When there appears an idea to create a startup, you have to take into account all the risks you will face and evaluate them thoughtfully. Also as a rule, startups are restricted financially, therefore there is a necessity to define the business strategy even more carefully and take all necessary steps to avoid failure. That is why in many cases a business owner starts a project with MVP (minimum viable product), which is directly related to the success of the future application. But far not every startup succeeds, in most cases because of pretty common mistakes we will consider in this article.
MVP Development and Why It’s a Good Starting Point
MVP or a minimum viable product is a simple version of a product which possesses basic functions of the future application. It may help to assess the value of the initial idea and to reject it in case of failure. MVP allows to get an idea of the final result. With its help there is a possibility to gain the understanding of the way where to move and a strategy to follow.
Minimum viable product is necessary to everyone who wants to approach the development of the application thoughtfully and rationally. In most instances, starting with MVP development allows to avoid a big number of mistakes and gives an advantage over those who create the full-featured product.
- Viability Assessment
Thanks to MVP development, you may evaluate the viability of your product with no need to put much effort and spend a big amount of money. Therefore if it happens that the audience does not have much interest in your project, you will not have to invest more. - To Better Understand the Target Audience
There is a possibility to have a better understanding of the audience your product is aimed at. You will know for sure if your application will be in demand among the users, for which purposes and how they intend to use it. - Defining the Strategy
After MVP launch you will be able to gain feedback, both positive and negative, which allows you to figure out what should be improved or even remade. Thanks to that you will be sure that your future product will definitely be in demand. - Fast Investment Recovery
If MVP launch is successful, you will gain the first income and clients far before the final version release, which will help you to recover the initial investments and find potential users. - Expenses Reduction
Yes, MVP development will allow you to reduce time and expenses for development from a long-term perspective, since you may find out that functionality you initially planned to spend time and money for, are not really in demand for users. Therefore you will be able to focus on functionality that will be appreciated by users and not to waste time for needless features.
Read Also Why Starting With Minimum Is Not Always a Bad Idea. How MVP Can Help You Startup
Common Mistakes Made During MVP Development
It’s absolutely normal if you make mistakes on your thorny path to success. But it’s hard to disagree that it’s better to avoid them, that’s why it’s better to go over the list of the most common mistakes. Because forewarned is forearmed, right?
- Common Mistake 1: You Pay not Enough Attention to Users
One of the most crucial aims of MVP development is to have a better understanding of your target audience. If you do not pay much attention to the feedback analysis, you will not be able to figure out the needs of your potential users. You may be sure that this or that functionality is essential and will deserve much love from the customers’ side, but if your users’ feedback is negative, you’d better take it into consideration. - Common Mistake 2: You are Focused on Needless Functions
You may be inspired by a specific idea and have a strong belief that features you intend to implement will be met by your users with flying colors. But in some cases the final product may be completely different from the one initially planned, if you monitor customers’ behaviour and adopt the functionality in accordance with their needs. Let’s consider the example of What’sApp messenger which was initially conceived as the address book. If the creators hadn’t taken into account the users’ behaviour, their idea would have been a complete failure. The focus on features that were really in demand among the users helped them succeed.
- Common Mistake 3: Announcement without the Following Embodiment
On the stage of MVP development, startups normally announce the implementation of this or that feature, or some significant changes. There is nothing bad in this approach, but only if everything had been announced would be done in reality. Therefore it’s better to inform the users about such things only in case you are 100% sure that they would happen, in case you do not want to lose the loyal audience and acquire new users. - Common Mistake 4: Excessive Economy
Even if you keep in mind that your idea would not succeed, it doesn’t mean that you should proceed with the low-quality product. In any case, you will have to invest in development, professional ui/ux design services, cause potential users will lose interest if the quality of the offered product leaves much to be desired.
Read Also How Much Does MVP Development Cost
- Common Mistake 5: Perfectionism
Meanwhile, when you keep in mind the harm of the excessive economy, you also shouldn’t get too carried away. MVP development is just a beginning of the long way, where mistakes and negative feedback are unavoidable. It’s better not to set a goal to create an ideal product that would not deserve any single bad feedback, since the more efforts you put in development, the closer to heart you take the pitfalls. That is why it’s better to keep balance and perceive reality properly. - Common Mistake 6: Obsession with Your Idea
You may convince yourself and others that your MVP is exactly what the audience needs. But the users may have a diametrically opposed opinion, and there is very little you can do with. In the end, for whom do you create the application? Of course not only for yourself, therefore you will have to reckon with customers’ opinions. In this way, you shouldn’t be afraid to listen to the ideas coming from the users and implement changes accordingly.
Conclusions
Beginning your way from MVP development is a good idea if you want to assess the potential of the final version of your product. It will help you to get people interested, understand the strong and weak points of the application, and increase the probability of future success. In case you decide to entrust the development of your MVP to a professional team, please contact us, our experienced specialists will help you with pleasure.