Business

What’s an MVP?

Oleg Tarasiuk

13 January, 2023
The term “minimum viable product” MVP refers to a product with just enough features to lure in early adopters and validate a concept. With software development, the MVP can assist the team in gathering customer insights as soon as possible so that they can iterate and enhance the product.

Also, MVP is crucial for agile development since the agile process is centered on validating and refining products based on user feedback. Finally, the cost of an MVP is from 1/10 to 1/2 of the price of developing an entire software solution. The bottom line is that MVPs allow us to test an idea with a minimal investment.

To reiterate:

  • MVPs have just enough to test an idea
  • The dev team can gather customer insights
  • MVPs are cheaper compared to full development
  • Despite all the above-mentioned benefits, MVPs are not market-ready
MVP Structure
MVP structure

Stages of MVP Development

Before starting to code, the dev team has to plan and prepare, which is usually referred to as the Discovery Stage. This step allows the team to understand the needs of a business and figure out the plan for developing the actual code. Next, it is possible to write enough code for the proof of concept or create a prototype to show to stakeholders or potential buyers. After that, the team creates a plan with the scope, deliverables, budget, and everything else required to bring the concept to life. Finally, in the fourth stage, the team creates the MVP product and tests it with the customers.

  1. Discovery and Planning
  2. Proof of Concept & Rapid Prototyping
  3. MVP Project Plan
  4. MVP Development

Is Outsourcing MVP Development a Good Idea?

In short, yes. It is a good idea to find an outsourcing software development team and partner with them to work on MVPs. Here’s why:

  • Outsourcing teams have a lot of experience
  • There is no need to find individual specialists, you can hire an entire team!
  • Outsourcing is a standard practice in software development