real-world feedback without a full-scale investment.
Credibility & Market presence: An MVP for software development allows a product to be put into the hands of users at an early stage to build market awareness and establish your presence in the market sooner rather than later. A well-executed MVP with limited functionality can establish a foothold in markets and even attract early adopters.
Iterate for a better fit: MVP focuses on iterative improvement processes. As it starts with coding core features, you will iteratively add value with a more diverse focus as you continue to observe user behavior, allowing the product to reach its final stage as it adapts and gets closer to what customers want.
Disadvantages of a minimum viable product
Limited Functionality & User Experience: By definition, MVPs are not very rich in functionality. This might create a poor feel of the product, particularly for early adopters who might have expected deeper use of the software.
Negative Perception: If proper project management is absent, the users may see an MVP as bad or incomplete. So, it is vital to help address the stakeholders and be clear about what the MVP in project management manages to do.
Risk of Failure: An MVP purposely built to be simple and minimalistic can also fail. Sometimes, this might be because the basic idea that the design is intended to communicate never seems to ‘click’ with the target user base.
Missed opportunities: An MVP may limit its potential for success and miss opportunities for growth by not including all the features or functionality that customers want or need.
How to build an MVP
So, in which stage is a minimum viable product (MVP) created? Usually, the conceptual phase of a software project involves an MVP. These steps are more significant in innovation as they enable one to test the feasibility of an idea and get feedback from users before developing a fully fledged product.
Here's a study of the MVP development process:
MVP development process
1. Conceptualize the Idea:
Organize ideas and describe the main issue your software will address.
It is helpful to define precisely who the target audience is and then state in clear language for customer service what they gain from partnering with the development company.
2. Conduct Market Research:
Know clients' needs and problems and what they like or dislike.
Test the validity of the need for the solution that you are proposing.
3. Prioritize Core Features:
Determine what components are critical to addressing the main user issue.
Stick to delivering the app without complex characteristics and highlight the most useful ones.
4. Design and Develop:
Create an intuitive interface that facilitates easy navigation for users.
Develop the core functionalities which are defined in the planning stages.
5. Gather User Feedback:
Launch your MVP to a sample of the initiates.
Gather data using questionnaires, focus group discussions, and other activities with the users.
6. Iterate and Enhance:
Analyze and address the feedback collected from users. and make the necessary improvements on the MVP implementation of features in the subsequent versions.
Therefore, there should be a way to continuously refine and update your product to meet users’ needs.
Yet, how many iterations are needed to build a minimum viable product (MVP)? This number cannot be decided in advance. It depends on the amount of innovation in the concept and how well it is accepted by users from the word go. Here are some guidelines:
Put a minimum viable product before real users as quickly as possible.
Be prepared to enhance and modify your MVP based on user feedback.
Remember that MVP software development is a circular process, not a linear one, which involves continuous learning and improvement.
It is essential to note that the objective is to prove your concept and gather relevant feedback as early as possible to make your app evolve.
Minimum Viable Product Checklist
What should be the characteristics of an MVP? Hence, establishing a successful MVP entails planning. By following this document and using the power of MVPs, you can use your chances of a successful software product development that resonates with your target audience:
1. Plan Strategically:
Identify the specific problem your product addresses and how it solves it.
Create a product roadmap that will state the structure of the MVP and future phases of development.
2. Focus on Core Value:
Determine the key elements that solve the primary user objective.
It is important to grasp that, in fact, MVP is nothing more than the concept on which you start your business and then continue its development.
3. Define the Scope:
Identify the key features that will make up your concept MVP. Then, these features are ordered by importance based on the user experience and value they achieve.
4. Emphasize Usability:
Make web design easy to use. Assure that users can easily find what they need, just like a minimum usable product. Focus on testing the user experience (UX) to profile and debug usability problems.
5. Manage Expectations:
Make sure that users are well informed about the limitations within your MVP. Set clear expectations to drive real constructive feedback.
6. Engage Users Early:
Test with at least ten users of the MVP; conducting user interviews, gathering feedback through questionnaires, and beta testing.
7. Define Success Metrics:
Set clear goals for your MVP for everything needed to know who is using the product, subscribing, or buying, and the numbers of these people.
These are some of the metrics that you should track to assess an MVP's performance and identify ways to enhance its efficiency.
8. Iterate Based on Feedback:
User feedback can sort the changes that must be made according to the importance of users’ requirements.
Always improve your MVP and experiment based on the results that you get.
9. Utilize Scrum or Agile Methodology:
Implement Agile or Scrum methodologies in startup software development to support iterative development and rapid response to user feedback through this methodology. MVP in Agile ensures ongoing adaptation and enhancement of your product.
Benefits of MVP in app development with Overcode
As for app development, at Overcode, we always take care of our MVP projects. Overcode uses its development of a startup experience to better understand the client's needs and capabilities. We have a large number of different projects that we have been working on for years, and with our expertise, we know how to turn your MVP into a fully-fledged product. therefore, our team is committed to guiding you through all stages of development, from concept to launch. Now, let’s see the benefits of a minimum viable product in your MVP application programming journey:
A scalable foundation ensures that the startup development is based on a flexible architecture that can easily adapt to growth and changing business needs. By the way, planning for scalability from the outset will save you money in the future by avoiding costly rework. We have seen that many times and can surely say that this is essential as your user base grows or your data requirements increase.
Optimized resource allocation helps to increase efficiency by automating key processes, integrating with a range of other tools for seamless project management, and minimizing manual checks. This leads to a better team resource allocation, allowing them to focus on high-impact areas.
Customizable frameworks give the implemented solution the flexibility to adapt to specific changes or requirements. This allows for rapid iteration and adaptation in an ever-changing business. This means that with the framework in place, your platform can scale with changing requirements without having to rewrite a lot of code.
Real-time analytics allows critical data to be captured and processed as events occur. As a result, you can make faster decisions, respond more quickly to changes in the marketplace, and ultimately gain a competitive advantage. These insights provide a better understanding of user needs, allowing you to make more informed adjustments to products and strategies.
And you’re set to launch a product and develop the simplest MVP? Overcode is here to help! We offer MVP development services for startups and will lead you through the whole process step by step. Feel free to contact us today to discuss your project details and start developing your path to success.
5 Key Aspects to Consider
Thus, even though MVPs are beneficial in many ways, they are not a universal remedy for every developing project. Focusing on the specified aspects will help you determine whether you should use an MVP for your project.
1. Problem Complexity:
Simple Problems: MVPs are particularly effective for validating fundamental features in straightforward scenarios with clear solutions.
Complex Problems: For intricate issues requiring sophisticated solutions, a more comprehensive minimum viable product template may be necessary to gather feedback on various components.
2. Market Uncertainty:
Established Market: In a market with known customers and needs, an MVP helps fine-tune the solution and find the selling proposition.
Uncertain Market: To ensure product market fit and user needs are met for a new product, a more elaborate prototype will most likely be needed to test various features and determine user preference.
3. Resource Availability:
Limited Resources: MVP makes sense in resource-constrained scenarios, as it provides the best route to develop and test the core features.
Abundant Resources: Having abundant resources will allow you to build a broader prototype to examine more functions and options.
4. Risk Tolerance:
High-Risk Tolerance: In the case of high-risk tolerance, the MVP helps test major hypotheses more quickly.
Low-Risk Tolerance: In the case of low-risk tolerance, it might be better to opt for a detailed prototype to minimize the uncertainty of your software development project.
5. Product Viability:
High Confidence: If you are confident in the core idea of your final product, an MVP will let you confirm that it solves the real needs of the target users.
Low Confidence: If you are unsure about the concept, you need a detailed prototype to test different features and get users' feedback on every aspect of the product.
Minimum Viable Product alternative
People involved in the product development process or starting a business use many terms in their conversations, and terms such as MVP, prototype, and POC are exceptions. Yet, all of them contribute to creating your product idea, but they act differently.
Minimum Viable Product vs. Prototype vs Proof of Concept table
| Feature | MVP | Prototype | Proof of Concept (PoC) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Goal | Validate core concept & gather user feedback | Demonstrate functionality & user interaction | Validate technical feasibility & potential |
| Focus | Core functionalities for user testing | Look & feel, user experience (UX) | Technical capabilities & limitations |
| Functionality | Minimal, usable features | May include non-functional features | May lack core functionalities |
| User Involvement | Early adopters for feedback | Limited user involvement (optional) | Not typically tested by end users |
| Development Time | Relatively quick and cost-effective | Can vary depending on the complexity | Typically quicker than MVP development |
| Investment | Lower investment compared to a full product | Can vary depending on the complexity | Lower than MVP development |
| Risk | Lower risk of failure due to early feedback | May not fully represent the final product | Lower risk than MVP development |
| Outcome | Iterate and refine the product based on feedback | Used to inform MVP development or final product | The decision to proceed with further development or not |
If you have an existing project, but the processes are not aligned the way you would like them to be? Overcode can do a free 40-minute consulting session where we can break down the existing problems & questions:
Developers not meeting deadlines?
Do you have a large task list for the MVP version? Overcode can tell you which integrations are essential in the first phase and which can wait for the extended version of the product.
We’ll discuss the tech stack: existing or planned
Estimate request of what comes after MVP
Stuck in a startup rut? Overcode can be your guiding star. Contact us and our seasoned experts will light the way from how to create a minimum viable product to an innovative final product. With a proven track record in software development for startups, we will help turn your vision about MVP into reality faster than it takes you to say "launch".
