What is MVP Software development? Everything you need to know?

Introduction

Some entrepreneurs may begin projects with a hefty initial investment while wanting to offer all features that the target audience might require. It may be an extremely costly risk, as enticing as it may sound. What if the product needs to be tweaked or fails terribly, and the investment goes down the drain?

An ideal way is to go for MVP or Minimum Viable Product to avoid these business risks!

Entrepreneurs and executives should know this critical concept before implementing any software development project. Having an MVP can save you time and money on your project. In this article, we will look at what is MVP Software development. We will also delve into how MVP is used as part of custom software development.

What is MVP in Software Development?

The acronym MVP stands for “Minimum Viable Product.” Some entrepreneurs may desire to create new features that set their product apart from the competition at the launch point. The question now is – how can corporations produce such applications, or digital software solutions, given the limited amount of time?

The answer is not limited to engineers; every stakeholder in the IT business understands that the Minimum Viable Product in software development plays a critical role.

Consider this complicated product: a designer wants to build a high-tech smart home system that can water a client’s plants and feed his pets while away. He plans to use a network of tubes connected to the kitchen sink. He also wants to ensure this device is feasible before hiring several high-priced automation engineers.

On the other hand, the MVP principle can be applied to any less complicated ideas for a new company or a spin-off from your current small business.

In other words, having a stated purpose and a set of features increases your chances of building a realistic full-featured project in the future. A product with just enough capability to satisfy early customers while offering feedback for future development makes up an MVP.

Who can benefit from MVP Software?

Some companies require early functional testing of their product concepts, which is not doable with other development approaches, such as MVP.

MVP software development lets organizations build business hypotheses early with a minimal feature set. It also allows them to construct an application based on core customer interest. Business hypotheses can be drawn before with a basic feature set. This will make the app popular and useful right from the start.

Furthermore, this will improve the software concept during the development stage and reduce concerns,

Some of the important roles in the MVP development process are described below.

• Product Owner – He is the only decision-maker for the product in development. His goals and vision were the basis for an application.
• Business Analyst – His team stands behind the client’s efforts, from product concept to functional specifications to an app development roadmap. They conduct all competition and market research. After gathering input, they decide whether to go ahead with the app.
• Project manager – In the MVP development process, he is the one who implements the program idea. This position serves as a liaison between the product owners and the development team. They oversee taking full responsibility for the entire product development process.
• Product designer – This job oversees your solution’s aesthetic appearance. Wireframes, user experience, negative feedback, and the UI of your product are all being worked on by the software designers.
• Software developers – They are solely responsible for code, architecture, and the execution of all required features within the software product.
• QA Testers – They oversee software testing of the produced application, removing defects using QA best practices, and identifying performance issues to guarantee the app runs smoothly.

MVP Software as part of Custom Software

Let us the first answer – what is custom software?

Custom software development is the process of thinking, creating, constructing, and delivering software for a specific individual or group of individuals within an organization or as a third-party agreement. Custom software is designed to meet the demands of unique users and is regarded as more efficient than off-the-shelf software (COTS). COTS is appropriate for a broader audience because it addresses a broader set of criteria. It is promoted and marketed for various enterprises in their day-to-day operations. Microsoft Office is one of the best instances of Off-the-Shelf solutions since it can suit a broader audience’s generalized needs worldwide.

MVP and Custom Software development.

A tailor-made product produced for the specific demands of an entity is what custom software is all about. The importance of creating an MVP before a start-up launches full steam ahead is directly proportionate to how well it solves its true goal once it hits the market.

If companies discover after their product has been launched that it does not satisfy the needs of their target audience, it will not be a welcoming gesture. It’s also crucial not to put quality ahead of speed. Spending money and energy on irrational things and adopting existing firms’ strategies can be detrimental to start-ups.

Why should you go for MVP before custom software development?

Every entrepreneur aspires to reduce risks and maximize the chances of a successful product launch. Interestingly, around 90% of start-ups fail during the first year, with market demand responsible for 42% of start-up failures. Almost half of the time, entrepreneurs put in months or even years of labor to find out that their hypothesis was wrong. It turns out that no one wants their product. (Source: Forbes)

Why does my project need an MVP?

Our custom software development must be fast and within budget. An MVP provides the advantage of stripping away extras that have not been tested with consumers yet and could be dealt with during the next version. This provides a faster turnaround time and allows you to mold the product once it is tested. Here are some reasons why you need MVP before starting a custom software development.

• Time efficiency: It will take significantly less time to create a minimum viable product. It is crucial to realize that you’re not making a perfect product; it is far faster and easier to supply the necessities. All you must do now is find the minimum functionality to help you solve your target audience’s problems.

The most important thing to remember is that the sooner you complete a task, the more useful experience you will receive. Furthermore, developing an MVP before going on to custom software development saves time and effort, and prevents you from planning and scaling your business incorrectly.

Furthermore, an early launch allows you to assess your marketing strategy and sales channels more quickly.

• Cost efficiency: Because a minimal viable product requires the most basic features, it will take developers less time to construct than a full-fledged product. As a result, the price of a ready-to-use solution will be reduced.

Early adopters provide you with rapid input on your product, allowing you to introduce additional features gradually. This strategy saves money on development as compared to creating a full-featured program.

Using the method of agile project management during the software development stage will help you keep costs down at every level of your MVP development.

• Defined Value Proposition: Using the MVP method, you can quickly bring clarity to your key focus area. You must first comprehend the project’s overarching aim to describe the most crucial elements for your MVP. If you know what problems it can answer, you will be able to deliver the most value to users. This method will also enable you to eliminate features that are not required.

Instagram, a popular photo, and video-sharing social media platform is a great example of this application. Interestingly, it was created with the intention of being a GPS-based program at first.

Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger, the founders of Instagram, were working on a project that contained several features such as checking into places, making plans, and sharing photographs, among others. However, they soon recognized that most of the parts made their software too complex. As a result, they concentrated on a single feature: photo sharing.

•  Credibility for attracting your investors: Investors must know where their money will be put to work. This is unsurprising, given that the failure rate for new businesses in 2019 was about 90%. (Source: Harvard Business Review)

As a result, some investors believe there will be a lot of initial demand from users. Start-ups with early customer participation have a better chance of recruiting investors and securing funding.

To make money, you must establish the viability of your business plan in this aspect. The MVP method comprises deploying a product fast and waiting for feedback from customers. If it is positive, you’ll be confident in your offering’s relevance and be able to show your MVP to investors confidently.

• Feedback from early adopters: The most important purpose of MVP development is gathering feedback from the initial users of the app or product. By voicing their opinions on needed improvements, new functions, or updates, early adopters can help you improve your product. Furthermore, if your product is well-received, people may develop a community around it.

The initial target group might not necessarily find your product useful. Do not be concerned. To locate clients who will surely appreciate your product, try distributing your MVP to various target groups.

• Possibility to build customer loyalty: You obtain valuable insights from feedback and establish strong ties with them.

Once you have produced and released your MVP, you will have information to use in future product or service versions. To improve your next edition, include these facts as soon as possible. Set aside preconceived notions about whether features will be successful and instead focus on actual feedback and points.

The minimum viable product was created to save you time and money by ensuring that you do not waste any more time or resources on a product or concept that isn’t lucrative. Negative feedback may force you to pivot sooner than anticipated. On the other hand, positive encouragement should urge you to keep moving forward.

Other Benefits of MVP in Software Development

A successful MVP strategy places an early product in the hands of potential customers, who can provide market validation and feedback to the business. Then, based on that feedback, constant and incremental improvements lead to a finished product. Let’s take a look at some of MVP’s other advantages.

• Bridges The Different Stages of Your Development-

The MVP links the early stages of software development and the finished product. Everyone wants their custom development projects to be completed on time and within budget. With an MVP, you may accomplish this by deleting all the extra features that users haven’t tested but may be incorporated in the next version. This allows for a faster turnaround time and provides your team with a product they can be proud of.

• UX and usability testing-

UX design’s aim is to keep potential users engaged by providing a user-friendly interface, and an MVP will evaluate the product’s app engagement potential in terms of user interactions, durability, and lifetime value. Organizations can use MVP to gather user feedback, data, and insights on how users interact with the initial product and assess how quickly they comprehend the product’s purpose and user flow. Then find new ways to improve functionality to provide a better user experience.

• Release Time is Shorter

In today’s fast-paced economy, the advantage of building a Minimum Viable Product is that you obtain faster results. Because the MVP prevents feature creep and procrastination, your clear, straightforward, and valuable product will be released quickly. By publishing your MVP, you build an early stake in the ground for your solution and its specialization. As a result, you begin to form consumer relationships that will provide the groundwork for future success.

• Chances of Error Are Limited

The more intricate the components are when building something new, the longer it will take to finish. The construction procedure gets significantly easier when the number of challenging pieces is minimized. It is no different when creating an app. There is minimal coding because the MPV will only carry key features with fewer functions. Because there are fewer codes, there is less room for errors in the software.

• Obtaining Financial Assistance:

The final and most lucrative benefit of employing MVP in software development is the ability to capitalize on financial gains. There will be less wasting of time, effort, and money if your errors are minimum. However, if the problems are numerous and there is no MVP structure in place, the modifications will take longer than anticipated. Your business will be able to grasp changes and make changes or modifications in the following release cycle if MVP is used as part of software development. Because this can only be done if the product has an MVP model in place.

How Liventus can help you build an MVP Software

Liventus can assist in developing a basic version of the program with basic functionality and a simple design that makes use of existing infrastructure. We develop a genuine product with the bare minimum of features that aid in the presentation of product concepts to the market and the gathering of feedback. This will assist you in analyzing early adopter reactions.

A budget, not a cost estimate, is required for your agile project. It also necessitates an awareness of your MVP to know what is necessary at the most basic level. What is the bare minimum product need, and how much time do we have? We can build capacity, and timetables, and go to work on making sure the bare minimum is met, with the concept of doing more if there’s room, with a budget and a loosely defined MVP.

At Liventus, we go through the entire custom software development life cycle for our clients, from business idea validation through MVP implementation and scalability. To put it another way, Liventus knows everything there is to know about launching a successful MVP. To get started on your MVP approach to a successful custom software project, contact us today.