MVP: what Minimum Viable Product means and how it works

Launching your app on the market will probably be one of your most important tasks you’ll have to do, if not the most. Having a highly funded finished product available in stores, equipped with features set to perfection, can prove to be more complex than expected. To get started on the right foot and before proceeding with the complete release of an app, it is always handy to study and gauge how your app will perform and be received by your end users. Creating a Minimum Viable Product ( MVP ), would be a smart move. MVP literally means " minimum working product ". An MVP allows you to test your software on the market and to know the reaction of users all with a small investment and with a contained risk. At DuckMa, we specialize in creating MVP solutions for your projects: in the next paragraphs we will tell you how we work.

MVP: What it actually is and what to expect from it

Whether you have recently founded a start-up, or your company is an established entity, it is never a good idea to bet with your eyes closed on an app idea or on the hypothesis of the reactions that users will have towards it. It is not so much, however, not only a question of money, but also a risk that involves your company’s image and reputation. With that being said, before landing on the stores with an app, it is a good idea to pause, think and evaluate the right partner to define your MVP . The DuckMa team is backed up by years of experience in the implementation of innovative projects alongside entrepreneurs and professionals, that’s why we think we’re your best option.

The realization of the Minimum Viable Product is a step to be faced with care. What must first be taken into account is that the MVP will not exactly coincide with the final production app that we will launch on a large scale after the necessary tests and adjustments to the app.

The MVP is, in fact, a prototype which, with a limited investment compared to that of the final app, defines the product in its main characteristics and which is put on the market not to generate profits but to obtain user feedback, essential to understand what is going on, what are the strong points, what seems to be less interesting components, what can be improved, and what should be completely cut out.

Ultimately, an MVP is software developed with the minimum key functionalities that will satisfy early adopters (the "early users"). Feedback from these is the basis for the development of the final and complete set of features for the large-scale product release. Always keep in mind that MVP is only the initial stage of a project. Let's take a practical example: you come to us with your brilliant, articulate and fantastic idea. We evaluate it together and we suggest what its final form could be. From the very first moment, we work with you to define an app that acts as a starting point, a springboard for your idea. Why so? Because we want your application to be successful, no if’s and but’s. Mostly, to put your initial capital to good use already in the embryonic phase of the project.

MVP: MAIN CHARACTERISTICS

Among the fundamental characteristics of a Minimum Viable Product we mention the following:

• The MVP itself is a valuable product that users can use;
• It serves to show future features and benefits of the app starting from a reduced set of key features;
• Provides useful feedback to guide the development process to the final app.

It is good to carefully evaluate the first idea of ​​the app, because it will be the users who will be in a tighter and longer relationship with it. They’re the ones who could respond even with a very detailed insight. Also, our product could change drastically over time. If ever this happens, the MVP you invested on at the earlier phase of your project would still have generated fundamental ideas to continue developing an appealing app for the market.

DuckMa is the perfect partner for the creation of an MVP solution, because starting from the general project, we select and share with you the set of primary features to be immediately proposed to the market. We send you an executive document and a graphic prototype that allows you to immediately collect feedback from your potential customers. We analyze the feedback obtained and then we take it into account to confirm or change the business model. We then proceed with the development of the MVP version of the app, both Android, iOS (or both), complete with an administration console to manage the contents. Then based on the feedback received, the cycle continues.

MVP and App Validation

The Minimum Viable Product is the first description and representation of an app, but it also refers to the more complex process, made up of strategy, prototyping, data collection and analysis, learning and subsequent releases.

It is the step that allows you to test the market reactions to our idea, which avoids us investing time and resources in products that no one is really interested in, and instead, arriving at the perfect product having invested the budget carefully. In summary, the MVP is the way to maximize the investment of every single penny spent and should be seen as a long-term investment, the first brick of the development of the finished product.

Furthermore, especially in the case of start-ups, app validation through the MVP makes the idea much more attractive for investors interested in real metrics - not assumptions - and the results of validation on the market. If you are willing to validate your app following the Duckma method, you will be able to have a clear overview of the feedback obtained from your idea within three to six months. After this period, nothing will be lost. In fact, what was created in the MVP version will become our basis for evolving your app to its final form, ready to be commercialized on a large scale.