How to determine the right MVP: 5 Steps to a Minimum Viable Product

How to determine the right MVP: 5 Steps to a Minimum Viable Product

Setting up an MVP for software applications

At Thesio, we develop customized software applications based on the ideas and concepts of our customers. Of course, we don't do that off the wrist. We always start each project with an investigation and set up a phasing based on business objectives. In many cases, the starting point is immediately a full-fledged product in the form of a Minimum Awesome Product (MAP). In other cases, we are challenged to really go back to the real core of an application in the form of an. Customers are therefore regularly asked how to bring a software product back to the core. This article provides insight into our process and also offers a handy step-by-step plan to get started with it yourself.

What is an MVP?

First things first. MVP stands for “Minimum Viable Product”. As the name suggests, it is the minimal version of an otherwise fully functional product. The goal? Launch a viable product within a short time to be able to test and further develop it. In addition, the focus is on the essence of the product and the strictly necessary functionalities to solve the user's problem.

Why develop an MVP?

By starting with an MVP, you are challenged (despite the big ambitions) to think small and go back to the essence of your concept. In addition, a Minimum Viable Product is useful for raising the necessary or additional financial resources. Developing an MVP therefore has many advantages:

• Faster time-to-market.
• First group of users and brand awareness.
• User feedback for a better end product
• Lower development costs due to the focus on only essential functionalities.
• User data for insight into viability (reducing risks).
• Substantiation and prioritization of additional functionalities.
• Working product to convince investors.
• Testing the development partner.

Step-by-step plan for setting up an MVP

Now that it is clear what an MVP is and what it is used for, we can start identifying the requirements for developing an MVP. In addition, the idea is to frame the idea or concept and thus arrive at the core or essence of the product:

Step 1: Research or define key objectives

As with all good ideas, without an equally good plan, it's just an idea. One of the first steps is therefore to build a business case around the idea. To do this, set concrete goals. Important questions to ask and answer are:

• What do we want to achieve: (business) mission
• Why do we want to develop this MVP product?
• What are the (business) goals in the short, medium and long term?
• How will the final product contribute to this?
• When is the product a success?
• How are we going to measure or evaluate this?

Make sure you answer the answers as concretely as possible. Keep it short (1 to 2 sentences) and be critical. Here, too, it's about the essentials. Do you notice that you need a lot of words to answer these questions properly or that the product needs extra support in advance? An MVP may not be the right route yet. In that case, it is wise to first spar with an experienced business developer or prototype developer.

Step 2: Research or determine the main target group

Are the goals on paper? Then it is important to clarify exactly who the product is intended for. Who is the intended user of your MVP (but certainly also your end product soon) and is this also the target group that will benefit the most from the product? Answer the following questions to frame your 'most important' target group:

• Who can you meet a need with your software MVP?
• For which users is your product most valuable?
• Which users need the least or most behavioral change?
• Which group of users has the most potential?
• How big are the potential target groups?

When describing the main target group, be as specific as possible. Use demographic, technological and other characteristics. Optionally, set up one or a few personas to make it easier to test whether the product fits these characteristics while developing your MVP. Finally, connect with the previous step by already investigating whether your goals are achievable based on this target group.

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Step 3: Investigate the target group's tasks or “user jobs”

Your MVP's main target group is clear. Now it is important to find out what tasks these end users want or need to be able to perform (also known as user jobs). This is perhaps one of the most important steps to get to the essence of your MVP. Understanding the various actions involved in carrying out tasks and insight into the existing “pain points” is essential for an MVP that provides optimal value for the user. The tasks often vary by situation, so list the following things for yourself:

• Which users have to perform the most tasks or actions?
• What situations are the users in?
• What is the (end) goal that the user wants to achieve?
• What tasks, actions or actions are required/desired to achieve that goal?
• What are the pain and pain points in carrying out these tasks?

The various situations, (end) goals, tasks and pain points can quickly result in a large list of findings. The best way to keep an overview during this step is therefore to use a table or spreadsheet. Make sure that the findings are based on (market) research or that they are at least tested afterwards with the target group.

As mentioned, step 3 is an important but also difficult step. If you get stuck on this, it helps to use the following (or similar) sentence structure when mapping the tasks.

Example: “When {situation X}, my user {task Y} wants to reach {end goal Z}.

Step 4: Determine which functionalities help you carry out tasks

With the previous steps, you have gained insight into the main target group and the tasks they want or need to be able to perform. Now it is finally time to determine relevant functionalities. This is probably the moment you were looking forward to the most in the first place. So make sure you don't fall into randomly listing cool and fun, new features. Stay close to the essence and results of the previous steps:

• What functionality is necessary for a specific task or action (user job)?
• How can this functionality help fulfill the user job?
• What additional functionalities offer added value to the user job?
• Does the functionality contribute to solving pain points or adding issues?
• Are there any preconditions for the usability of the functionality?

Also process the functionalities in a table or spreadsheet and link them to the tasks and actions in the previous step. With regard to preconditions, for example, the situation under which it should be used (such as offline or use on the go) and any restrictions on the user.

Step 5: Prioritize and select the essential features

With the overview of relevant functionalities from the previous step, you will work to determine which ones will actually become part of your Minimum Viable Product. In this fifth and final step, you bring together all the information from the previous steps to get to the core of your software MVP. Which functionalities are necessary to create a working product, which offer added value but are not immediately necessary and which are actually redundant?

Use the following questions to determine whether the functionality is essential and, if not, whether or not it would add value:

• Does this feature come with the basic version of my software MVP?
• Could the functionality also be added later?
• Can my product possibly work and be successful without this functionality?
• How much value does the functionality add for the target group?
• Does the functionality make it stand out from comparable products?

If all is well, based on the questions above, you will know exactly which functionalities are essential and should therefore be developed first. In addition, you have also followed a well-structured and substantiated process to fall back on and possibly already have an idea of the next functionalities. However, don't forget one of the most important reasons to start with an MVP, namely: to get feedback and user data for an (even) better end product and insight into the viability of your software product.

Have your MVP developed by specialists

With the help of the previous steps, you have laid a firm foundation for developing a software MVP. The next step is therefore to actually (have) developed your Minimum Viable Product. Do you need help with this? Our specialists have been developing custom software applications for 10+ years.

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