Minimum Viable Product (MVP)

Mombasa hackerthon at JKUAT by Nailab in conjuction with Mombasa

Tech Community

MVP

• a strategy used for fast and quantitative market testing of a product or product feature, popularized by Eric Ries for web applications.

DESCRIPTION• A Minimum Viable Product can be described as

a product that contains only those features that allow it to be deployed, and no more.

• The product is typically deployed to a subset of possible customers, such as early adopters that are thought to be more forgiving, more likely to give feedback, able to grasp a product vision from an early prototype or marketing information and that are more likely to invest.

TALKING PRODUCTS

• "The minimum viable product is that version of a new product which allows a team to collect the maximum amount of validated learning about customers with the least effort."

• Note: the use of the words maximum and minimum in the definition means it is decidedly not formulaic; it requires judgment to figure out, for any given context, what MVP makes sense.

PROCESS

• An MVP is not a minimal product; it is a strategy and process directed toward making and selling a product to customers.

• It is an iterative process of idea generation, prototyping, presentation, data collection, analysis and learning.

ITERATE

WHERE TO FIND

TECHNIQUE 1• A Minimum Viable Product may be an entire

product or a sub-set of product (such as a feature).

• Product: (smoke test) the standard MVP strategy for a web application is to create a mock website for the product and purchase online advertising to direct traffic to the site. The mock website may consist of a marketing landing page with a link for more information or purchase. The link is not connected to a purchasing system, instead clicks are recorded and measure customer interest.

TECHNIQUE 2

• Feature: (deploy first, code later) A link to a new feature in a web application may be provided in a prominent location on an existing website. The feature is not implemented, rather an apology, mock-up, or marketing page is provided. Clicks of the link are recorded and provide an indication as to the demand for the feature in the customer base.

WHAT YOU NEED

• you only need one customer; it is better to reach a few genuine customers who will help you make something lasting than many who have nothing to offer or gain.