For people who build things it is very tempting to keep adding new things before we put out a product. Every new idea seems like an one and every little problem feels like it needs to be solved.. When we are starting a new company, this way of thinking often leads to waiting too long to put out the product spending more money and making products that people do not want.
This is where the Minimum Viable Product becomes very important.
What Is a Minimum Viable Product?
A Minimum Viable Product is the version of a product that solves one main problem for a specific group of people who will use it.
The goal is not to build less it is to build what we need to see if our idea is a good one.
A Minimum Viable Product should answer one question:
Will people who use this product find it useful enough to use it and tell us what they think?
The Problem with Adding Too Many Features
Adding too many features happens when we keep adding new things without checking if people really need them.
Some common reasons for this are:
Trying to make every person who uses our product happy
Building things for problems that might happen in the future
Waiting to put out the product until it feels perfect
Adding things instead of making the main product better
The result is often a product with too much code it takes longer to make and it costs more to keep it working.
Focus on the Main Problem
Before we start writing code we need to think about:
Who is the person we are making this product for?
What one problem are we trying to solve?
Which feature solves that problem?
Can we wait to add things until after we put out the product?
Every feature should help the goal of the Minimum Viable Product.
Measure Before We Make It Bigger
Putting out a Minimum Viable Product is the start.
We should track things like:
How many people start using our product
Which features people use
How many people keep using our product
What people think of our product
How many people buy our product
These things help us decide what to make based on what people are actually doing not what we think they will do.
Developers and Business People Should Work Together
Just being good at writing code does not mean we will make a product.
Developers, designers, product managers and founders should work together to make sure our product is good and meets our business goals. Making a product that works is often more important than making a product that's the most technically advanced.
How Some Companies Help Product Teams
Some companies help startups avoid wasting time and money by encouraging them to test their ideas before spending a lot on development.
By talking to customers making prototypes quickly and making the product a little at a time teams can focus on solving problems that we know are real. Keep costs under control.
Final Thoughts
A good product is not measured by how many features it has.
It is measured by how it solves a real problem for the people who use it.
By not adding many features and focusing on a simple Minimum Viable Product developers can put out products faster learn sooner and make products that are more likely to be successful in the long run.
For information:
https://apertureventurestudio .com/
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