Agile Approach to MVP Development

An MVP, Minimum Viable Product, when less is more is an issue, comprises the minimum feature set targeting first users in order to validate and measure your product’s value proposition. The idea behind MVP is presenting a simplified version of the solution for early adopters to make sure that the development is going the right way and simultaneously identify the next steps often required by the project stakeholders due to the market needs or investors’ demands or budget limitations, etc.

Agile project management presupposes iterative methodology for dynamic delivery of the products. MVP concept as a part of Agile project management methodology with a primer focus on continuous improvements gives flexibility and ensures that every stage of the development is based on relevant feedback making it cost- and time- efficient.

What are the core benefits of applying Agile development to MVP creation?

• Focus on the product’s critical functions and value proposition at every single step.
• Concentrate on the improvements for the next iterations and eliminate rework.
• Introduce loyal relationships with your customers by helping them solve specific issues.

Data, gathered after the MVP release, is thoroughly analyzed and skillfully applied to improve the next version of your software product.

How to understand that MVP is your best option?

 Before MVP design, you need to define your target market and to understand the market value of your idea and a needed solution to a certain user’s problem. This market validation is actually a multi-stage process consisting of:

– Market research which aims at determining the problem your future product can solve, your target users and opportunity in the market.

– Proof of Concept validates technical potential of your future software solution, that is identifies the operational feasibility of the product idea.

– Prototype which makes it possible to visualize the expected user experience with  wireframing, specification design, functionality and user flow planning, to get the look- and-feel of the system.

All these help recognize the real value of the system, offer an answer if your product is ready for the target market and lead MVP towards building a successful end product.

MVP development in Agile

Keeping in mind that with the well-built and quality MVP you give yourself a chance to maximum outcomes with minimal effort, defining the scope at the very start is what matters the most. The quality- performance-costs together with limited scope is the perfect balance for your MVP.

How-tos on defining the MVP scope

It’s clear that the scope of your MVP is based on the value-bringing feature of your solution. You have to concentrate on the most important feature which you plan to present to your users. Here follow some tips that might help you define the scope of your MVP.

1. Your ideal customer defined at the early market research stage is the key incentive for you MVP scope identification. You want your target audience to enjoy your product, so our advice is to figure out who is your target user, his preferences and resources, what is your potential market and how to reach it. Analyzing this can help you get the product to early customers as quickly as possible .
2. Validate your assumption and your goal. By careful market analysis you can understand how to single out the core benefit of the solution you are willing to offer to your users. What will be the benefit of your product for your user: be it functionality or emotional implication, it has to be attractive for your target audience with its uniqueness or usability, etc.
3. Envision your product so that to have a clear picture of your solution perfectly fitting someone’s requirements or needs. You have to make sure your idea is a response to some questions.
4. Employ user stories to understand what the main tasks and goals are that you want to achieve with your functionality. Check out if the wording works with the users, rank the preferences and impressions and make the priorities among your desired features. So your MVP scope includes only the basics but meaningful and the most attractive basics.

Now that you are ready with the scope of your MVP, there is a budget aspect and the development time-frames that are crucial for your MVP planning. Keeping in mind that the very idea of MVP is to be quick and inexpensive, you will have to pay a particular attention to those factors before you actually start the development.

When carefully planned and analysed, you will have a clear idea of your MVP type and feature scope to fit the budget and timeframes so that the investment is approved in order to reach the market as soon as possible.

All this sound interesting and you are ready to start? We can help with a consultation, MVP planning and development by applying the Agile methodology in remote teams.