A minimum viable product is a great way of building user centric digital services in a fraction of the time. It will also lead to big cost savings.
We hear a lot about the idea of a minimum viable product (MVP) and if you have heard the term but are not sure what it really means or why it matters, then this is the post for you.
What is a minimum viable product (MVP)?
To understand what a minimum viable product is you must first understand how most products are created. To demonstrate the process, let’s use a simplistic project for constructing a new building.
The idea is formed
Step one is that somebody has the idea for a new building. This is often a senior manager somewhere. The idea might have been informed by some research into the market, but often it is not. Even when it is, the idea often lacks definition at this stage.
Plans are laid
Step two is a planning or specification phase. This is where all the details for the building are hammered out. This is an important stage, because the cost of getting things wrong would be high. Buildings aren’t cheap and the cost of changing things is high. Organisations sometimes consult with the eventual occupants at this stage. But there is nothing to show them and so it is difficult to get a detailed sense of what they need.
The project is implemented
Next, the plan is implemented. The building starts to be constructed. The focus at this stage is on delivering on time and within budget. The enemy is scope creep or unexpected developments. But if the planning stage was thorough enough these can be minimised.
The result is revealed
Once the build has been completed, the final building is revealed to the world. This is the crunch moment. Will the occupants like it? Will it have provided what they actually need, rather than what they said they wanted? Will they actually move in?
It is impossible to know the answers to these questions until the product goes to market. This is true even when you have done some research during its development. Worse still, if they don’t respond well there is no budget or time to make changes. The project only budgeted for some basic maintenance once the building was finished.
How a minimum viable product works
By contrast a minimum viable product allows you to gather reliable data about the customers reaction. Even better, there is no danger of over-engineering the solution. You can be confident you are only building features your audience will use.
Take the example of creating a public park.
Get to market fast
The initial park could be basic. A few trees and some grass. But as a result you can open it to the public early on. No long specification phase because the cost of implementation is low and we can always improve it overtime.
As the gardeners tend to the park each day they can talk to the public using the park. They can watch how they use the park and adapt accordingly.
Provides better feedback
For example they might get regular feedback that the park lacks colour. The gardeners might then decide to plant some flowers to brighten things up. After all the cost isn’t high and they were working on the garden anyway.
Allows more informed research
Next, people start to say it would be nice to have a pond. This is a bigger investment. But a bit of research reveals that it would attract a new audience of model boat enthusiasts. With that knowledge the owners decide to make the investment.
Lets you observe natural behaviour
Finally, the gardeners observe that people are having to sit on the grass. That isn’t a problem for most, but some elderly people are struggling. They then decide to add a bench and afterwards notice that the elderly spend longer in the park.
Why minimum viable product offers a better way
As you can see a minimum viable product is a much more flexible way of working. It isn’t right in all circumstances. But for a digital project where the cost of change is low, it is worth considering. This is because it offers some distinct advantages:
It lowers the cost of development because you only build what people will use. Our park keepers could have built a skateboard park. But it turned out there was no demand for it so they didn’t make that investment.
It is faster to market because you can start with something basic and there is no need for a long specification stage. This gives you a competitive advantage when it comes to grabbing market share.
It leads to a more desirable product. This is because it gives people exactly what they need and they don’t end up paying for features that just clutter the experience.
This in turn leads to increased customer satisfaction and word of mouth recommendations.
Also in the case of digital products it leads to easier to use solutions. That doesn’t just increase satisfaction, it reduces support costs too.
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