Building a minimum viable product (MVP) is a key strategy for product managers who want to test their ideas, validate their assumptions, and learn from user feedback. But how do you decide what is the most important feature to prioritize for your MVP? In this article, we will explore some criteria and methods to help you make this crucial decision.
An MVP is not a prototype or a beta version of your product. It is a product that has enough value and functionality to solve a specific problem for a specific segment of customers. The purpose of an MVP is to learn from the market, not to impress or please everyone. Therefore, you should focus on building the feature that delivers the most value to your target users and aligns with your product vision and goals.
MVP is not about prioritising features it’s about building something that solves your user problems in the lightest possible way or validating a new idea. When working with idea validation, this should ideally be done without writing code - try fake door tests, landing page experiments, wizard of oz, no code solutions etc. Make it quick, light and easy to dispose of
Your MVP should be an ultra-focused solution the key problem your product is built to solve. Don't get distracted by shiny features.
A solution that brings the MOST value to the user for the problem there is to solve with minimal resources to gauge it's potential. E.g. Bake a plain vanilla cake first for your guests before investing time and effort into a multi-layer chocolate ganache cake.
The purpose of an MVP is to test viability. It allows you to test if there is demand for your product or your service. An MVP should have or mimic the most essential features of your product/service to gauge interest and to gather feedback and determine if further development is worthwhile. Idea viability and user feedback should be the goal of an MVP.
The purpose of an MVP is to bring a basic version of a product to market as soon as possible and as frugally as possible, allowing for early testing and user feedback. It aims to validate assumptions and refine the product based on real-world usage. Consider a startup developing a language-learning app. Instead of building a platform with multiple language courses, they release an MVP featuring a single language and a simple interface. This allows us to test user engagement, and gather feedback on learning methods. It helps assess market interest, evolve the learning approach, and gradually expand the content and languages based on user input, ensuring a more tailored and successful product in the long run.
The value proposition is the core benefit that your product offers to your customers. It is what makes your product unique and desirable. It is also the foundation of your MVP. To prioritize the most important feature for your MVP, you need to define your value proposition clearly and concisely. You can use tools like the value proposition canvas or the lean canvas to help you articulate your value proposition and identify the key elements of your product.
The Value vs. Complexity Quadrant, a vital tool for product managers, assesses potential features based on impact and complexity High V, High C Most challenging to develop but can have a significant business impact Careful resource allocation is essential for tackling these high-impact, complex features effectively High V, Low C Promises substantial business impact without significant development challenges Prioritize these features for efficient resource utilization and quick wins Low V, High C Limited business impact with high development complexity Caution advised, but exceptions may arise, such as regulatory requirements Low V, Low C Generally not worth developing,but exceptions exist. If easy to develop and offers insights, do it
The feature should clearly differentiate your product from competitors and address your target audience's key pain point. It's the reason customers will choose your product over others. By focusing on this feature, you ensure that your MVP effectively communicates its unique benefit and fulfills the core need it's designed to meet. This approach not only validates your value proposition with real users but also sets a solid foundation for further development based on user feedback and market demand.
As a product manager, your goal is to clearly define what makes your product stand out. The value proposition is this essence, highlighting why customers should choose your product. To pinpoint the most critical feature for your MVP (Minimum Viable Product), first articulate your value proposition. Use tools like the Value Proposition Canvas to understand your customers' needs and how your product meets them. This ensures your MVP focuses on delivering this core benefit efficiently. Simplify this proposition: What key problem does your product solve? How does it improve your customer's life? Answering these questions guides you to the feature that is most essential for your MVP, ensuring it is both impactful and aligned with customer needs.
The MVP is all about giving our users what they need most. It's like serving up their favorite dish at a restaurant; when it hits the spot, they keep coming back for more.
In startups, MVP failures can be costly due to low risk tolerance. If an MVP fails, the startup may not survive. However, in larger organizations, there’s a higher risk cushion. MVP failures here, often tied to a new feature, won’t significantly impact the main product. The MVP approach varies with organization size. For startups, MVPs are risky but crucial for validation and feedback. For larger firms, even failed MVPs can generate buzz and offer a chance to explore new ideas. It can be a better option for start-ups, as they have limited resources and low risk tolerance. While for big organizations, it may not have that big of an impact if the MVP fails, but it can give them a chance to explore new ideas or features.
Customer feedback is essential for validating your value proposition and testing your MVP. You need to collect and analyze customer feedback throughout the product development process, from ideation to launch. You can use various methods to gather customer feedback, such as interviews, surveys, usability tests, analytics, or experiments. The most important thing is to listen to your customers and learn from their pain points, needs, and expectations. Based on the customer feedback, you can prioritize the feature that solves the most urgent or critical problem for your customers.
When it comes to prioritizing the most important feature for your MVP, I've learned to lean heavily on customer feedback. It's not just about what I think is crucial; it's about what resonates most with those who will ultimately use the product. By actively engaging with potential users, listening to their insights, and understanding their pain points, I gain invaluable guidance on where to direct my efforts. This personalized approach ensures that the feature we develop first directly addresses the real needs and challenges of our target audience. It's about building something that truly matters to them, laying a strong foundation for the product's success while fostering a deeper connection with early adopters.
User feedback is our secret weapon. It's like having a direct line to our customers' thoughts and feelings, helping us fine-tune our MVP until it's just right.
As a product manager, it's crucial to integrate customer feedback from the start. Begin with interviews and surveys to understand needs and expectations. Use usability tests to refine the user experience and analytics to track behavior. Experiments can help test hypotheses. Listening to feedback allows prioritization of features addressing urgent customer problems. This approach ensures the product meets real needs, enhancing its value proposition. Always iterate based on feedback to evolve the product.
Listen to your audience: Conduct user research, gather feedback from potential customers, and analyze existing competitor solutions. Prioritize the feature that addresses the most frequent requests and unmet needs voiced by your target audience.
Learning from user research & customer feedback is essentially the only way to identify how what really matters to build a product that is viable at the minimum level. Surveys, interviews, and other validation methods are often common practices that I often employ for collecting customer feedback, especially while deciding on the scope of an MVP. Listening to customer pain points and needs directly influenced our feature prioritization, showing us the importance of building with the customer in mind from day one.
Feasibility and viability are two factors that affect the implementation and success of your MVP. Feasibility refers to the technical and operational aspects of building your MVP, such as the time, cost, resources, and skills required. Viability refers to the business and financial aspects of launching your MVP, such as the market size, demand, revenue, and profitability. To prioritize the most important feature for your MVP, you need to balance the feasibility and viability of your product. You can use tools like the riskiest assumption test or the opportunity solution tree to help you evaluate and prioritize your features.
To run successful MVP experiments, these steps are followed: 1)-Problem-Solution Set: Define the problem and your proposed solution. 2)-Identify Assumptions: List assumptions about the product, customer needs, and market conditions. 3)-Test Assumptions: Prioritize testing based on risk and difficulty. High-risk, low-difficulty assumptions are top priority. 4)-Create Hypothesis: Formulate a hypothesis from your assumptions. 5)-Minimum Success Criteria: Define the minimum criteria that would deem the experiment a success. 6)-Test MVP Experiment: Determine the tools/techniques to test your MVP. Remember, the goal is to validate your idea, mitigate risks, and guide product development effectively.
We need to make sure our MVP is both doable and desirable. It's like building a bridge; if it's strong enough to hold up and leads to a great destination, we're on the right track.
I suggest if possible, prioritize a feature that differentiates your product from competitors in the market. So differentiation is important. Also, think about if this feature can help your product grow and add more features later on. Your early choices of features should not limit you but should allow your product to grow bigger and better.
As a product manager, prioritize your MVP's key feature by balancing feasibility (can we build it?) and viability (should we build it?). Assess feasibility by evaluating resources, skills, and time. For viability, examine market demand, size, and profit potential. Use the riskiest assumption test to identify and test your product's biggest uncertainties. Apply the opportunity solution tree to explore various solutions and prioritize features based on impact. This approach ensures your MVP focuses on a feature that's both practical to develop and valuable to your market, optimizing for success while managing risks and resources efficiently.
Be realistic: Consider your development resources, budget, and timeline. Choose a feature that is achievable within your constraints and has a clear path to commercial viability.
Simplicity and clarity are two principles that guide the design and communication of your MVP. Simplicity means that you should build only the essential features that deliver the core value of your product. Clarity means that you should communicate the value and functionality of your product clearly and effectively to your customers. To prioritize the most important feature for your MVP, you need to simplify and clarify your product. You can use tools like the Kano model or the MoSCoW method to help you categorize and prioritize your features.
Keep it simple. An MVP should be easy to understand and a breeze to use. It's like finding the perfect road sign on a long drive; clear, concise, and guiding us in the right direction.
As a product manager, prioritize your MVP's key feature by focusing on simplicity and clarity. Use the Kano model to distinguish features that delight from those that are just satisfactory or unnecessary. Then, apply the MoSCoW method: list all features and label them as Must have, Should have, Could have, or Won't have. This helps identify the core value your product offers. Focus on 'Must have' features for your MVP, ensuring they're simple and clearly communicate the product's value. This approach ensures you build a product that meets essential needs without overcomplicating it, making it easier for users to understand and use.
Start small and focused: Avoid feature creep. Prioritize a straightforward feature that is easy to understand and use, providing a clear and concise introduction to your product's potential.
The saying goes, "If you cannot explain it simple enough, you don't understand it well enough." Simplicity isn't just a design principle; it's a strategy. I learned this firsthand when we stripped our project down to its essence, focusing solely on the feature that most clearly solved a core customer problem. This approach demanded we ask tough questions: What is absolutely necessary? What delivers real value? The results often end up with a product that users could easily understand and adopt, setting a strong foundation for future enhancements.
When prioritizing features for your Minimum Viable Product (MVP), simplicity and clarity should be your foremost considerations. By focusing on simplicity, you ensure that your product is easy to understand and use, which is crucial for attracting and retaining users. Clarity in design and functionality enhances user experience, reducing confusion and increasing engagement. A streamlined MVP allows you to quickly validate your concept, gather feedback, and iterate efficiently. Prioritizing simplicity and clarity sets a strong foundation for future development, enabling you to build upon a solid user-friendly framework. Ultimately, it maximizes your chances of success in the competitive market landscape.
Iteration and improvement are two processes that enable you to learn and adapt from your MVP. Iteration means that you should launch your MVP as soon as possible and test it with real customers. Improvement means that you should measure the results and feedback of your MVP and make changes based on your learning. To prioritize the most important feature for your MVP, you need to iterate and improve your product. You can use tools like the build-measure-learn loop or the hypothesis-driven development to help you plan and execute your iterations and improvements.
Iteration is a derivative of prioritization. After launching, you need to closely monitor user interactions and feedback. This real-world data will reveal unexpected insights, guiding you to your improvements. Using the build-measure-learn loop, you can make data-driven decisions that significantly improve your product's appeal and usability. This approach not only refines your MVP but also deepens your understanding of users' needs and preferences, proving that the journey from MVP to a full-fledged product is paved with continuous learning and adaptation.
An MVP is based on a simple user story which identifies a pain point and tries to solve for that specific pain point. Now feedback from initial customer testing of an MVP can be either: 1. Positive: The Problem and Solution is validated-> iterate on further improving the solution. 2. Negative: The Problem or the solution or both are invalid -> iterate on identifying and validating the problem statement followed by working on a new solution. Being lean in the MVP helps to iterate and improve. Across the products I have worked on a minimum of 4-5 iterations are required to nail the product market fit and build exactly what the customer needs.
Build for learning: Choose a feature that allows you to gather valuable data and feedback quickly. This sets the stage for future iterations and improvements based on real-world user behavior.
For the iteration and improvement aspect of MVP development, the most important feature to prioritize is a feedback mechanism. This feature enables users to provide feedback easily and allows the development team to collect valuable insights for iterating and improving the product. By incorporating a feedback loop early in the MVP, you can continuously gather user input, identify areas for enhancement, and refine the product based on real-world usage. This iterative approach ensures that the MVP evolves in alignment with user needs and preferences, ultimately leading to a more successful and impactful product.
While iteration and improvement are essential for the long-term success of the product, they are not specific features to prioritize for the initial MVP. Instead, the MVP should focus on delivering the minimum set of features necessary to validate assumptions and test the value proposition with real users. Once the MVP is launched and feedback is gathered, iteration and improvement can begin based on customer insights and market validation.
There is a very fine line between MVP and MLP. While MVP focusses only on the core offering and has faster time to market, MLP also aims at testing out the ideal UX, thereby needing more time to develop & test. Hence, one needs to consider the market sentiments and competitive landscape before going ahead with either of these two approaches!
The most important feature to prioritise in a Minimum Viable Product(MVP) are the core features. Core features implies the main feature that depicts the main significance of the product, those features that without them, the value proposition of the product will not be clearly known. Every additional features you intend to add to the core features should come after your beta users have been able to test the core features of the product so that you can also incorporate other additional features they may be suggesting via their feedback.
For MVP development, focus on the feature that directly tests core assumptions about your product's value and user needs. Prioritizing this feature helps validate your product's market fit quickly and efficiently, ensuring you're building something users truly want.
MVP itself is prioritization, but you still have to be exact. Put yourself in the Stakeholder's shoes. Think of what will be the most prominent feature a user will need to use and can't use or the app can't function without it and then you add up things according to that feature to make it much easier and accessible within time frame.
In addition to the above factors, it's important to consider factors such as market timing, competition, resource constraints, and the overall product roadmap when prioritizing features for the MVP. Balancing these considerations will help ensure that the MVP effectively validates assumptions, attracts early adopters, and sets the stage for future growth and success.