{"id":1577,"date":"2024-07-22T21:10:11","date_gmt":"2024-07-22T15:40:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/rzplearn.com\/?p=1577"},"modified":"2024-07-22T21:10:36","modified_gmt":"2024-07-22T15:40:36","slug":"minimum-viable-product-mvp","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/razorpay.com\/learn\/minimum-viable-product-mvp\/","title":{"rendered":"What is a Minimum Viable Product (MVP)? Purpose, Types and Examples"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_80 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-transparent ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-69e3d2b618ceb\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-69e3d2b618ceb\"  aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/razorpay.com\/learn\/minimum-viable-product-mvp\/#What-is-Minimum-Viable-Product-MVP\" >What is Minimum Viable Product (MVP)?\u00a0<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/razorpay.com\/learn\/minimum-viable-product-mvp\/#What-an-MVP-is-Not\" >What an MVP is Not?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/razorpay.com\/learn\/minimum-viable-product-mvp\/#Minimum-Viable-Product-Examples\" >Minimum Viable Product Examples<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/razorpay.com\/learn\/minimum-viable-product-mvp\/#What-Is-the-Purpose-of-a-Minimum-Viable-Product-MVP\" >What Is the Purpose of a Minimum Viable Product (MVP)?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/razorpay.com\/learn\/minimum-viable-product-mvp\/#What-are-the-5-Types-of-MVP\" >What are the 5 Types of MVP?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-6\" href=\"https:\/\/razorpay.com\/learn\/minimum-viable-product-mvp\/#How-to-Define-Your-MVP-Minimum-Viable-Product\" >How to Define Your MVP (Minimum Viable Product)?\u00a0<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-7\" href=\"https:\/\/razorpay.com\/learn\/minimum-viable-product-mvp\/#How-to-Build-a-Minimum-Viable-Product-MVP\" >How to Build a Minimum Viable Product (MVP)?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-8\" href=\"https:\/\/razorpay.com\/learn\/minimum-viable-product-mvp\/#Conclusion\" >Conclusion<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-9\" href=\"https:\/\/razorpay.com\/learn\/minimum-viable-product-mvp\/#Frequently-Asked-Questions-FAQs\" >Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"What-is-Minimum-Viable-Product-MVP\"><\/span><b>What is Minimum Viable Product (MVP)?\u00a0<\/b><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>An MVP stands for minimum viable product, is an early basic version of a product released with enough features to be functional. MVPs can be a landing page or prototype (typically a piece of technology or computer program). Early customers of a business can use the MVP and provide feedback for product development in the future.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The company does this to validate a product idea early in the development cycle.\u00a0<\/span>This approach helps businesses validate demand before investing heavily in full-scale development. The goal is to provide immediate value, minimise development costs, and gather user feedback for future product enhancements.<\/p>\n<h2 data-pm-slice=\"1 1 []\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"What-an-MVP-is-Not\"><\/span>What an MVP is Not?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>A minimum viable product\u00a0is often misunderstood.\u00a0It is not just a basic prototype or\u00a0a finished product. Also, an MVP\u00a0isn&#8217;t the final\u00a0version of the product, which would have many more features and be polished based on what users say.\u00a0An MVP\u00a0is made\u00a0to address its users&#8217;\u00a0main\u00a0needs and start quickly while also learning about the market&#8217;s response to the product. It is the first step that helps shape the full development of the product.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Minimum-Viable-Product-Examples\"><\/span><b>Minimum Viable Product Examples<\/b><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Let\u2019s have a quick look at some examples to understand how MPV is being practised in real life!<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><b>1. Airbnb<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Today, whom we call the founders of Airbnb, once faced a hard time when they had to accommodate guests coming over for a conference. All the hotels in the city were full and there they discovered Airbnb! The idea was to host the guests in their own apartments on &#8216;air\u2019 beds.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>They Began by renting out personal apartments, validating the concept before scaling the service.<\/p>\n<h3><b>2. Foursquare\u00a0<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Foursquare is a pioneering location-based social networking platform that enables users to explore and share insights about various venues. It revolutionised the way people interact with their surroundings, offering a dynamic interface for discovering businesses and attractions and fostering community engagement through shared experiences.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Foursquare began with a single feature: checking in at locations. This minimalist approach rapidly attracted users, generating valuable feedback to grow the platform.<\/p>\n<h3><b>3. Amazon<\/b><\/h3>\n<p>Initially founded as an online bookstore in 1994, Amazon has evolved into a global e-commerce behemoth. The core proposition of offering books at competitive prices has remained consistent, while the platform&#8217;s feature set and product range have expanded exponentially. Amazon&#8217;s inception as a focused online bookstore serves as a prime example of an MVP strategy that scaled into a vast enterprise.<\/p>\n<h3><b>4. Instagram<\/b><\/h3>\n<p>When Kevin Systrom began his venture, he developed and secured funding for a mobile application named Burbn. This application was designed to enable users to check in and share their views of various locations.<\/p>\n<p>However, the app did not achieve immediate success, and Kevin realized that users were more interested in the photo-sharing functionality. Consequently, the Burbn team redirected their focus to a single feature: photo sharing. Today, we recognize the significant role that &#8216;Instagram&#8217; plays in our lives.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"What-Is-the-Purpose-of-a-Minimum-Viable-Product-MVP\"><\/span><b>What Is the Purpose of a Minimum Viable Product (MVP)?<\/b><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">An MVP serves as a functional prototype that customers can interact with and provide insights into their behaviour, preferences, and pain points.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong>It helps the company validate its assumptions about the product and target market via the following steps:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The MVP must address a specific problem that your target audience faces.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The company conducts intensive research to understand the market and identify its competitors.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The company outlines the journey they want their users to take with their product.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">They decide on the minimal features to solve the problem and provide value.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">They then develop the MVP, focusing on the core features to solve the problem effectively.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The company releases the MVP to a small group of users and gathers feedback.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">They then use the feedback to make improvements and further refine their product or service<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><em><strong>Recommended Read: <a href=\"https:\/\/razorpay.com\/learn\/what-is-a-niche-market-8-examples-of-niche-markets\/\">What is a Niche Market? Examples, Benefits and Strategies<\/a><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<h2 data-pm-slice=\"1 1 []\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"What-are-the-5-Types-of-MVP\"><\/span>What are the 5 Types of MVP?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<h3><strong>1. Landing Page MVP<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>This MVP type uses a simple webpage to gauge interest and validate market demand for a product concept. By incorporating lead capture forms and call-to-actions (CTAs), businesses can effectively measure user engagement and interest levels.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>2. Concierge MVP<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>Businesses manually provide services to customers to test a product idea. This approach is valuable for gaining deep customer insights through personal interaction.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>3. Wizard of Oz MVP<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>In this model, businesses simulate backend operations to present the facade of a complete product. It&#8217;s a cost-effective method for validating complex product ideas without full development.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>4. Single-Featured MVP<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>This MVP focuses on one core feature: assessing user reaction and collecting feedback. It&#8217;s\u00a0useful for\u00a0validating the product&#8217;s specific functionality or value proposition.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>5. Pre-Order MVP<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>This MVP allows businesses to confirm market demand and acquire initial funding by offering the product for pre-order. It provides a clear value proposition and a reliable delivery timeline to customers.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"How-to-Define-Your-MVP-Minimum-Viable-Product\"><\/span><b>How to Define Your MVP (Minimum Viable Product)?\u00a0<\/b><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><strong>Follow these strategic steps to guide your development process.<\/strong><\/p>\n<h3><b>1. Make sure your MVP matches your business goals.<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Before deciding which features to include, the first step in developing your MVP is to ensure it aligns with your team\u2019s or company\u2019s strategic goals.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Consider these goals: Are you aiming to achieve a specific revenue target in the next six months? Do you have limited resources? These factors might influence whether it&#8217;s the right time to develop a new MVP.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Determine the purpose of this minimum viable product. For instance, will it attract new users in a market related to your existing products? If this aligns with your current business objectives, then this MVP plan might be strategically viable.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">However, if your company\u2019s current focus is on your core markets, you might need to postpone this idea and instead focus on an MVP designed to provide new functionality for your existing customers.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><b>2. Identify the key problems you want to solve or the improvements you want to offer for your users.<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">After you have confirmed that your MVP plan aligns with your business goals, identify the specific problems or improvements your product will provide users. These solutions should only be a subset of your overall product vision. You can document them as epics, user stories or features. Your MVP will only include a small set of features.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Decide which functionalities you want to include in your MVP. These decisions should be based on a number of factors, such as:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">User Research<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Competitive Analysis<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The speed at which you can iterate on certain functionalities after receiving user feedback<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The relative cost of implementing various user stories or epics<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><b>3. Turn your MVP&#8217;s features into a clear development plan.<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It&#8217;s now time to develop a development plan. After considering your strategic elements and choosing the limited functionality of your MVP, you should create a development plan.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Remember that &#8220;V&#8221; stands for viable. The product should allow customers to finish a task or project, and offer a quality user experience. The MVP must be more than a bare-bones user interface, with unfinished features and tools. It should be a product that can be sold by your company.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"How-to-Build-a-Minimum-Viable-Product-MVP\"><\/span><b>How to Build a Minimum Viable Product (MVP)?<\/b><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<h3><b>STEP 1: Planning Your MVP<\/b><\/h3>\n<h4>1. Identify Your Target Audience<\/h4>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Understanding who your ideal customers are and their primary needs is crucial.<\/span><\/p>\n<h4><b>2. Focus on the Core Problem<\/b><\/h4>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Pinpoint the exact problem your MVP will solve.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h4><b>3. Prioritise Features<\/b><\/h4>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Concentrate on essential functionalities that prove your product&#8217;s concept. Avoid overloading your MVP with features; simplicity is key.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><b>STEP 2: Building Your MVP<\/b><\/h3>\n<h4><b>1. Consider Low-cost Solutions<\/b><\/h4>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Utilise cost-effective methods, like mockups or basic prototypes, to demonstrate your product&#8217;s potential without extensive resources.<\/span><\/p>\n<h4><b>2. Focus on Usability<\/b><\/h4>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A user-friendly MVP, even with minimal features, is vital for early adopter engagement and feedback.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><b>STEP 3: Testing and Learning<\/b><\/h3>\n<h4><b>1. Launch Strategies<\/b><\/h4>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Launch your MVP using various channels, like social media, targeted ads or beta testing, to reach your audience effectively.<\/span><\/p>\n<h4><b>2. Gathering Feedback<\/b><\/h4>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Collect user feedback diligently through surveys and interviews to understand the user experience and expectations.<\/span><\/p>\n<h4><b>3. Analyse and Adapt<\/b><\/h4>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Use the feedback to refine your MVP, focusing on enhancements that align with user needs and product goals.<\/span><\/p>\n<h4><b>4. Set of Documents<\/b><\/h4>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Have a set of product requirements documents to launch the product without any hassle.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Conclusion\"><\/span><b>Conclusion<\/b><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If you are planning on starting something new, you should definitely create an MVP. The best part is that once you launch an MVP, you can collect realistic feedback and make changes to your product or service. We hope this article will help you through your business journey.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Takeaway? It is recommended to continue to test, learn and measure and keep testing until the product or service is finalised.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong>Recommended Read:<a href=\"https:\/\/razorpay.com\/learn\/startup-funding-in-india-an-overview\/\"> <i>Startup Funding In India: An Overview\u00a0<\/i><\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Frequently-Asked-Questions-FAQs\"><\/span><b>Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)<\/b><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<h3><b>1. What is a MVP in Simple Terms?<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Minimum viable product (MVP), is a product with just enough features for early users to be satisfied.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><b>2. Why is MVP important?<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">MVP is crucial because it allows testing a product concept in the market with minimal resources, reducing time and financial risks.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><b>3. What are the 3 elements of MVP?<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The three elements of an MVP are its minimum feature set, viability in the market and being a tangible product.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><b>4. What are the characteristics of MVP?\u00a0<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">MVPs are characterised by having just enough features to be functional, focusing on core customer needs, and being designed to gather user feedback for future improvements.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><b>5. What are the key principles when creating an MVP?\u00a0<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Focus on core features, maintain simplicity and user-friendliness, and adopt an iterative development process based on user feedback.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A minimum viable product means a product which usually has one basic set of features. It is released to a handful of people to test a new business idea. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":151156612,"featured_media":11651,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3367,1383],"tags":[3121,3120,3872],"class_list":{"0":"post-1577","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-business-glossary","8":"category-business","9":"tag-minimum-viable-product","10":"tag-mvp","11":"tag-what-is-mvp"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/learn.razorpay.in\/learn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1577","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/learn.razorpay.in\/learn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/learn.razorpay.in\/learn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/learn.razorpay.in\/learn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/151156612"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/learn.razorpay.in\/learn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1577"}],"version-history":[{"count":13,"href":"https:\/\/learn.razorpay.in\/learn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1577\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11747,"href":"https:\/\/learn.razorpay.in\/learn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1577\/revisions\/11747"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/learn.razorpay.in\/learn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11651"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/learn.razorpay.in\/learn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1577"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/learn.razorpay.in\/learn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1577"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/learn.razorpay.in\/learn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1577"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}