As a CEO, launching a successful product can mean the difference between success and failure. But how do you ensure that your product is ready for launch?
We are going to walk through the process of planning and launching a minimum viable product (MVP), from understanding what it is to when and how low code software automation will help expedite the process.
Developing a software product can be a daunting task, so let us help you break it down.
What Is an MVP and What Does it Do?
An MVP is a product that offers the minimum number of features necessary to solve the problem it was designed for. It’s viable, production code that has to work at scale and as a commercial product.
Think of it as a stripped-down version of the final product that is focused on delivering the core value proposition. It is not meant to be a complete product with all the bells and whistles, but rather one that offers enough features to allow early adopters to use it and provide feedback.
Your MVP can be used to assess demand for your product, particularly within your target market. If there is sufficient interest, you build on from there.
When an MVP is Needed
Investing in an MVP is a calibrated way of delivering the innovation your customers are hungry for.
As the CEO, you go for an MVP when you need to do one of a few things:
- Light Up Net New Revenue (NNR): If you are chasing a new, recurring revenue stream, MVP is often synonymous with SaaS. We see MVP as an opportunity to deliver a new SaaS product to market that’s often tied into the existing portfolio of products that you already have.
- Deliver Innovation: Do your biggest and most important customers think you’ve stalled out on providing innovation? Once you have mature, successful products, you can’t stop there – an MVP is a vehicle to deliver innovation to the current customer base, and acts as an indication of the path to innovation and modernization.
- Pioneer the Market: An MVP is likely to come up if you’re heading a startup, or perhaps a division within an existing company trying to tackle a new market or new opportunity space. You have an idea, you’ve gotten through the proof of concept and prototype phase, and you need to deliver your first product to market. If you don’t have anything else, an MVP is the right milestone; it only makes sense.
Top 7 Missteps To Avoid When Building an MVP
Once you’ve committed to the path, building an MVP comes with its own special set of pitfalls; knowing what they are means you can avoid them and have a more successful product launch.
Misstep 1
Overlooking the importance of market research: Before building an MVP, it’s critical to understand your target market and what they want/need from a product. This can be accomplished through market research and a strong understanding of your personas.
Misstep 2
Not properly defining the scope of the MVP: You need a clear vision for what you want your MVP to accomplish. This means taking the time to sit down and map out exactly what features and functionality will be included in the MVP, and which can be saved for later iterations.
Misstep 3
Underestimating the time and effort required to build an MVP: Building an MVP is not a quick or easy process. It takes time to plan, design, develop, and test a minimum viable product. Make sure you allocate enough time and resources to get the job done right.
Don’t expect your “quick-and-dirty” prototype to become the MVP in a few piecemeal weeks. This results in compromises being made and you end up with a product that is unstable, a nightmare to maintain, and the true kiss of death: creating a “Next-Gen” version where you commit to doing it right the next time.
Here’s the problem with quick and dirty – you are now spending 80% of your development time trying to maintain the rushed MVP, which only leaves 20% of your R&D budget to fix and innovate the next generation.
Start to finish, the MVP should take around 90 days to complete.
Your current customers are crying out for innovation on what they have in their hands. Don’t constantly promise “Next-Gen” and never deliver, take the time to do it right the first time so it’s future-proof from the jump.
Misstep 4
Not listening to your team: Keep the lines of communication wide open with your development team – if they are desperate for time and waving the red flag, you need to know this, and listen to them, ASAP.
Misstep 5
Trying to do too much with the MVP: When it comes to an MVP, less is more. The whole point is to start small and simple, then gradually add more features and functionality over time. Trying to pack too much into an MVP will only make it more complicated, harder to use, and ultimately, harder to innovate in the future.
Misstep 6
Not getting feedback from users early and often: An MVP is only successful if it meets the needs of your target market. That’s why it’s essential to solicit feedback from users throughout the development process. This way you can make sure you’re on the right track and make adjustments as needed.
Misstep 7
Failing to create the right company culture: building the right company culture to match your core values is vital in supporting your development team. Knowing that they have your support to work through missteps and issues during development is key to having a team that can problem-solve successfully.
How PlatformPlus® delivers on the MVP Approach
Let’s talk about the 90-day window further. If there’s one thing you need to remember about how PlatformPlus® helps you deliver an MVP, it’s this:
PlatformPlus® lets you build it right, build it fast, build it to last.
There is no excuse for building something quick and dirty; quick and dirty is a path to disaster even if it gives instant gratification in the short term. PlatformPlus® takes a massive amount of risk out of the MVP development process AND automates 80% of the actual implementation for you. It lets your existing team be more efficient, effective, and productive as they’re building out the functionality you need while reducing your software development costs.
This is the problem that PlatformPlus® solves – how do you deliver the most effective and efficient software engineering effort possible. We offer the technology, leadership, advice and support you need to let your team punch way above their current weight class, and ultimately, help you get it right the first time.
PlatformPlus® is low code without compromise. Our approach is different from our competition, who are largely proprietary. We protect your intellectual property – you can package, sell, license and deploy however you want, with no run-time licenses involved.
Let’s look at this in the long term; in 90 days with Modularis, you have a well designed, well built, scalable, secure, commercially viable MVP that is easy to maintain. Key point here being: easy to maintain. Instead of spending 80% on maintenance, now you can flip the script.
Modularis Math: 20% maintenance + 80% innovation = more bandwidth to deliver innovation to customers faster.
The quality is there from the get-go. And once the product is out there, you will have paying customers who want more – more features, more capabilities, more bells and whistles. Instead of having to start on a “Next-Gen” you are now well-positioned for growth. Your MVP is a rock-solid foundation for all the other things your customers are now asking you for AND you have the development time to innovate for them.
The key to getting it done fast is low-code automation – there is no value in re-creating the wheel and certain aspects of software development lend themselves to automation. We always come back to the timeless first principles: build it foundationally solid and sound so it’s effectively future-proof – no fads, no gimmicks.
As we say: build it right, build it fast, build it to last.
How We Have Helped Our Clients Leverage an MVP
We know our process works for our customers because we have used it successfully time and again. We worked with SmartWitness from the very beginning of their product launch, and this was textbook MVP. As we helped SmartWitness scale, they never had to rebuild the core because it was built right the first time – they achieved impressive ROI within six months.
If you get it right, the first time, you are set up for success and maximum profitability and EBITDA. The fact is that we don’t just talk the talk, we walk the walk.
All it takes is one 15-minute conversation, CEO to CEO, and you’ll know if this process is the right fit for you! Break your “Next-Gen” cycle now by scheduling a quick chat with me today.