MVP Development Services for Startups

MVP stands for the “minimum viable product” which means a solution with basic features that cover the main purpose of the future product and gives the first users the general understanding of your unique idea. Such users are called the early adopters. They provide feedback that allows you to quickly improve your solution, which may include bug fixing, UX changes, and solving other problems you wouldn't notice without the real users.

During the minimum viable product development, you prepare a simple version of a new product or of its important feature. Such a release allows you to research customer real needs, wishes, demands, pains, navigation difficulties, etc. And most importantly, developing MVPs is the best way to check if you have the product-market fit. Companies continue developing projects that people will actually use and buy.

PoC, or Proof of concept, means a demonstration of the product idea. The goal is to prove that a particular product can be really built and will have certain qualities. The creation of PoC takes significantly less time and money than MVP software development. In addition, PoC is not related to making any product while MVP is the first step of your product development process.

There are several types of MVP solutions you can build, according to your business goals and target audience.

1. Pre-order MVP: you show users a prototype and ask them to order your product before it is ready, usually via a crowdfunding website.
2. Single-feature MVP: you take advantage of development services and build one core feature to hear the feedback from users.
3. Classic MVP: you create the core feature and some supporting functionality.
4. Third-party MVP: you create the core functionality and some of the advanced functionality, using third-party tools instead of bespoke development services. This way, you can get valuable insights and conduct a profound business analysis before you have enough budget to make an MVP from scratch.
5. Concierge MVP: you build the frontend part and provide a great user experience while the backend is operated manually before you have resources to engineer it properly.

Project managers and analysts at Fively can help you choose the right MVP type and select the technology stack for developing it.

Many popular platforms, websites and applications have been MVPs once. For example, Airbnb started as a concierge MVP that included the founders’ living room as its very first offer and the manually-handled backend. Some other examples of famous products started as MVPs include Groupon, Facebook, Etsy, Amazon, and more.

No, they are not. It is a common myth that only startups need the minimum viable product development services. In reality, established companies create new digital products too, as well as release important features for their long-existing solutions. In both cases, large and mid-sized companies need to have a successful MVP before they invest resources into a full-blown product.

Since the goal of the MVP app development is to validate the idea and receive feedback, the three elements of any minimum viable product will be:

1. Value Proposition – what your product offers that competitors can’t;
2. Major Assumptions – what you need to know, check, validate, etc;
3. Ways to Validate Assumptions – what you show early adopters and how you collect their feedback.

MVP in software development is a great opportunity to optimize time and effort. You can build and release an early version of your solution and present it to the real users. Whatever hypotheses you may have about your product, there is a chance to prove them right or wrong, getting to know your target audience better.

Early adopters will allow you to fix inconsistencies in the user experience, improve the critical parts of your product, shorten time-to-market, and deliver actual value. In addition, an MVP development cost is usually less than the cost of building a complete solution, which means that you can test ideas and experiment with fewer risks.

We recommend our clients to think about seven major components of a successful MVP:

1. The problem you are solving with your product is clearly defined.
2. You did the basic customer research and know their problems.
3. The purpose of your product is clear and any customer can see potential benefits of using it.
4. You researched possible marketing channels and realized how the target audience will find your solution. You also know how you will get in touch with early adopters.
5. You studied monetization opportunities and made a plan.
6. You know the ways your solution is better than the similar ones on the market.
7. You prepared a risk management plan in case things go differently than expected.

If you are not sure how to estimate your project roughly, start with defining its complexity. The price of developing MVPs usually depends on two main factors, such as the scope of work and the hourly rates of the development team. If you want to receive a detailed estimate from software engineers, feel free to contact us and let’s discuss your idea.

There are two major ways to measure the success of digital products – user feedback and various metrics.

Feedback is essential because it shows whether your solution is user-friendly, what its strengths and weaknesses are, how it can be improved, how it solves the stated problem, how well users understand its features, etc. MVP in product development provides a one-of-a-kind opportunity to study your customers’s real demands.

Metrics are also important because they help you make informed decisions and prove your hypotheses with data. Typical MVP success metrics include: user ratings, average revenue per user, the number of people who started and stopped using a product, etc.

MMP, or “minimum marketable product”, is the next step after your MVP has had success with users. While MVPs are built to answer the most important questions about your target audience and user experience, MMPs allow you to figure out if the future product will be successful on the market and is worth developing it further.

According to the Agile methodology, an MMP should be an improved and more stable version of your solution. You can continue working with an MVP app development company that was your partner during the first stage.

Depending on the type (for example, single-feature, classic or third-party MVPs) and complexity of the design and technology solutions, the process may be shorter or longer. On average, MVP app development takes from 4 to 5 months. One more important factor is how many people are engaged in your project, their qualification and experience.

It is important to remember, however, that a rushed process may lead to a failed MVP. Here at Fively, we ensure a thorough business analysis and customer interviewing before we get to software development. Data-driven approach and experienced professionals on the team will be your key to success.

If you want to know how much time your idea takes to implement, contact the professional to make a rough time estimation for you. If you are interested in more exact estimation, it makes sense to discuss the scope of work during the discovery phase with an MVP software engineer, project manager and UX/UI designer.

MVP mobile app development or MVP web development projects have one important thing in common – your technology partner provides a three-month warranty after the release. It is essential to find time and human resources for small fixes here and there. Even a top-quality product needs a warranty, and we provide this opportunity to all businesses. Sometimes one needs to add, change or fix something after a customer’s request. Within the conditions of the three-month warranty, the development team fixes the bugs free of charge. However, if a third party interferes with the problem-solving, it may void the warranty.

Outsourcing to an MVP company is a common strategy for both startups and established businesses. There are a number of reasons why outsourcing allows you to optimize your resources and get better results.

Reasons to outsource MVP product development may include:

1. Better expertise - you get access to design/development specialists from around the world and can choose the ones that really understand your project;
2. Increased efficiency – you can hire a professional team to develop your MVP and focus on other important business activities;
3. Optimal costs – you can control the scope of work and budget, choosing your own strategy for minimum viable product software development.

Even if you are not a specialist in UX design, MVP website development or mobile app development, there is a great way to keep up with the changes on the project and understand what developers are doing. Prepare the list of questions you are most interested in and ask the project manager. One of the important things that PMs do is establish smooth communication between a non-technical product owner and an MVP developer.

In addition, try to remember at least some technical details about your project, such as technology stack, third-party integrations, hosts, and so on. This will help you in your product’s evolution.

Yes, you can always turn to a different MVP app development company if your current partner doesn’t show the expected quality of work and communication.

These are the serious reasons why you may need to switch to another provider:

• Underperformance of a development team;
• Continuous organizational problems, not meeting dedicated deadlines;
• Communication issues that your vendor doesn’t resolve;
• A general feeling that your project is not really important for this MVP development company.

At Fively, we have a system of measures to avoid quality issues and resolve all problems on time. This made us a trusted partner for many companies.

If you have had some negative experience, there are quick tips on how to continue MVP development with a new tech partner:

1. Make sure you have a project roadmap combined with a clear vision of the desired result.
2. It is essential to have detailed documentation on your project, because it saves lots of time in the future, especially when transitioning between technological partners.
3. Make sure you have access to third-party services involved in your MVP engineering and that you can hand this information over to new developers.
4. Remember having regular meetings with the team that provides an MVP development service for you. Read the reports and stay updated. React timely in case of any questions or issues. Keep good communication.