MVP Development for Startups

How do I prepare for building an MVP?

Before building an MVP you need to have a clear objective. Your objective should be derived from a well-defined value proposition.

Your minimum viable product should be clearly aligned to the value proposition of your product. To be minimally viable, it needs to be valuable to your target market, right? This is where we get to the heart of ensuring we are building the right thing - not just a random set of features. Minimum viable products are always aligned to a well-defined value proposition.

But, what exactly is a value proposition?

A value proposition is a brief statement that outlines what your product or service can do for customers. It includes details on the problem the product or service solves for customers, its main benefit, and how it compares to other options in the market.

A value proposition should:

• Highlight the main benefits of your product or service for your target market. This is the heart of your value proposition.
• Detail the problem it solves for your target audience. Every viable product solves a real customer problem.
• Compare your product or service against others in the market. This should be based on real market research.
• Be agreed on by all major stakeholders in the company. It’s critical to have alignment on this foundational information.
• Be used as a jumping off point for marketing collateral, messaging, and your product’s tagline.

Before embarking on building a minimum viable product, you need to be really clear on what your value proposition is. This will set you up well to begin the formal MVP development process!

Read More: 7 Ways to Use AI to Build a Minimum Viable Product (MVP) Fast

How to build a successful MVP?

Many teams jump straight into hiring a software development company, but successful MVP development must be preceded with a critical look at your product idea to ensure you're going to build an MVP that has real market value and will yield a high degree of customer satisfaction.

A good starting point for this is developing a statement that explains what benefit you provide for who and how you do it.

Step 1: Define the customer’s problem
A problem well stated is a problem half solved. If you don't know what problem your potential customers are trying to solve, you won't be able to build a product that meets their needs. By understanding the problem your customers are trying to solve, you can build a product with a user flow that is exactly what they need - nothing more and nothing less.

To get to the heart of your customers’ pain points, try asking these questions:

• What do you know about your end users’ goals?
• What pain points do your users have when trying to achieve their goals?
• In what ways are they trying to get their needs met already?
• What pain points affect measurable results such as revenue or efficiency?
• How urgent is the customer’s problem?

Step 2: Find a gap in the market
With your customer pain point in hand, it’s time to think more in depth about how the market is currently addressing (or attempting to address) this pain point. The reason this is so important is because your value proposition will be directly related to the other options customers have.

You need to understand what you’re up against and - ideally - find a gap in the market that you can fill when you build an MVP. To do this, we need to evaluate the competition by looking at the products that are already on the market and determine what your product will offer that is different or better. It can also be helpful to look at the pricing of similar products and decide where your product will fit in. Keep in mind:

Sometimes it’s about solving a customer pain point better or more directly.

Sometimes it’s about solving a customer pain point in a new or different way.

Sometimes it’s about solving a customer pain point at a lower cost.

Think about what your strategy is going to be. Your focus might be on solving the pain point more directly AND at a lower cost. Or - you may be solving a customer pain point in a new way that helps to reach a new segment of the market.

Step 3: Measure the gain/pain ratio
One of the most effective exercises for evaluating a value proposition is by measuring the gain/pain ratio, which compares the benefits obtained from using your idea versus the cost to switch to your solution.

Essentially, the gain/pain ratio is the ratio of the benefits of a proposed action to the costs or drawbacks of that action. It is used to help make decisions about whether to proceed with a particular course of action.

A high gain/pain ratio indicates that the benefits of the action are greater than the costs, while a low gain/pain ratio indicates that the costs are greater than the benefits. Some potential gains and pains include:

Step 4: Build the value proposition
At this point, you’ve deeply understood your customer’s pain points, found a suitable gap in the market, and measured your proposed solution using the gain/pain ratio. Now, it’s time to take your ideas and formulate a clear value proposition statement that will be at the heart of your MVP’s user flow.

A few tips as you develop your own value proposition statement:

• Use language that your customers use. This will help to ensure your message will truly resonate with customers when it’s translated into marketing collateral later.
• Don’t be afraid to test your value proposition in the market. Sometimes the best way to know if you have the right value proposition is to ask real customers before you build an MVP.
• Make sure all stakeholders are aligned. This statement will drive what you build and how you build it. Make sure everyone is in alignment before you move on.

Step 5: Find the simplest way to solve the problem
Now it’s time to work out how to build a minimum viable product using that value proposition statement. You may already have some ideas of what your product could look like, but before you get too far, we propose you focus on providing the simplest solution to your customer’s problem.

Far too often companies over-complicate or over-engineer a solution. They fall into the trap of “feature overload” - trying to add every possible feature a customer could want. But this only leads to a confusing product and expensive development costs. On the other hand, when you create a simple solution you see the following two major benefits:

• Reduced costs. Building a simple solution is going to be less complex and lower cost to build and maintain.
• Reduced time to market. Building a simple solution will help you prioritize only the must have features, which reduce overall development time.
• Increased customer satisfaction. Creating an easy to understand product with a singular compelling value proposition will certainly improve customer value and long term satisfaction.

So how do you avoid feature overload and build a minimum viable product that resonates with customers?

The short answer is: embrace the idea that your minimum viable product will not be your final product. You will add more features later. You will make changes and find ways to optimize your product. Don’t try to make your MVP perfect. In fact, if it is, you probably spent far too long in development!

Read More: Building a Minimum Viable Product in 5 Steps [+ Template]

What is your MVP development process?

After over a decade providing MVP development services to our clients, we’ve honed our step-by-step proven delivery process. From initial contact to final project delivery, you’ll know exactly what to expect when you partner with us.

Step 1. Describe your needs
Every project starts when you describe your MVP project needs using our contact form or schedule a project consultation with our experts. All enquiries are reviewed by our leadership team who have a wealth of IT projects experience. They will evaluate the expertise you require and will engage in finding the perfect fit for you.

Step 2. Project analysis
Our technical team zooms in and performs a comprehensive analysis of your software requirements and priorities. Through collaborative workshops, we dive deep into the project scope, key stakeholders, user journeys, technical risks, and more.

Step 3. Get a proposal
Based on your requirements, we’ll put together a detailed project proposal, including a cost breakdown and timeline estimation to ensure full transparency and clarity. Key milestones and deliverables for your MVP project are outlined and we share the profiles of the proposed team members, so you get insight into the expertise and skills they bring to your project.

Step 4. Kick-off your project
After you’ve approved our proposal, we handle all the logistics and get your dedicated development team right to work. We mark the official start of the project with a kick-off meeting to align on project logistics and establish communication protocols.

Step 5. Development
Our Engineering Managers and QA engineers ensure delivery of reliable software solutions throughout the development sprints. To maintain transparency, collaboration, and continuous synchronization with project goals, we showcase our team's progress in detailed weekly updates and demos.

Learn More: How We Work - Dedicated Development Teams

How do you ensure quality control during software development?

MVP software development is a complex process, and quality control is essential for successful delivery. At SoftKraft, we ensure quality control throughout your work with us in a number of ways including:

• We plan and document the development process in detail, outlining the goals and objectives of the project, the timeline and deliverables, and the stages of development before we ever get started on any development or consulting work. This helps us to plan and track the project, measure progress, and identify potential issues in advance.
• We monitor and assess the quality of the software at every stage of development. This includes automated testing, code reviews, and continuous integration. This helps us to detect errors and bugs early on, ensuring that the product meets the required quality assurance standards.
• We use a variety of tools and techniques to ensure that the software is secure and reliable. This includes using secure coding practices, penetration testing, and code auditing. This helps ensure that the software is safe from malicious attacks, and that it meets the security requirements of the customer.
• We measure and assess the quality of the final software product or other deliverable. This includes user testing, usability testing, and performance testing. This helps us identify any areas of improvement, and ensure that the product is of the highest quality.

Learn more about our Commitment to Quality.

How much does MVP development cost?

MVP product development costs come down to three major factors:

• Developers' experience
• Size and scope of the project
• Location of the developers

Generally speaking, developers with a few years of experience can cost anywhere from $50-$100 per hour. More experienced developers can cost $100-$200 per hour or more.

The size and scope of the project is another important factor to consider when budgeting for minimum viable product development services. A small, simple MVP might only take a few weeks to develop and can cost a few thousand dollars. A larger, more complex MVP can take several months to develop and can cost tens of thousands of dollars.

Finally, the location of the development company can also affect the cost. Developers in North America and Western Europe tend to be more expensive than developers in other parts of the world such as outsourcing to Eastern Europe. This is due to a number of factors, including the cost of living in these regions and the availability of experienced developers.

Overall, the cost of hiring developers for your minimum viable product software can vary depending on a number of factors. You should consider what your priorities are to ensure the MVP development team you select aligns with not just your budget but also your expectations for your end product.

Read More: 6 Steps to Find the Best MVP Developers for Your Startup Idea