Minimum Viable Product: MVP Scope, Types, and Building ...

MVP plays the role of an airbag and gives an opportunity for forecasting a commercial and technical potential of a product's vision as well as ... AltexSoft Menu ✕ facebook twitter linkedin youtube telegram instagram ©CopyrightAltexSoft2022 Email:[email protected] Phone: RequestforProposal Altexsoft Menu Share:FacebookTwitterLinkedin 27 Nov,2017 MinimumViableProduct:DefinetheBest-fitType,Method,andFollowSimpleBuildingStages Share:FacebookTwitterLinkedin CONTENTS WhatisanMVP? Thedifferencebetweenproofofconcept(PoC)andMVP TypesofMVPs StepstobuildinganMVP Step0.AcknowledgethebasicMVPprinciplesandtechniques Step1.Defineaproblemyouwanttosolve Step2.Definethetargetaudienceandnarrowitdown Step3.Evaluateyourcompetitors Step4.DotheSWOTanalysis Step5.Definetheuserflow Step6.Createalistoffeaturesandarrangethemaccordingtotheirpriority Step7.DefinethescopeofMVP Step8.Choosethebest-fitmanagementmethodandengineeranMVP Step9.ApplyAlphaandBetatesting FinalAdvice Readingtime:13minutes Iftherewasabookaboutthemostepicstartups’fails,itwouldhaveatleastathousandpages.Everybodymakesstrategicmistakes,evensuchgiantsasAmazon.In2014,itdeclareda$170millionlossafterthefailureofFirePhone.Thereasonforitwassimple:nooneneededthisphoneexceptAmazon.Thegadgetwasintendedtoconnectusersdirectlytotheirshoppingplatform.CustomershadbeenusingiPhonesandAndroidsmartphonestoconnecttoAmazon.Thelackofcustomerresearchplayedamean,expensivetrickonAmazon. Ifyouwanttosucceed,youhavetobesuretheproductyouaregoingtoofferisexactlywhatcustomersneed.Whatisitsupposedtobelike?Developingaminimumviableproduct(MVP)cangiveyoutheanswer. WhatisanMVP? AnMVP,oraminimumviableproduct,istheearliestversionofaproductthathasonlyrequiredfeatures,enoughtodeliverthecorevalueandverifyittoearlycustomers.Basically,MVPisdeployedtogatherfeedbackandseewhethertheproductisneededbyusersatall.Earlyadoptersmayalsosharetheirvisiononthefunctionalitysothattheinsightsintocustomers’needsandpreferenceswouldallowdeveloperstoadjusttheproductaccordinglyandplanfurtherupdates. TheMVPstrategy,therefore,allowsreducingthedevelopmentcostaswellastheriskoffinancialfailureresultingfrombringinganundesiredproducttomarket. EricRies,entrepreneurandtheauthorof TheLeanStartup,givesaconcisedefinitionofanMVPhighlightingthelearningperspectiveanMVPprovides.Accordingtohim,anMVPis“thatversionofanewproductwhichallowsateamtocollectthemaximumamountofvalidatedlearningaboutcustomerswiththeleasteffort.” It’simportanttounderstandthattheMVPstrategyisnotaboutbuildingasmallproducttomeetashort-termgoal.Thetechniquesuggestsdevelopingthefirst,mostsimplifiedversionofaproductavailableforpublicuse.Theimprovementsmadetothisversionarealwaysbasedonfeedback.ThegoalofbuildinganMVPistofindoutwhatfeaturesandexperiencetheproductshoulddelivertoatargetedgroupofusers.SometimesMVPisaimedtotestaproductbusinessmodelandmonetizationapproaches. Thedifferencebetweenproofofconcept(PoC)andMVP TheMVPshouldnotbeconfusedwithaproofofconcept.Thelattercanbeinterpreteddifferentlydependingontheindustry. Firstandforemost,theproofofconceptisnotanearlyversionofaproduct.APoCinsoftwaredevelopmentdescribesprocessesaimedatfindingoutifthesoftwareconceptistechnicallyviable.Theteammayalsochoosethisapproachtodeterminetherequiredscopeofworkandbesttechnologiesfordevelopment,identifypossibletechnicalproblems,andfindsolutionstothem. DrewHouston,thefounderofDropbox,madeandnarratedanexplainervideoofhowDropboxissupposedtowork.Nearly75,000peoplesubscribedtoitduringthefirstnight.Asimilartechniquecanberealizedviaablog,inwhichyoucanshareideaswiththeaudienceabouttheproductyouwanttodevelop.WhilesomeconsiderthisasMVPitself,wetendtoclassifythisexplainerasaPoC. ThetermsMVPandPoCareinterconnectedbutnotinterchangeable.Theproofofconceptrealizedinanoptimalwaybecomesaminimumviableproduct. TypesofMVPs TherearemanyapproachestobuildinganMVP.Let’sdiscussthemaintypes. TheWizardofOz(somealsocallitthe FlinstoneMVP).Thetwonamesforthistypeofminimumviableproductstandforitsworkprinciple.JustastheFlinstoneswantedtocreateanillusionthattheyhavearealcarandtheWizardofOzusedtrickstopretendtobeagiantgreenhead,afairy,afireball,oramonster,thistypeofMVPjustseemstobecompletelyfunctional.Inreality,astartupperdoestheentirejobmanuallyinsteadofusingasoftwaresystemorateamishiredifneeded.Thereisnounderlyingsoftwareatallbutaproductconceptthatrequiresverification. NickSwinmurn,thefounderofZappos,hasprovedthisstrategyworks.Atthebeginning,hespentzerodollarsonshoepurchasesandwarehouserent.Hepostedshoephotosonawebsite.Oncecustomersstartedorderingshoes,hewenttoastore,boughttheneededpair,andshippedit.Afterhavingrealizedtheprojectisviable,headdedfunctionalitiestothewebsite. ConciergeMVP.EntrepreneurswhochooseaconciergeMVPalsoprovidehands-onservices.Butinthiscase,acustomerknowsthatarealpersonstandsbehindaprovidedservice.Wealthfront,aserviceforfinancialplanningandinvestments,startedfromaconciergeMVP.Wealthfrontworkerscommunicateddirectlywithclientsthatneededwealthmanagementhelp.AnotherimportantdifferencefromWizardofOzisthatthattheconciergetypeisaimedatgeneratingideasaboutthefutureproduct,providingservices,communicatingwithcustomers,etc.,ratherthanverifyingthem. PiecemealMVP.Theideaofpiecemealistodelivervalueusingexistingtoolsinsteadofbuildingacustomsolution.Aproductprototypelookslikeacomplexproductthough.Youmayusesimplesoftware,putittogether,andaddnecessaryfunctionalityafteryougetfeedback.GrouponisagreatexampleofapiecemealMVP.Itsfounder,AndrewMason,launchedaWordPresswebsiteandmanuallypostedpicturesofmealdealseveryday.HegeneratedoffersasPDFdocumentsusingAppleScriptandemailedthemviaAppleMail.That’showhevalidatedtheGrouponhypothesis. Asingle-featureproduct.And,finally,anMVPcanbetherealsoftwarewiththebareminimumoffeatures,justthecoreonesneededforverification.Withitshelp,youwillbeabletonarrowdownatargetgroup,receive,andanalyzefeedbackandconcentrateontesting. Butregardlessofthetypeyouchoose,thereareseveralmainstepstofollowtocreateanMVP. StepstobuildinganMVP Aproductalwaysstartswithanidea.Whatdistinguishesasuccessfulproductfromanundemandedoneisthatapopularproductisaresultofafeasibleideatransformedviaathoroughdevelopmentplan. Weofferastep-by-stepguideonhowtovalidateyourideaandturnitintoaproduct.YouwillbereadytostartbuildinganMVPinsevensteps.Stepzeroisanintroductoriontothemainprinciplesandtechniques.Theeighthandninthstepsareaboutprojectmanagementapproachesyoucanuseandhowyoucantestaproduct. Step0.AcknowledgethebasicMVPprinciplesandtechniques Priortoanyactualwork,it’sworthspendingsometimetooutlinethebasicMVPprinciplesandtechniquesandthenmakesurethatyourteamadherestothemacrosstheentireprocess.ThefollowingpointsarecriticalforallstagesacrossyourMVPinitiative. Tryspendingaslittlemoneyandeffortaspossible.TheentireideaofanMVPistocutthetimeandresourcesnecessarytoverifyyourbusinessidea.IdentifythesimplesttypeofMVPthatissufficienttogeneratefeedbackandsticktoit. Focusonbuildingawareness.Leverageasmanymediachannelsaspossibletoensurethatyouhavecriticalnumberofearlyadopters.ThismaybedonewithinyourPoCactivities. Trypre-sellingtheproduct.YoucanuseKickstarter,othercrowdfundingplatforms,ordirectlysellyourproducttomeettwomaingoals.Thefirstandthemostimportantoneistogetfeedbackandthesecondistoinvestthismoneyintofurtherdevelopment.You’llbeabletoseeifpeopleliketheproduct’sconceptinthefirstplace. Interviewcustomersallthetime.Regardlessofthe stepyou’reon,investtimeinterviewingyourpotentialcustomerstolaunchadjustmentsasearlyasthefirstwireframeandkeepactivelyinterviewinguntilyoutransitionfromtheMVPstagetoversion1.0.Afterthat,youstillshouldfollowthispractice,butenhanceitwithA/Btestingandotheradvancedverificationmethods.Youcanuseonlinesurveyformsortalkwithcustomersface-to-face.Articulatingtherightquestionsnotonlywillhelpyoulearnabouttheproblemsbotheringusersbutalsofigureoutiftheyareworthsolving.Askwhatdisturbedthemthemostwhentheyfacedtheproblemandwhy,whenthelasttimewastheyexperiencedit.Letthemtellyouhowtheytriedtosolvetheissueandwhattheydidn’tlikeaboutsolutionstheyused. Setupafeedbackloop.Thefeedbackthatyoureceiveeitherthroughinterviewsorotherchannelsshouldbesystematicandhavereal,short-termimpactonyourproduct.Keeptrackofallfeedback,generalize,andconvertideasthatyoureceiveintoconcretetasksforyourteam. Besidesprinciples,tosetafeedbackloop,youshouldconsiderthemainchannelstolettingyouruserstrytheproductandprovidethemeanstosharetheirideasandconcerns. Createalandingpage.Thepageshouldcontainthedescriptionoftheproductanditsfeaturesaswellasasign-upformwithfreeandpaidsolutions.Withthelandingpage,youcandefineoptimalpricingforyourproduct. Usesocialmedia.SuchplatformsasFacebook,Reddit,andYouTubewillbethemoststraightforwardsourcesofinsights,giventhatyou’veacquiredenoughattention.Wealsorecommendusingbloggingtools,eitherownedorpublic,likeMedium. Startanadcampaign.YoumayusesuchplatformsasGoogle,Facebook,andTwittertoseeiftheMVPreachesitstargetaudience.Theseadvertisingplatformshaveveryflexibleanddetailedsegmentationcapacities,soyou’llbeabletotestyourpersonashypothesesbytargetingmultiplenarrowusersegments. Step1.Defineaproblemyouwanttosolve Thefirstthingyoushoulddoisarticulatetheproduct’spurpose.Trysimplyansweringthequestion“WhatdoIneedthisproductfor?”Onceyou’veclearlycommunicatedinseveralwordsthevalueaproductbrings,youcanproceedtothenextstep.Forexample,ifyouwanttoopenamealdeliveryservice,theissueyouwanttosolvemaysoundlikethis:“Allowuserstogetmealsfromlocalrestaurantstogo.” Step2.Definethetargetaudienceandnarrowitdown Tryingtosatisfythewidestgroupofpeopleisamistake.Increaseyourchancesandchooseacertainaudienceyouwanttoofferyourproductto.Createafulldescriptionofapersonwhoisnotonlygoingtolikeyourproductbutalsowillbuyitwithouthesitation.Youshouldknowhowoldandhoweducatedthispersonis,whatheorshedoesforaliving,andwhatearninglevelthisjobbringshimorher.Habitsandhobbieswillcompleteadescriptionofapotentialcustomer.Tolearnmoreaboutcreatingbuyerpersonas,checkourstoryonstartingaSaaSbusiness. Theknowledgeaboutcustomer’slifestyleallowsyoutofindoutifyourfutureproductalignswiththeexactproblemheorshefaces. Step3.Evaluateyourcompetitors Don’toverestimatetheexclusivenessofyourproduct,especiallywhenyouknowthereareothercompanieswithinyourindustry.Evaluateyourcompetitors.Findouttheirstrongandweakpointstodefinethefunctionalityofyourfutureproduct.Youmayalsogroupthemaccordingtothewaytheycompeteformarketshare. Defineyourcompetitorsandtheaddedvaluetheyprovide.Analyzewhoyourtopthreerivalsare,howlongtheyhavebeeninthemarket,whatproductsorservicestheyoffer.Definewhethertheyhaveacompetitiveadvantageandestimateyourabilitytooffersomethingbetter. Findtheirmarketshare.Youshouldresearchtheirpastandcurrentstrategies,salesvolume,revenues,financial,andmarketingobjectives.Thisdatawillhelpyouunderstandhowprofitableandsuccessfultheyare. Useprimaryandsecondarysourcesofinformation.Theinformationcompaniesshareaboutthemselvesisthemostreliable,primarysourceforanalysis.Visittheirwebsitestoreadpresentations,whitepapers,annualreports,blogs,advertisingmaterials,andotherpublications.Secondarysourcesofinformation,suchasmagazineandnewspaperarticles,videos,surveyreports,andbooks,representpublicopinionabouttheplayers.Althoughthesesourcesmightbelessreliablethanprimaryones,theycangiveyouabiggerpictureoftheindustry. Digdeeper.Don’thesitatetovisitbusinesseventscompetitorstakepartin,contacttheirformeremployerand,ofcourse,usetheirproductandanalyzethefeedbackonit. Useanalyticalsoftware.Variousonlinetoolsforcompetitiveanalysiswillmakeyourlifeeasier.SuchserviceslikeSimilarWeb,Ahrefs,Quantcast,AppAnnie,orAppFollowgatherdataaboutwebsitesandapps.Withthem,youcanfindtherankofyourcompetitor’sapporawebsite,itsmonthlytraffic,audienceinterests,geographicallocationsofcustomers,andseerelatedproducts. Someoftheexistingtoolsprovidebasicfunctionalitiesforfree.Theothers,likeMozandSensorTower,aresubscription-based. Whenyouknowkeymarketplayers’weaknessesandstrengths,youwillbeabletoknowwhatmakesyourproductuniqueorwhatitlackstobecomeso. Step4.DotheSWOTanalysis SWOTstandsforstrengths,weaknesses,opportunities,andthreats.Whiletheframeworkisusuallyappliedinstrategicplanningformaturecompanies,it’ssimpleenoughtobeusedforqualifyingtheMVPidea.ToperformtheSWOTanalysis,youneedtoanswerobjectivelyaseriesofquestionsrelatedtotheabove-mentionedcategories.Let’shavealookathowtheSWOTanalysismaylooklikeforthemealdeliveryexamplewementionedabove. ThebestpracticefortheSWOTanalysisistokeepdescriptionsshortandeasytocomprehendforallteammembers ThegoalofSWOTanalysisistofocustheeffortonstrengths,definingandminimizingweaknesses,avoidingthreats,aswellasusingexistingopportunitiesforfurtherdevelopment.Strengthsandweaknessesusuallyrelatetointernalfactors.Inturn,opportunitiesandthreatsaretheexternalones. Italsohelpscompaniesanalyzecompetitorsandtochoosemarketplacepositioning. Step5.Definetheuserflow Userflowisapathausertakestoaccomplishhisorhermaingoalwhileusingaproduct.Andthispathmustbelogicalandclear. Userflowisaguidanceforcontentanddesignrequirementsforawebsiteorapp.Youshouldunderstandwhatcustomersexpecttogetwhileusingyourproducttobuildagooduserflow.Makesureyouprovideuserswithsomeadditionalinformationiftheyneeditandfindoutpossibledisinclinationsthatcanstopthemfromgoingtoanextstep. Asanexample,let’slisttasksusersmusttaketoachieveaprimarygoalwestatedinstep1,getmealsto-gofromlocalrestaurants.Theuserflowwouldbe:customizeorder,manageorder,payforameal,receivetheorder.Afterthestepsaredetermined,it’stimetodefinefeaturesforeachofthem. Step6.Createalistoffeaturesandarrangethemaccordingtotheirpriority Youneedtolistallrequiredfeaturesforthefutureproduct.Thestorymapping(oruserstorymapping)techniquewillhelpyouatthisplanningstage.Bytheway,it’sreflectedintheuserflowexampleabove. Storymappingisatwo-dimensionalapproachtomanaginguserstories.Itallowsforconcentratingonpartsoffunctionalityand,atthesametime,notlosingthebigpictureofaproduct. Thetechniquewasmadetohelpdeveloperschoosebothusefulandvaluablefeaturesprimarilyfromtheuser’spointofview.Itsauthorandpractitioner,JeffPatton,suggeststhatafeaturedescriptionshouldcontainanactiondonebyapersonratherthanthemeansofitsimplementation. We’velistedfourstepsusersdotosolvetheproblemwiththehelpofourproduct:customizeanorder,managetheorder,payforameal,receivetheorder. Nowwemustdescribefeaturesforeverystepandwritethemdownoncards. Forexample,tocustomizeanorder,ausermighthaveto:        choosewheresheorhelives        chooseacuisine        choosearestaurant        chooseadish        chooseadrink        readachosenitem’sdescription        addtheordertoashoppingcart Afteryou’vefinishedwithdescriptions,drawahorizontalrowshowingtheuserflow,placemainstepsonthemapandtheirfeatures. Thefeaturesaren’tprioritizedonthisstageyet Nowlet’sprioritizefeatures.Youshouldfindouthowimportantandvaluablethefeatureis,howoftenthefeatureisused,howmanyuserswilluseit,andhowriskyitis. Onceyou’vearrangedfeaturesaccordingtotheirpriority,drawaverticallineandplacethemwheretheybelong.Themostimportantandfrequentlyusedonesshouldbeatthetopofthelist,theleast—atthebottom. PrioritizationwillhelpdefinethescopeofanMVP  Step7.DefinethescopeofMVP Afteryou’veprioritizedthefeatures,youcandefinethescopeoftheMVP.Thefirsthorizontalrowonamapiscalledawalkingskeleton.Thewalkingskeletonisthesmallestusableversionofaproductthatlacksflesh,i.e.functionality.Weshouldbuildawalkingskeletonfirst. Insomecases,theMVPcoincideswithawalkingskeleton;sometimestheMVPhassomefunctionality.Tounderstandwhatthedistinctionsarebetweenwalkingskeleton,aminimumviableproduct,anditsfurtherconcept,youshouldcategorizefeaturesundertheheadingsmust-have,nice-to-have,andwon’thave. Nowdrawalinetoseparatecorefeaturesfromnonessentialones.Thefeaturesyougivethehighestranks representtheMVP.TherestofthemmaybeaddedafterthedeploymentoftheMVPandfeedbackanalysis. Asfeaturesareprioritized,you’regoodtostartengineering Step8.Choosethebest-fitmanagementmethodandengineeranMVP Withadefinedscopeofwork,youcanfinallystartdevelopingtheminimumviableproduct.Nowlet’sfindoutwhatprojectmanagementmethodsareapplicabletobuilding anMVP. Lean.LeanisoneoftheAgilesoftwaredevelopmentmethodsthatisbasedonseveralcoreprinciples:eliminatewaste,deliverasfastaspossible,amplifylearning,andbuildintegrityin.Practically,Leanappliesiterativedevelopmentwiththebuild-measure-learnpattern.WithLean,developerscandelaymostofthedesigndecisions,setarapidfeedbackloop,andmakesuretheybuildademandedproduct. Scrum.Scrumisanotheriterativeapproachtosoftwaredevelopment.Itreliesontheefficientdivisionofworkscope,whichhelpsteamsdeliverfaster.YoucanmanagethedevelopmentoffeaturesforMVPinsprints(shortcyclesabouttwoandfourweekslong)andhireascrummasterwhowill overseekeepingthewholeScrumprocessrunning.MVPmaybereleasedafterthefirstsprint,andthedevelopmentteamcanupdatetheproductaccordingtousers’feedbackinallsubsequentsprints.WhileScrumismoretime-consumingthanLean,itmaybelessstressfulforengineersandfitforlong-term,incrementaldevelopment. Kanban.Kanbanfocusesonthework-in-progressmodelandunlikeLeanandScrumdoesn’thavecyclicprogression.Instead,Kanbansuggestsfocusingontasksastheyappear.Thisallowsforaligningthescopeofworkwithteamcapacity.Basically,engineerscancontinuouslyaddtaskstoapipelineastheygetfeedbackfromusers.KanbanmaybeappliedafterthefirstversionofMVPisreleased.Itwillbeapowerfulmethodiffeedbackisongoing. ExtremeProgramming.XPisasetofengineeringpractices,suchascoderefactoring,smallreleases,simpledesign,codingstandards,thatallowforimprovingthecodeandupgradingitwithintheshortesttimeframepossible.DevelopmentcycleswithXPdon’texceedoneweek,soyoucandeliverthefirstversionfastandthenscale.XPwillbeagoodfitforMVPsthatheavilyrelyoncodequality. Choosingoneoftheiterativedevelopmentapproachesiscriticalasitallowsyoutobuildaconsistentfeedbackloop. Step9.ApplyAlphaandBetatesting Alphaisaso-calledin-housetest:Alimitedgroupofpeople,mainlyfriendsandfamilymembers,evaluateaproduct.Ifaproducthaspassedthistest,youcanproceedtoabetatestandlettherealuserstryaproductforonetotwoweeks.Analyzethefeedbackanddecidewhatfunctionalitiesyouneedtoaddorreplacetomaketheproductbetterandmorecomplex. Afteryou’vecollectedenoughfeedback,youcanstartupgradingtheproduct,testit,andgatherfeedbackagain.Thenumberandtimeframesofbuild-test-learncyclesdependontheproduct.Afteryou’vecompletedmultiplecycles,youcaneithergobacktostep0andpivotorkeepiterativelyimprovingyourproduct. FinalAdvice MVPplaystheroleofanairbagandgivesanopportunityforforecastingacommercialandtechnicalpotentialofaproduct’svisionaswellasitsimplementation.Itgivesyoutheopportunitytomakebusinessandtechnicaldecisionsbasedonfactsratherthanassumptions.Therefore,testingtheconceptortheproductinthemarketisthekeygoalofbuildinganMVP. 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