What is an MVP Software Application?

‘MVP’ stands for Minimum Viable Product.  What does that mean in the context of building your mobile application or website platform?  Let’s break it down…

Whether you’re a business enterprise, or an entrepreneur, when building a native mobile app, a web app, or a website platform, it’s essential to always focus your initial development efforts on creating an MVP.   An MVP focuses on the core process or pain point that your application seeks to improve for its users.   The MVP’s sole mission is to prove your concept; Does your new software deliver what its users need it to do?   That is the question the MVP must answer, and nothing else matters until it’s addressed.  

If the answer to that question is a resounding yes, then you begin to slowly build out more features and functionality, as well as design additional enhancements to the UX/UI

If the answer to that question is no, or ‘not really’, then you either 1) iterate until you address the initial user feedback, 2) pivot to a slightly different concept or use-case, or 3) scrap the software entirely, before you spend money to fully develop and market it.

Focusing on an MVP means simplifying the initial design and functionality of your application in order to quickly generate a reliable feedback loop from users.  Simplification might mean just designing a graphical prototype that illustrates what you intend to develop.  Or, simplification could mean coding out one or two of the core features of your application, but then only graphically displaying areas of functionality which subsequent, post-MVP versions would contain if your MVP feedback indicates it’s necessary.   This can better steer your development dollars to building out only those features that are most important to your intended user-base. 

Working on hundreds of projects over the past decade, Epic has seen the power of the MVP in creating a quicker path to the ultimate, final product launch that will completely engage its users!   So if you are looking for a detailed roadmap to successfully launch your next application, we’d love to hear from you.