Let’s start with the basics and go over the biggest reasons MVPs became the standard in the software lifecycle. There’s a good chance you’ll agree and see the value of all five benefits of building an MVP.
1. Idea validation
We can’t really know for sure how good our product is until we know what users think about it. Not just one or two friends who happen to have similar interests and views on things. It’s the outside look of an actual group of diverse users that helps us understand the place of the new product in a business landscape.
MVP gives you the ability to validate your ideas quickly and efficiently without the need to go all in with the budget. A scaled-down product version is enough to gather valuable feedback from early adopters, users, and stakeholders. The value of this feedback loop is immense. It helps you understand what users truly need (or don’t need). Most importantly, it vastly reduces the risk of investing time and resources in all the features that might not meet the market's demands. And that brings us to the next point.
2. Cost optimization
Theoretically, it’s possible to develop a perfect product right away. In addition to some 777-slot machine luck and massive research, it would take a ton of money.
And even then, there’s no guarantee of success.
So in most cases, it simply doesn’t make sense to try. In order to play it safe and optimize costs, it’s usually much better to take the MVP route.
That way, you’re ensuring you don’t waste funds on features that users might not receive well. In MVP versions, you prioritize core functionalities and allow yourself to go slowly with costly features you’re not too certain about. And what’s often instrumental, you can release the product much earlier, get a head start against the possible competition, and start gathering the necessary revenue to grow further.
3. Faster time to market
Like a broken record, we can go back to the MVP name itself.
It’s pretty self-explanatory. In the process of minimum viable product development, we focus on core functionalities that are necessary for a product to serve its purpose. As soon as we have all the most important features, we can release the product.
As soon as it happens, you start building a user base, gathering feedback, and generating revenue. Those advantages can make a world of difference, especially for companies with limited budgets or those who operate in a highly competitive market.
4. More informed decision-making in product development
By opening yourself to user feedback in the early stages of new product development, you can make much more informed decisions regarding key features and updates to focus on.
Here’s an example from one of our recent projects. During MVP development, together with our client, we prepared a list of features that we’ll most likely focus on after the product’s released. The client felt confident about most of them, but we decided to gather user insights before moving on to the development.
A few weeks after the MVP product launch, it turned out that our assumptions weren’t exactly correct. The core product was received quite positively, but we discovered that users are looking for a few functionalities that we haven’t considered at all.
Thanks to this process, we were able to deliver the most needed features to clients much quicker. And, of course, we avoided spending the client’s budget on the elements that weren’t a priority for clients.
5. Risk mitigation
It’s fair to say that the MVP product development process is all about risk mitigation, and it all boils down to the elements that we actually covered in previous paragraphs.
When it comes to budget, MVP ensures that you focus on the essential features and minimizes the risk of spending money on those that users don’t really need. At the same time, it helps you tweak your product in every possible way, thanks to continual user feedback.
And in terms of time to market, it ensures you’ll get there asap with all the crucial functionalities that allow you to gather feedback and move forward.
