Three questions you should ask yourself before building an MVP.

“We don’t want the minimum; we want the perfect one” – Many still say so, despite the proven success of MVPs. True, who doesn’t want to craft the perfect product, or at least, the best possible product? But the truth is, perfection is a myth, especially in a fast-changing, tech-driven, post-modern world.

Many successful products of today started with an MVP. However, there is no common consensus among tech experts on what constitutes an MVP. Minimum might mean minimum features or minimum budget. Some prefer building Minimum Lovable Products, or Minimum Marketable Products. Call it by any name, if an MVP is the first version of the product released, here are three questions you should ask yourself before building it.

1. Who are your customers and how will your product affect their lives? Research what your customers need to define your product goals. Also, having an idea of how your competitors fulfil customers’ needs helps you identify gaps in their offerings. These may be included in the MVP requirements or in the product backlog.
2. What hypotheses are you testing with your MVP? MVPs are not just the first version of your product. They are meant to test your riskiest assumptions. Design your MVP as an experiment to test your assumptions.
3. How do you plan to collect feedback from your early customer? Commonly called ‘Beta’, marketing teams collect feedback from customers, analyse feedback, and use it to define features to be included in the next versions.

The Next Step

Once you’ve identified your customers and made your product plan, plunge without further delay into giving your ideas shape. You need to build the MVP as fast as you can, but without rushing or freezing the requirements. It may feel too overwhelming at times. Hence, it is wise to outsource MVP development to product engineering experts. As your products gain acceptance and business grows, so will your outsourcing teams. An offshore team doesn’t just help you with product development but also provides you with the time and peace of mind needed to plan, strategize, and market your creations.

Do you have a wonderful idea for a software product? You can discuss your thoughts with us. We’ll build an MVP for you. For more details,