1. Conduct market researchThe starting point is to check if your software idea meets the market needs and target users. Ensure your project is innovative and interesting by conducting surveys: interview potential users and define customer pain points, and don’t forget about competitors. Conduct market research to analyze your closest rivals’ strengths and understand your competitive advantage.
2. Define MVP key feature listList all the features users may need and divide them based on priority. Leave only a minimum feature set that is vital for performance of the initial version and move forward to MVP programming.
Later, more detailed feedback from users is required, so you need to:
- Choose users
- Make a list of core MVP features
- Prepare CustDev questionnaire
After the evaluation, you can move on to build an MVP.
3. Begin MVP development process and testingCreating a basic prototype is critical here, as it shows whether users really want to install the app on their computers or mobile devices. After CustDev is ready, the development team prepares Technical Specifications and provides a clear picture of the product, as well as essential estimations of cost and timeframe for development.
Basically, MVP development consists of user interface design and front-end and back-end development. The aim is to get a high-fidelity interactive prototype of the product, which allows users to navigate through the mobile app/website. For apps, you can choose one platform for development (iOS or Android) or select a cross-platform approach.
When the customer is in touch with the team at every development stage, the testing process becomes more productive due to immediate feedback and prompt actions towards adjustments. That’s why the use of Scrum is preferable here, as it allows finding a product’s weak points at early development stages. The customer and the development team perform each task from sprint to monitor the results efficiently and provide proper MVP service solutions during the product
development process.
4. Learn from feedbackAs an MVP for software development is a long process, it should be tested on a regular basis. The goal is to collect feedback and make appropriate adjustments to the actual product in the future.
Crucial mistakes in MVP software development