How can you determine when your product is viable?

1 What is an MVP?

An MVP is a version of your product that has the minimum features and functionality required to deliver value to your customers and get their feedback. It is not a prototype, a mockup, or a beta version. It is a real product that you can sell or offer to your users, but with only the essential elements that solve their core problem or need. The goal of an MVP is to test your product-market fit, learn from your customers, and iterate based on their feedback.

2 Why do you need an MVP?

An MVP helps you avoid building a product that nobody wants or needs, which is one of the most common reasons for failure in product development. By focusing on the minimum features and functionality, you can save time, money, and effort that you would otherwise spend on developing and testing unnecessary or unwanted features. You can also reduce the risk of launching a product that does not meet your customers' expectations or solve their pain points. An MVP allows you to validate your assumptions, measure your results, and learn from your mistakes.

3 How do you create an MVP?

Creating an MVP involves four main steps: defining your value proposition, identifying your target customers, choosing your key features, and building and testing your MVP. To start, your value proposition should answer the question: Why should someone use your product? Then, you'll need to identify your target customers and segment them into different groups based on their characteristics. Additionally, you should select the key features that are essential for your MVP, prioritizing them based on their importance, feasibility, and desirability. Finally, you should use tools or platforms that allow you to build and test your MVP quickly and easily. You should also collect data and feedback from customers to measure the performance, usability, and satisfaction of your product.

4 How do you improve your MVP?

Once you have launched and tested your MVP, you should use the data and feedback you have gathered to evaluate your product's viability and improve it. Ask yourself if your MVP achieved the goals set for it, such as acquiring, retaining, or converting customers, generating revenue, or creating value. Consider if your MVP validated or invalidated assumptions about your value proposition, target customers, and key features. Additionally, ask if the MVP revealed any new insights, opportunities, or challenges that weren't anticipated. Lastly, evaluate if the MVP satisfied customer needs and expectations and elicited positive or negative emotions and reactions. Based on these answers, decide whether to pivot, persevere, or stop product development. Pivot if the MVP showed that the product is not viable in its current form; persevere if it showed that the product is viable; and stop if there is no demand or market for it.

5 How do you know when your product is viable?

When determining if a product is viable, there is no definite answer as different products and markets may have different criteria and indicators. However, some common signs of a viable product are having a clear and compelling value proposition that resonates with customers, having a large and loyal customer base that pays for the product, generating a positive and sustainable revenue stream, having a strong and consistent product-market fit, and having a competitive and scalable advantage. These signs can help you determine if your product is viable.

6 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?