The Roadmap to Launch Your Product MVP in 90 Days or Even Less!

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It all starts with an Idea.

But just daydreaming about that idea isn’t enough, and neither is waiting for a year or so to see it executed.

Launching a Minimum Viable Product (MVP) is a critical step for startups and established companies alike. It allows you to test your product idea with minimal resources, gather valuable user feedback, and iterate quickly.

In short: It is the key to fail cheap for expensive success.

Welcome Product-novators!?

In this edition, let's discuss how you can become 'The Flash' and launch your first MVP within the shortest possible span, possibly under 90 days.

But if you are wondering, "What's the rush?"

In this journey of Idea-to-Product, time-to-market becomes a critical factor. TTM refers to the period it takes from a product being conceived until it is available for sale. In a world as fast-paced and competitive as ours, how quickly you can get your product out there can be a decisive factor that separates successful products from those that fail to gain traction.

So let us learn how you can decide, develop, and deploy a high-quality MVP within 90 days.

? Brainwashing Alert: What typical, boring 90 Days look like?

If you want a generic 90-day plan, it would be something like this:?

Though not technically wrong, this follows a waterfall approach, which is not the best way to move forward in the fast-paced world that we live in. If you want an elaborated version, you can find it from a zillion other sources.?

This concept makes you run through all of the steps of a typical model, making it difficult, expensive, and time-consuming to make. But you don't have to build the complete product, the technical architecture, the interface. Build only what is needed for validation, so we are here to give you Gold.?

Something that is actually worthy of your time, via which you can really build your product.?

Think of it as a 4-Step Plan:?

Step 1: Defining and Refining Your Problem Statement?

Is the problem you are aiming to solve REAL? (Real like the money you want to earn)

The first and foremost step in developing an MVP is to clearly define the problem your product will be trying to solve. This will require you to understand and study the target audience and their pain points. Sometimes, the problem that entrepreneurs are aiming towards is not as prominent as it may seem, or the market for that issue is incredibly small.

So to avoid such instances, it’s crucial to refine the problem statement until it is concise and actionable.?

Actions:?

• Note down your problem statement, and study the existing market around it.
• Conduct market research to gather insights on user needs and pain points.?
• Figure out ways to refine and double down a possible use case that is both actionable and scalable.
• Engage with potential users through surveys and interviews to affirm your postulates.

Step 2: Identifying the Product-Market Fit?

Matchmaking.

After you know your unique business proposition, a.k.a., the million-dollar problem, its time to locate the people struggling with it.

Identifying product-market fit is a crucial step in ensuring your business proposition resonates with the target audience. It involves finding the sweet spot where your solution addresses the market's needs, pain points, and motivations, and aligns with their resources and willingness to adopt.

Actions:?

• Create user personas to represent your target audience and tailor your product features to meet their needs.?
• Analyze your competition to understand what solutions are currently available and identify gaps in the market.?
• Define your unique value proposition that sets your product apart from competitors.?

Step 3: MVP-ing Your Way Out of the Problem?

Start by understanding the concept of MVPs!

Many founders misunderstand what an MVP truly is, often mistaking it for a stripped-down version of their final product.?

A Minimum Viable Product is not merely a minimal version of your product but a version that allows you to validate your core assumptions with the least effort. It should address the most critical problem for your target audience with just enough features to deliver the value proposition. And eventually, once your product concept has been validated, you can scale both product-wise and business-wise.?

Importantly, not all MVPs are alike. The nature of your product and market will dictate the kind of MVP you need.

Here are some MVPs you should know about:?

1. Landing Page MVP: Create a simple landing page to gauge interest and gather user feedback.?
2. Wizard of Oz MVP: Create a front-end that appears functional while manually handling backend processes.?
3. Concierge MVP: Provide a personalized service manually before automating processes.?
4. Piecemeal MVP: Combine existing tools and services to create a functioning MVP without building everything from scratch.?
5. Single-Feature MVP: Focus on developing and releasing a single core feature to test its appeal and usability.?

Based on your Product Market, identify the best kind of MVP that gets you validation and approval. This way, you don't have to spend money or time building a full-fledged product .

Actions:?

• Understand the concept of MVP.
• Based on your product-market fit, choose the most beneficial type of MVP.
• Develop the MVP with advanced AI tools and existing data to save resources.

Design thinking is the process that fuels exceptional UX. Check out this blog to learn more about why you should adopt design thinking for product design.

Step 4: Will You Marry Me? (Validation)??

Once your MVP is built, it’s time to validate it with real users. This involves launching your MVP, gathering user feedback, and iterating quickly to address any issues or improvements.?

Actions:?

• Form a group of real-potential users, who will actually be interested in the service of your product.
• Conduct a soft launch with that potential group to gather initial feedback.?
• Iterate quickly based on feedback to improve your MVP and address critical issues.?

Some AI at Your Service: Speed Up the MVP Development process with AI

??Here are some AI tools that can come in handy in the 4-step plan:?

• MonkeyLearn: Use this tool for sentiment analysis and text mining to gather insights from user feedback.?
• Figma: AI-enhanced design tool for creating wireframes and interactive prototypes collaboratively.?
• InVision: Helps in building interactive mockups and getting real-time feedback.?
• GitHub Copilot: AI-powered code completion tool to speed up the coding process.?
• Hotjar: Combines analytics and feedback tools to understand user interactions and gather qualitative data.?
• ChatGPT: Unleash the potential of conversational AI to craft compelling product descriptions, FAQs, and customer support content.
• Hootsuite: Streamline your social media marketing efforts and schedule posts to reach your target audience at the right time.
• Mailchimp: Supercharge your email marketing campaigns with personalized content and automation.

By leveraging these AI tools, you can efficiently decide, develop, and deploy a high-quality MVP within 90 days, ensuring that your product idea is validated and ready for further development and scaling.?

Conclusion

You now hold the secret sauce to launching a show-stopping MVP in record time.

By following the 4-step plan outlined in this newsletter, you can validate your product idea, setting yourself up for further growth and scaling. Remember, the goal is not to build a perfect product, but to build a product that resonates with your target audience. With the help of AI tools and a focus on user feedback, you can create a product that truly meets the needs of your customers.

Make it happen, and make it fast!

AI-volution Awaits! Stay tuned for the next issue of Productif {AI}.?