As a startup, are you going for any custom software development project in 2022?
If yes, you certainly cannot ignore MVP development services!
Wondering why? Let’s find out:
Table of Content
What Exactly Is MVP & Why Should You Go For MVP Development?
As a startup, you certainly want to launch your product with a bang and want it to be successful. Isn’t it?
But what if your end product doesn’t turn out to be the way you’d thought?
What if end-users do not like it?
What if several things could have been better?
What if your brilliant idea is not executed well?
Well, the solution is going for MVP development!
Minimum Viable Product or MVP is a minimal version of the final product, only with core features, developed to satisfy the need. MVP acts as a draft of the final product.
The MVP of the product is developed in order to:
- Understand how the end-users respond when the final product enters the market
- Address the core problem/pain points faced by users.
- Get insights on how your product will be perceived when it is released to a larger audience
- Collect genuine feedback on the future product
Now that you know what MVP is, you may think it is similar to a prototype, right?
But therein lies a difference!
How Is MVP Different From A Prototype?
Though both are said to be lightweight early versions of your final product, they are slightly different from each other.
Here’s how:
- A prototype is used to test an idea, while an MVP is developed to test a product.
- Prototypes are visual appearance & are typically non-functional. On the other hand, MVP is functional with basic features.
- Prototypes are used at the beginning to show what your product may look like. On the contrary, MVP is used to test your idea, core functionality, and get feedback from the community/ early adopters.
Different Stages Of The MVP Development Process
The entire MVP development process is broken down into four main stages. These include:
- Validation of your startup idea: The first stage of the MVP development process is the validation of your concept. This happens via extensive market research, deep analysis, competitor monitoring, and evaluation of the customers’ problems/pain points.
- Identify the ‘must-haves’ of your product: As MVP development comprises the development of the main functionalities only, the product’s main features are identified in this stage.
- Development stage: This stage involves the development of the must-have features of your product. The additional functionalities are added later to the product.
- MVP launch & feedback collection: This step involves launching the MVP version of your product & presenting it to the early adopters. It also involves collecting feedback from the users.
Why Does Your Startup Need MVP Development In 2022?
1. Test your business concept
MVP development services can help you test and validate the idea of your development project. Often, at the beginning of the development phase, it may seem like your end product will achieve great success, but only after developing the final product do you realize that your concept hasn’t turned into reality in the way you’d thought. This is where MVP can help.
If you go for a startup MVP development service, you get a chance to understand your product and test your business concept with minimum cost and time investments. Instead of launching your mobile app with heavy features & full functional capacity, MVP allows you to launch it with the core set of features and make changes to your product as per the feedback from the audience.
Furthermore, you will be able to identify your target audience, how they interact with your app and the missing elements in your product. You can make appropriate changes based on those findings.
With a feature-packed app, this becomes extremely challenging as you will have to rebuild the entire product. However, with MVP, this gradual improvement is simpler, cost-efficient, and more manageable.
2. Better user interface
At times, business owners add unnecessary and unwanted features that only make the app more complicated. When you add a lot of functionalities to your product, you are highly likely to lose focus from your core objective. Considering the fact that 25% of users abandon the app just after their first use, the importance of a seamless user experience cannot be neglected. This is where MVP development for businesses comes to play. Following the MVP approach, you can avoid making your app cluttered and unwanted features. This will ensure that your end-product has a smooth user interface and is easy to use.
3. A better understanding of customers’ needs
This is indeed one of the biggest reasons why you should go for MVP development first. No business assumptions or analytics can be as direct as feedback from your clients. After all, they are the ones who will ultimately make or break your product. The earlier you get data, inputs, & reviews from the early adopters, the sooner you can test your app and make the development process more effective. Plus, your users will provide valuable insights about which features to add to your next release and which of them to remove.
4. Gain traction from investors & stakeholders
If your product depends on funding from investors or stakeholders, MVP development is a sure-shot way to gain their confidence. It acts as an effective method to demonstrate to your investors the market validity of your product. When your MVP is functional and capable of showing the merits of your product, stakeholders would want to invest in your product.
5. Ensures minimal risks to market entry
Think of any big application: Facebook, Airbnb, Instagram, Twitter, Uber, Spotify, etc. Do you know that one thing they all have in common? Well, the answer is- the development of MVP. Do you know why? Well, simply because it ensures minimal risk to market entry. When you invest a great deal of money, time & effort, you don’t want to risk it. MVP development lets you test your product, make necessary changes, and then launch your product in a full-blown capacity.
6. Cost-effective solution
You must be thinking about how MVP development can help you save on your costs, isn’t it? Well, developing an all-new software product comes with a notable development and maintenance cost. Imagine a situation where you’ve invested a great deal of time & money but end up getting a product that requires significant changes & modifications. At worst, you might even have to develop it from scratch. This can be avoided with MVP development! With MVP development, you can understand which way your product is going, how it will perform, and based on your findings, you can make changes to your final product at the initial stage without spending hefty dollars!
7. Helps you chalk out the market demand
You don’t want to invest your funding on an idea that doesn’t get accepted in the market, right? Almost 42% of startups fail because they misread the market demand, and you don’t want to be one of them. You might strongly believe in your startup idea, but the reality is, the success of your product highly depends on its market demand. MVP development enables you to test your product & analyze its market demand without investing all your funds.
Now The Big Question- What Makes Outsourcing The Best Option For MVP Development?
1. Quick-release to market
As MVP is said to be the simplest version of a product, skilled and experienced mobile app developers can quickly get it developed & tested. If you want to validate your concept and get quick feedback on your product, partnering with an MVP Development Company is the best bet.
2. Lowered cost of development
Hiring an in-house team for any software development project can be highly expensive. When you hire mobile app developers, you will have to pay them high salaries even when you have no work in hand. On top of that, having advanced tools and technologies will further add up to your development cost! That, however, is not the case when outsourcing. By partnering with a reliable outsourcing company, you can hire software developers in India at the most cost-effective prices!
3. Higher technical expertise
To ensure that the foundation of your development project is solid and technically sound, hiring an MVP development company is the best option. That is mainly because these companies have a pool of the most skilled and experienced resources with rich expertise in developing similar products. This way, you can have experts by your side and can rest assured that you will have a quality development process in place.
4. Higher flexibility
From idea conceptualization till the final delivery of your development project, feedback, change & modifications will be a part of your journey. Having flexible solutions from the outsourcing company, you can implement these changes faster and get desired output in a quick turnaround time.
5. Greater scalability
Outsourcing companies offer you greater scalability. Whether you want to add features, remove some functionalities, change your concepts, or go ahead with the development of a full-fledged app, the company can help you with it all! That means you have control over the development process and can easily scale up your business, whenever required.
6. Better suggestions & development support
When you leverage mobile app development services from an outsourcing company, the best part is: they can give you unparalleled support & valuable suggestions. Since they are competent in handling & developing even the most complex projects, they are qualified to offer valuable inputs and suggestions to make your product even better. Developers working on your project can provide feedback on your app features & revise your functionalities based on mutual discussion.
7. Round-the-clock services
Most outsourcing companies provide 24/7 services to their customers. This implies that you can have a dedicated team working for you round the clock, ensuring a faster development process & unparalleled support.
8. Access to diverse skill set
Outsourcing MVP development services ensure that you get all the required skills & competencies under a single roof. You can have access to professional graphic designers, developers, testers, managers, and other resources working together on your project, ensuring the best quality output.
Summing Up
If you don’t want your startup idea to fail, MVP development is indeed the best choice.
Given the benefits of outsourcing MVP development services, partnering with a firm that has rich experience in the industry is a wise decision. However, before making the final hiring decision, check the company’s portfolio, previous projects handled, hiring models & company structure. Doing this will help you get reduced costs, faster turnaround, and improved results.
Need help in developing the MVP version of your app? Speak to experts & discuss your project today.
