Ready for a new business app? Start with an MVP.
In short:
- Develop an MVP: Focus on essential functionalities from the business plan to develop quickly and cost-efficiently without losing the core.
- Project management: Avoid the pitfall of unnecessary bells and whistles by using flexible development methods such as sprints, which allow adjustments and adjustments after each delivery.
- Rapid development: Minimize time to market by quickly moving to a working product with an MVP and use user feedback to guide further development.
Long gone are the days when a company app was a fun gadget for the smartphone. Because more and more business software is being exchanged for a SaaS application in the cloud, developing business-critical apps that connect to it has suddenly become a core task for your ICT team. But how do you actually go about that? The most important thing is to develop an MVP, a Minimum Viable Product. A core product with only the essential functionalities. Why? We'll explain that to you here.
Technology is next
Creating an MVP involves several disciplines in developing an app: business, project management and development. Interestingly enough, not the technique and that is very important to remember. By working with an MVP, the technology is following the interests of the business and not vice versa.
And that, in turn, offers two advantages: time and money. Not entirely unimportant for a commercial company. How is that possible?
1. Business
An app is never an end in itself. It's a tool that your employees can use to do their jobs better. If you are going to develop an app from a business plan, you can draw up a list of all the functionalities that the app must at least meet.
To give an example. We recently had an assignment to develop a payment app. At a minimum, what should they be able to do? Of course, it must have an interface to operate it. You must be able to pay with it and then also in a safe way, of course. Everything else, that comes later. By focusing on this, you can develop quickly and relatively cheaply, without missing out on the essentials.
2. Project Management
It is a big pitfall to want to add all the bells and whistles right away when making a development plan. But in practice, it appears that both the market and technology are changing incredibly rapidly. In ICT, the old waterfall method, where you develop a product in one go, has been abolished for a long time and has been exchanged for a working method that delivers in short sprints. This way, as a client, you can adjust your goals and expectations after each delivery. An MVP fits in seamlessly and shortens the development process considerably.
3. Development
If you have a good plan for an app, it is important that it is developed and can be used fairly quickly. Otherwise, it will be obsolete before you even get it to work. Also known as the time to market.
In that regard, an MVP is ideal. It is the shortest possible way to get from a plan to a working product. And that's when it really starts. Because if all is well, you will automatically get the necessary feedback from the users and you will find out in practice what extra functionalities are required. And then the development can really begin!