Custom mobile app development. Why should begin with MVP?
What is MVP
MVP, or minimum viable product, is a first version of the product that involves only the main functionality aimed at accomplishment of the app principal tasks. The process looks as follow: you define the priorities meaning product key objectives and then two or three features required to meet them.
After you build the solution dividing the scope in iterations (generally MVP development goes hand at hand to Agile and Lean Startup methodology, learn more about them from our post “Best practices and success factors of software dev projects”) to save time and ensure the ability to check everything out in the end of each iteration, test the product, and more.
Once the main functionality is made and stabilized, you receive a working solution for further enhancement. You may wonder why not start with the development of a large product with a plenty of enjoyable functions you dream about? There are several reasons for that.
Reasons to start with MVP development
- Custom mobile app development is a complicated process. Even in dealing with MVP. Nevertheless, when you try to push too many features at one blow, the product can suffer from unexpected bags and errors hereafter.
- When you build a large complex solution, you don’t have any confidence it will be loved by users. In the end, you can spend a lot of money and loose. Otherwise, starting the project with MVP development will allow you to test the product once a working solution is launched.
This approach is aimed at revealing the needs of the target audience: you collect and measure user feedback and thus get the understanding of what should be improved: which features to implement (expanding the product), which things to enhance, etc.
Surely, you can find out user needs and preferences before custom mobile app beginning, but there we have the point one, and also you should consider the opportunity of changing some user preferences while your project is under development. For example, it can be connected with the appearance of a similar application released before yours.
So, it will be more reasonable to start with the quick launch of a first version with the main features, gathering opinions, enhancing the app based on them, and then releasing of a second version. Thus you will develop exactly what your users need and want, which in most cases means success (also remember about mobile app marketing, otherwise how will people know about you?).
- Determination of the main tasks the app must complete as well as top-priority features enable to develop and launch the product far more quickly than choosing the other approach. Moreover, it results in saving money. MVP development process is more organized, fast, and cost-efficient. That’s why so many startups choose custom mobile app development with MVP creation.
Project stages in MVP development
- Requirements collection and analysis. Here we should also note that one of the most important things a custom mobile app development company must do is to start the project with gathering and processing customer’s requirements. Identification of project goals, market research, and competitor analysis, hold at this step, help to define product peculiarities that will allow it to be distinguished among similar applications.
- Idea visualization. A designer creates app prototype so that both customer and project development team can visualize how the product will look like and have the understanding of what to make next. This step generally takes two or three weeks.
- Main functionality development. At this stage, the app is built. The development of principal features usually takes two months. The scope of work is divided into 2-week iterations to make the process organized and efficient.
- Testing and stabilization. To make the product perfect functioning the application is polished and enhanced. QA stage has great significance as exactly here bugs are found and fixed which enables to create a quality app.
- Product launch and user reaction measuring. Once the app is prepared, it’s released. After this it’s important to gather and analyze user feedback: here user needs preferences are defined, and a reaction is measured (comments, opinions, etc.). This step enables to understand how to improve and expand the product.
A bit about Lean Startup methodology
Lean Startup methodology comes from Japanese machinery and it’s based on the principle “Build – Measure – Learn”. MVP is probably the main concept in Lean methodology. You develop only what is needed and when it’s needed.
This approach enables companies to quickly build a product, test it, measure user reaction, and come back to the development. Lean methodology work best for startups. Nevertheless, such famous projects as TechCrunch, Quora, Dropbox, and PayPal were developed according to Lean.
If you have an idea for the application, but it’s difficult to determine the functionality it is to have in detail (totally common situation), we will always help you in the formulation of requirements, preparation of SRS (software requirements specification), determination of the whole scope, and more.
Having large expertise in custom mobile app development, we are ready to provide you with a free consultation on your project! Feel free to apply!