The Future of MVPs: Predictions and Trends for Product Development

Approximately 21% of products fail to meet the customer’s requirements. 1 in 7 product ideas is successful as they target the exact issue the customer faces (pivotint).

Considering an increase in mobile app downloads and spending, several businesses plan to create their products.

If the products are good, you will notice that consumers are ready to pay and download. It is also important to deliver products that connect with the users. A minimum viable product is a great way to build a successful mobile application. It can help you realize if the product matches the customer’s needs and plan your solution accordingly.

A minimum viable product is the basic version of the application with the most important features. It helps businesses collect enough information that can help with app development. It will help the business realize if the product will translate into a success.

The product will showcase its value and discuss the future via MVP development. It is an important step if you don’t want to fail with product development.

If you are planning the MVP development route, you should know how to prepare for the basic features. In this article, we will take you through the top trends and benefits of MVP development. We will also guide you through the steps to follow to create MVP.

Top 6 Trends for MVP Development

Let’s understand all the important MVP development trends to incorporate if you want to excel with your product.

1. Low Code Tools

MVPs are the first step to producing a successful product for your business. You must simulate your product idea with a few basic features to get your audience’s feedback. It will give you a good amount of validated learning. This can help you build a solid product for the market.

However, the idea is to release the MVP soon to gain a competitive edge. Low-code tools are your gateway to building an MVP before anyone else. With the low code tools, you don’t need to wait for a developer to help build the product. You can drag-n-drop features into the mobile application interface and deliver the solution.

You won't need a development team to build a basic application. This would minimize the delays, help you create a quality solution and expedite the delivery. This trend is one of the reasons more businesses have invested in MVP solutions.

2. AI Integration

Including AI and ML in your product development can help you identify the issues early on and determine the solutions. You can use the data released during and after MVP development to help identify the best practices. It helps to know what your customers need. This integration can help you adapt to the changing situations and improve the predictions for the market.

When you work with AI/ML, you will know the market opportunities better. It gives you a complete view of how your business can proceed with the product. You can use these tools to enhance the roadmap and even processes for the ultimate product development.

3. Remote Development

Speed is your best friend when you build MVP for your business product. You need to accelerate the development and ensure release before anyone else can do it. That’s why the remote or distributed teams trend can help you.

With your teams distributed in geographies, you can rely on their expertise to build a robust and reliable product. You can easily create a team by accessing a wider talent pool. This allows you to narrow down the problem and identify the solution. You will be more efficient in solving the issue.

Eventually, you can deliver the MVP and increase overall team productivity. This will also help you maximize outcomes with minimal input.

4. CyberSecurity

When planning your business MVP, you should always determine if your solution adds to the security requirements. The business must think through the needs of the end user. Security happens to be an essential part of your solution.

If you can assure your customers of the security and zero risks, you will see a notable increase in downloads. Security can also help you get more people to download and use your product.

You should ensure that your MVP offers smooth authentication. The scripting and encryption should be top-notch so that people invest in the application.

Monitoring processes should be top-notch for successful validation and increased usability.

5. Quality of Coding

It is very important to thrive on the coding quality to ensure you get the maximum downloads. Code issues can lead to increased usage and friction, reducing the user experience. You should engage in readable code to debug the code easily.

When you continuously work on the quality, you can improve the consistency and readability of the code. It will also help improve the code maintenance. Working on the MVP and building a solution on the existing viable product is easier when you have a quality code.

Ensure you practice the right coding methods to deliver high-quality coding solutions. 

6. AR and VR Additions

AR and VR during your MVP launches will help the user get a better view of the product. It will help them realize how to use the product, what solutions it offers, and whether they need it. You can create immersive experiences with AR-VR technology.

With AR and VR, you can reduce development costs and improve simulations for the application. You won't need to build actual prototypes. It will help you build an experiential prototype that lives in the virtual + real world for the users.

Top 6 Benefits of MVP Development for Your Business

Businesses need to build MVPs before they begin working on the final product. Here are all the benefits of developing MVPs.

1. Product-customer Fit

When you build an MVP, you test the waters for the product. In this case, you identify if your audience is ready to embrace the product and know if they would value it. You can check if they would download the product.

At the same time, you would offer them basic features that can help them understand if the product fits the market. Once you are sure of the product fit, you can customize and build it for the customers.

2. Clear Goals

When you invest in an MVP, you are adding to your vision. You can plan the product's core features, advancements and every aspect from scratch. This would give you a better understanding of how you want to build the product roadmap. This will help you determine the metrics, identify the monitoring methods and ultimately scope a better product.

3. Know the Customer

When you invest in the customer’s needs, you know what they want from a similar solution. It will give you a better view of your customer’s world. For instance, you would know what they are looking for in your project.

You would know what they will appreciate and what elements should be removed from the product. It will help you build the product better and ensure a successful outcome. Along with the validation, the users will give you an insight into their usage and needs. This should help you decide the features, the product value and other aspects required to sell it.

4. Expedite the Release

When you have a product idea, you are scared someone else might develop it first. This means you must ensure the product is out before the competition can take their chances.

MVP allows you to take the first-mover advantage with the product. It will help you build a solid, feature-driven product for end users.

With the MVP development method, you can release quicker iterations and build into a solid/reliable product. Make sure to keep the first product minimal.

Once you are sure of the market readiness, you can keep adding to it.

5. Narrow the Risks

With MVP, you have a solid risk mitigation strategy on hand.

You can reduce the overall risks associated with product development. You will be using minimal resources and developing the MVP at a low cost.

Once the MVP is approved, you can start working on the budgets. In case your MVP is not accepted, there is nothing major to lose there.

6. UX and UI Design

You can plan for the user experience and interface design when you create an MVP before indulging in product development. It gives you a complete view of how to make the product usable and friendly. It helps deliver on the user experience goals that you have defined for your business customers.

You will also learn from the real users what they expect from the product. This MVP release will give you an insight into how the users use the product and build the experiences accordingly. Eventually, you will get a successful solution.

Top 5 MVP Examples You Can Use

Mobile or software prototypes are the primary examples of MVP. We will also introduce you to other MVP development examples here.

1. Landing Page

This is one of the best ways to talk about your product. If you don’t want to create a product, you can create a page about your product. Creating a landing page is easy. You can have a graphic designer or a low-code tool to help you.

The product information, screenshots and other details will be part of the landing page. You can check with the user if they are interested in something similar. Interested people will fill out the form and help you know how many would download the product. This is a practical and useful way to create the MVP.

2. Product Design

A simple sketch or low-fidelity prototype of your software product (mobile app, website) is a good idea.

It can help the users know what to expect. It will give them a complete understanding of the product, which will help in decision-making.

You can use several online and offline tools to create this MVP. It will take minimum effort and help you release the idea to your customers.

3. Demo Video

You can create a demo video as part of your MVP. You can discuss the product in detail, tell them what to expect and show the screens. The demo will be a soft launch of the product and will help you gain rights to the existing features. It can also be used to market the product once it is launched.

4. Pre-order MVP

Businesses often tend to gauge the market with the pre-order MVP. This means they ask if the customer is willing to participate in a beta test. They would notice the results and invite the customer to participate in the testing.

5. Software Prototype

With a basic product, you can offer a simulated environment of the idea to your customers.

The basic features will give your customers an idea of what to expect from the product. They can use the product, rate it and let you know if they are happy using it.

It helps with collecting feedback on the issues your customer faces. Eventually, these pointers can help enhance the solution. The prototype version can help you in multiple ways.

The Top 5 Ways to Prioritize MVP Features

Consider the feature prioritization technique if you are still contemplating which features to add to your model. Here are a few ways that can help prioritize the features.

1. Know the Users

When you know the users, determining the problems is easier. You will know what they need and how they use the software solution. This will help you realize the essential features for a successful outcome.

For instance, if you are solving a productivity issue, you should know what issues the user faces. This would help translate the idea into a successful MVP with the right features.

2. Research Existing Solutions

The customer having productivity issues may be using a particular software. They may be using some solution to boost their productivity. It is important to look into their current solutions to determine the roadmap for your MVP.

By acknowledging the gaps in the current module, you would have a list of priority features. 

3. Learn from Competition

Businesses that are thriving on similar apps can help resolve your problem. They can help learn about the problems that exist despite their solution. You would know what issues aren’t solved by the competitor’s solution. Eventually, you will find a list of features that can be added to your application.

4. Identify your Strengths

As a business, you should know your strengths when creating the minimum viable product.

What kind of idea or experience are you planning for your user? This would give way to the best features for your mobile app development.

For instance, one-click checkout is an easy way of getting customers to download and use your app. Similarly, there would be different strengths that you can play on.

5. The Value Offering

Lastly, your features depend on the value you are extending to your users. Say, you have positioned your app as an excellent productivity solution.

This means the user need not move out of the application for any reason. This would also pave the road for future features.

Top 5 Steps to Build an MVP for Your Business

There is a defined process that can help you build an MVP for your business. Let’s take you through step by step guide to building a solid MVP.

1. Market Research

The first step to good MVP development is research. When you enter the market with your eyes and ears open, you learn much about what the user expects.

It gives you a complete understanding of their needs, application use, and existing problems. You can learn a lot from their existing software. It is a good idea to check how the competition attempts to relieve their issues and other aspects.

When you completely understand your customer’s expectations, you are more likely to develop a successful product.

2. Problem-solution Approach

Take the problem-solution route to determine and validate the idea for the user base. You will also know the exact problem you aim to solve with your software solution.

Defining the problem statement lets you know the gaps or issues you aim to solve. It will give you a complete roadmap for the software solution MVP you are planning.

3. User Movement

Planning the user movement is critical to determining a smooth MVP development journey. It will help you realize how you aim to give smooth and direct experiences to your customers. When defining the user flow, ensure you know how the user would move from point A to point B.

Similarly, make sure you have noted how they can move back and forth within the app.

Navigation is critical to improve the accessibility and usability of the application in the long run.

4. Feature Prioritization

The most crucial step in MVP development is feature prioritization. You should ensure you have defined the most critical features the user may require to use your app. This would include the features that help with decisions along with those that improve the regular functioning and processes.

5. Launch MVP

Once you have all aspects in one place, it is time for MVP app development. You can use one of the many MVP methods. This includes demo video and low-fidelity prototype development, to access your user base for feedback. 

Once your MVP is ready, connect with the target audience and launch it appropriately.

Conclusion

MVP development is crucial to a product’s success. A well thought and planned MVP can help you prepare the roadmap for the final product. You can choose the MVP type depending on how you aim to attract your users. 

You can also visualize the problems, solve the existing gaps and build a strong monetization strategy with the MVP solution. 

Expert App Devs is a reliable MVP development company. Outsourcing MVP to product development to us will help you focus on your business. It will also enhance the success of the product. Connect with our team to take your idea to the MVP stage and further.

References:

• pivotint.com: 3 Most Surprising Product Development Statistics

Jignen Pandya

Vice President at Expert App Devs

Responsible for creating a sales funnel, attracting top-of-the-funnel customers, and converting the target market.