What is a minimum viable product?
An important step in product development  and a term often used in marketing pitches, project meetings and stakeholder presentations  minimum viable product (MVP) is a great way to demonstrate the potential success and functionality of a new product. In addition, its an essential part of achieving product-market fit. Find out everything you need to know about minimum viable products, right here. In a business context, MVP stands for minimum viable product. A minimum viable product is, essentially, the first draft. Its the initial version of your product that has just enough features to provide essential functionality so you can test it with your first customers. Its often shown to focus groups and selected customers to get feedback on your product design, leaving scope for future modifications. A minimum viable product is useful for many different aspects of your business. In terms of product development, it can be a helpful way to work out any early kinks and put design ideas into practice. You may also find that new ideas arise during the process, and consequently, youre able to develop more efficient ways to create your final design. Its also a vital tool for your marketing department, as they can get feedback from the first set of customers and work out the products unique selling points, as well as any issues or opinions that internal teams may not have identified. The first step in developing a minimum viable product is identifying what you want the product to look like and what its key features are going to be. You will likely have ascertained this through market research as well as through design meetings. Once you know what gap in the market youre attempting to exploit, you can figure out the most essential features to build into your first version. Its then important to set out a timeline for the different stages of your product to reach a realistic launch date. Finally, you need to know who your product will be released to and what you hope to get from them. This often means preparing feedback forms or organising focus groups. Because your minimum viable product is the first draft of your product, it wont look or operate the way you envision your final design doing so. This means that it can sometimes be difficult to ascertain at what point to release your product to your test market. This is why its important to outline your goals and key features, so you know which elements are essential to your product. Its also important to know which aspects of your product you need feedback on and which are most likely to influence your audiences perception. Different businesses will want to release their minimum viable product at different stages. If you want early feedback and a chance to adjust your design, you may want to push it out as soon as possible. However, if you have little scope for change and want a clear idea of public opinion of your product, you may want to release it later. As mentioned, your minimum viable product should be your first draft, but its tempting to try and create a complete design as soon as possible. Not only can this increase your budget and extend your timeline, but it can also leave you less room to make modifications based on the feedback you receive. Similarly, its crucial that you take account of the feedback you receive and the market research you conduct. Theres no point releasing an MVP if you dont use it to gather the information you can employ in your business plan. We can help  GoCardless helps you automate payment collection, cutting down on the amount of admin your team needs to deal with when chasing invoices. Find out how GoCardless can help you with ad hoc payments or recurring payments.