New startups are rising nowadays. Due to tough competition in the market, most of them do not make it to the top. Therefore, users can only see successful startups.

The reason most startups fail because there is no need in the market for them. To understand what a user wants from a product, business owners should develop an MVP (minimum viable product). MVP costs less than the fully functional application which allows gaining user feedback from the market. This strategy made companies like Alibaba and Amazon reached heights.

A minimum viable product includes only the basic features required to solve a user’s problem. Moreover, one common misbelief is that companies build MVP to accelerate their time in the market. However, it is more common that companies develop MVP to sustain their economic viability.

What is an MVP?

An MVP (minimum viable product) is the simplified version of an app or product you want to develop and launch to the market. The purpose of an MVP product is to give the development team time to validate the viability of the product based on user needs and market trends.

One of the core concepts of developing an MVP is enhancing product scalability during the development process. In this case, the development team adopts a lean startup methodology for better scalability.

This means taking small steps at a time, testing, and improving to ensure you are developing the right product and saving on costs. The process will help you determine exact market needs, tailor your product to fit the market needs, and finally scale the product accordingly (add more features or reduce irrelevant features). In the end, your product will penetrate the market seamlessly.

MVP testing helps businesses save thousands of dollars by ensuring the team produces a product with low risks and a product that will sell. Besides, testing gives the team user-centered insights, thus modifying the final product to align with user preferences. The end result is a perfect product that will guarantee better returns on investments, which is every core business goal.

MVP Benefits for Businesses

The development of an MVP acts as a shield for an application. It provides user feedback and shows the interest of the user in the market. Moreover, the MVP prevents businesses from bearing high losses. MVP has the following advantages in the business world.

1. Early User Research

The quicker the product is available to the users, the faster one may be able to collect the user feedback. It is a huge advantage for a business owner to understand the needs of the market. If MVP fails to facilitate the consumer, one may have time to reassess the features and the overall formulation of the application.

However, in the contrast, if the user gets fond of the proposed project, one may be sure to develop the project. Prioritize MVP features for the user so that the project may achieve its ultimate success.

2. Testing Phase

One significant benefit of launching a minimum viable product is that it allows one to test the MVP concept of the project. If an application is launched with tons of features, it may be hard for users to grasp all the features at a time. Moreover, one may have to delete additional features that the user finds it difficult to use. This process may result in money loss.

At the same time, while launching an MVP, one may develop a small number of features. Later, if these features suit the needs of the user, improve them, and develop new ones.

3. Cost-Efficient process

Launching an application in a single phase is a risky and costly process. Luckily, MVP provides a solution to launch an application in stages so that user feedback can be calculated, and the application meets the demand of the user. This process has fewer risks and is cost-efficient.

4. Attracting Investors

An employer of a software company relies on good investment which is provided by outside investments. More importantly, to attract investors, one may have to attract them through the designed product. MVP seems an excellent strategy at this point.

With a functioning product, there are more chances of getting funds. Moreover, stakeholders do not have to wait for months to get user feedback. MVP projects are perfect in terms of paper and practicality.

How to Build a Minimum Viable Product

MVP consists of pretty much basic features; however, one may still take certain steps before the MVP development process. Let us look into the key factors of building an MVP.

• Analyzing Market.

Analyzing the market’s needs is the fundamental point of any project. To have successful project research the market. Make sure that the product is interesting for the users. Conduct surveys from various platforms to analyze user feedback. Surveys can be conducted on platforms like “One poll” or surveys by Hubspot. Keep the rival’s insight if any.

• Get a concise idea

Some of the challenges that almost every employer has in mind are the following questions.

• What tasks may the product solve?
• How useful can the product be for the user?
• Why would someone opt for this solution?

At the end of this stage, one may conclude to a precise picture of the essential features required for the product. Since these qualities are helpful to the user, define the problem at first, and then move on to the development process.

• Defining the Features to be added

While launching an MVP for a startup business, provide a list of features required either to a software development company, in-house software developers, or freelancers. Pen down the features required for the application.

Furthermore, consider adding those features that are vital for the application. MVP means that only the basic features can be added.

• Build and Launch the application

After all the points are checked, one may begin the development process of the MVP. One common mistake employer make is that they launch a product of poor quality hoping to fix in the future. More importantly, building an MVP must satisfy the customers and investors.

• Analyze the Feedback

After analyzing user responses, conclude based on the response. Customer feedback is an important element that helps in the progress of the application. Early users will play the role of new idea generators and testers. Moreover, make sure to add new features consistently and fix bugs and glitches if any.

Why most MVP’s Fail

Here we will discuss the most common mistakes a business owner makes while launching an MVP.

• Mislaid priorities.

This term refers to that the team is not clarified on the product’s long term goal before the development process. Focusing on the wrong problem will be of no good, the product will go extinct.

• Communication barrier with users

Paving in the wrong direction will be of no-good use. Ask the user honest questions and be prepared for the feedback. Unless straightforward feedback is not received one may not know what the user wants.

• Launching late

The launching time should not be the priority, the quality of the application determines the success. Keep balance in the development pace. On average it takes around 2-5 months to complete the development process of an MVP.

• Not doing enough market research

An MVP relies heavily on good and in-depth market research. Failure to do proper market research limits the developing team with insights from the target user base. In the end, the team can build an MVP that doesn’t align with end user preferences, hence poor market penetration, thus failing the MVP development.

Therefore, prioritize market research, especially as you target an end-user audience. The insights collected will help you determine if the concept is viable or not.

• Failure to define the MVP the scope

When you don’t define and highlight the scope of your MVP, then the product is bound to fail. When you define the MVP scope, it means you are addressing a specific issue affecting target users, hence an easy way to prioritize features that are relevant in this case. This helps you plan the development process well while eliminating any complexity and saving costs at the same time.

The process of defining your MVP scope involves determining the main value proposition, main assumptions, and potential risks involved. From this, you can determine the key features that are crucial during testing and validating the MVP idea.

• Limited resources

Limited resources or budget will cause the MVP concept to fail. MVP development is a process that requires adequate resources for research, development, testing, and refining. With limited time and budget, it means the MVP idea will fail.

Therefore, make sure you plan well and use advanced tools to prioritize tasks and optimize costs effectively.

• Ignoring feedback from users

Not looking into user feedback will lead to MVP failure. End users have a big impact on the end product, and that is the sole reason for creating an MVP. When you ignore user feedback and implement your own ideologies, it means creating a product that doesn’t align with what users prefer, hence automatic failure.

Ideally, the main goal of developing a product is to meet user needs by providing a viable solution to their problems.

Therefore, always make it a point of interest to build an MVP according to feedback and insights collected from end users.

• Poor validation of ideas and concepts

It is common for business owners to have diverse ideas, especially when creating an MVP. The only issue comes when an entrepreneur sticks to their own idea and concepts and starts working on the product. This means creating a product you want without considering other parties’ overviews on the same, and this can lead to MVP failure. You will end up wasting resources and time all on the go.

Therefore, make sure you involve several parties to validate the concept in the right manner.

• Overbuilding the MVP

Another common reason why an MVP fails is overbuilding the solution. Yes, you can have the right idea and concept, however, you may perceive adding extra features and functionalities will enhance the product acceptance. In this case, you might end up taking more time to develop the product, thus forgetting the core values of your MVP. This means you will launch the product to the market when it is too late, thus hindering seamless market penetration. What’s more, you will not get user feedback in a timely manner to refine the product. Above all, you will exploit and use the resources on inappropriate functionalities. Strive to keep your focus on only core features and functionalities.

• Not testing the MVP well

Not testing your MVP accordingly can raise issues that will take forever to resolve. What’s more, these issues will impact user experience in a negative manner, thus hindering product acceptance, which leads to MVP failure.

Solution: Incorporate testing into the entire development process. To ensure highest quality, use automated as well as manual test strategies.

Tips for building an MVP successfully

Building an MVP can turn out unsuccessful, especially due to the reasons mentioned above. However, with the right approach and the tips described below, it becomes easy to succeed in building an MVP:

• Do proper market research

When you have an idea or concept in mind, don’t start building the MVP right away. Instead, do in-depth market research to get everything right. Examples of market research analysis include reviewing the demand rate in the market and determining the most appropriate solution in your niche. Don’t forget to do a competitor analysis to unleash the areas they haven’t handled in resolving existing issues and take advantage of such insights to beat the competitive market.

• Follow agile development

Agile development means dividing the MVP development process into small and manageable segments. This enhances regular feedback and customization of the MVP in accordance with the feedback collected. In this case the developers work with what users need, thus creating a product that will satisfy user needs and penetrate through the market easily.

Again, agile development allows the team to identify and fix bugs and errors in the early stages of MVP development, thus avoiding resource and time wastage.

Most importantly, agile development enhances transparency and adaptability to the changing market trends, needs, and user preferences. This ensures the product remains valuable in the market for a longer timeline.

• Prototype First, then develop Second

The prototype first, then developed second ideology helps the teams have a clear overview of the MVP product in the early stages before the actual development process to prevent any possible mistakes.

In the end, this strategy simplifies the concept validation, user testing, and feedback collection processes before wasting time and other resources on MVP development. Prototyping, for instance, helps the team prioritize product features that align with user needs.

• Start with a clear objective

Don’t just wake up one day and decide you need to build an MVP. Instead, figure out clear objectives why building an MVP is a practical idea. This will enable you to plan and allocate resources to ensure the entire process flows seamlessly, including making changes where needed.

• Set realistic timelines and budget

When you set the targets with a realistic budget, then you are bound to excel with your MVP development. With the budget, the team allocates the available resources effectively, ensuring no wastage. The predefined timelines, on the other hand, help the teams to prioritize tasks and work towards achieving the set goal.

Above all, timelines and budgets motivate the teams to accelerate the development speed, thus ensuring appropriate timelines during MVP launching.

• Narrow the focus on main features

Don’t just build an MVP with the idea that you can adjust and refine the product when solving arising problems. In this case, the development team can easily lose track and end up producing a product that won’t stay in the market for long. In this case make sure you define the core features of an MVP and narrow your focus towards these features.

• Iterate based on feedback collected

During MVP product development, you want to ensure the final product aligns with target user needs. Therefore, as you make changes, make sure to follow feedback and insights collected from users. This will eliminate the complexity of including irrelevant or complex functionalities that don’t align with user needs, thus validating the whole MVP development concept.

What is the cost of building an MVP?

Building an MVP product can cost between $10,000 and $50,000 or even more based on a number of elements that we will describe later in this guide, including tech stack, number of development teams, and the nature of the project, among many others.

Below is a breakdown of MVP development costs:

• Pre-development Cost of MVP

MVP pre-development costs breakdown include the following:

• Research and concept validation can range anywhere from $1000 and $10,000 depending on the level of research needed. The timelines also differ in relation to the research being carried out. Some of the common activities involve conducting interviews, surveys, and evaluating a competitor analysis to collect as much insightful data as possible.
• Prototyping & Wireframing in which the costs can range anywhere from $500 and $5000 with a timeline of about one or two weeks, depending on the complexity of the MVP. The goal is to have an overview of the MVP in relation to its functionality and user satisfaction before actual MVP development. The actual tasks here include initial planning, creating wireframes, and, finally, interactive prototypes.
• Product design in which the costs can range anywhere between $1000 and $15000 with a timeline ranging from two and four weeks. The step involves designing an easy-to-use and visually appealing MVP that will meet user needs. The tasks involved here are UI/UX design, iterative design, and visual resource allocation.

• Development Cost of MVP

These are the costs incurred when building an actual MVP product. The activities, their estimated costs, and development timelines include the following:

• Frontend development takes about four to eight weeks, and it costs between $5000 and $30000. The tasks involve creating the user interface and interactive elements with your MVP. This means creating a responsive design for all devices, executing JavaScript functionality, and HTML/CSS code. The timeline can differ based on the features and UI elements designed for a specific MVP development project.
• Backend development which takes around four and eight weeks at a cost ranging between $5000 and $40000. Backend Development handles the server-side logic and databases for user authentication and data processing. The activities here include database integration, programming, and API development.
• Database setup which takes around one to two weeks at a cost of between $1000 and $10000. Database setup handles MVP data storage and management processes, and the tasks include performance & scalability optimization, database setup, and design.
• Third-party integrations which take between two and four weeks at a cost of between $1000 and $20000. This includes all the services that enhance the MVP functionality and overall performance. The more third-party integrations, the more the costs.
• Testing and AQ (quality assurance which takes between two and four weeks at a cost ranging between $2000 and $15000. The testing and QA analysis are done to ensure the MVP delivers an exceptional user experience without any issues. The tasks here include test planning, fixing bugs, executing the processes, and verifying compatibility with other systems and platforms.

The costs highlighted above can change over time depending on the nature of the MVP development project, development team, and other unique requirements.

• Post-development Cost of MVP

These include costs incurred after developing the MVP. The tasks include the following:

Launching and deployment takes between one and two weeks with costs ranging from $1000 and $5000. Here, you need to plan and execute the process well. The activities cost here come from hasting setup, domain registration, and app submission to the marketplaces.

Initial marketing and user acquisition can cost anywhere between $2000 and $20000. The goal is to attract initial users and improve user involvement. The activities here include content production, digital marketing campaigns, and user acquisition strategies as you target a certain userbase.

Maintenance and support – the costs here can range between $500 and $5000 depending on the services needed, including regular maintenance, current maintenance, and support for a secure and reliable MVP.

Factors impacting MVP development costs

MVP development costs vary widely due to the following reasons:

• Complexity of the MVP Development Project

A complex MVP will cost more than a simple MVP due to the number of features and functionalities required.

• Geographical location of the development team

Advanced countries such as the USA, Canada, UK generally attract more costs, unlike other countries. This is because of the living standards and advanced technology in different locations.

• Choice of Technology Stack

The tech stack used in MVP development impacts the overall costs, especially considering the flexibility, scalability, and maintenance of an MVP. In this case, you must select the tech stack that aligns with the nature of the MVP project and your long-term goals.

• Type of development platform

The development platform used defines the user experience, performance, and accessibility of your MVP. This impacts the overall costs of MVP development.

• Type of development team

When choosing your MVP development team, you can consider freelancers, outsourcing MVP, or in-house. This impacts the costs of MVP development. Freelancers, for instance, provide cost-effective solutions. However, you might not get the right quality. Outsourced agencies like Aalpha Information Systems, on the other hand, provide the best MVP development services at a fair price. The in-house team option might offer the best costs, but you might not have all the skills and expertise required to accomplish some tasks.

• UI/UX Requirements

The user interface determines the acceptability, adoption, and retention of your MVP. The elements that make a perfect UI/UX play a big role in determining the overall MVP development costs.

Tips to reduce MVP development costs

MVP development processes can be costly. However, with the following strategies, you can cut on most of the costs and save more:

• Use a fixed-price model
• Go for an offshore development center like Aalpha Information Systems.
• Use open-source tools
• Implement lean design methodology
• Prioritize Minimum Viable Features

Conclusion

MVP development helps businesses plan and strategize effectively to ensure they produce products that not only meet user needs but offer value and remain in the market for a long. Always strive to plan and execute the processes using the guidelines described in this guide to save on costs and facilitate a seamless MVP development process.

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