MVP Testing-2022

The idea of the concept of MVP Testing (MVP) was coined in the book of Eric Ries in his book “The Lean Startup”. The Definition of the MVP “The minimum viable product is that version of a new product which allows a team to collect the maximum amount of validated learning about customers with the least effort.” 

The notion of viability is different between individuals just as it varies between products. Broadly, a product will be feasible if it meets the needs of consumers. The concept of viability is about determining whether the features you believe to be essential are relevant to the customers and also.

The most important aspect is to play when determining the essential features (must be’s) and those that are not needed nice things to own’s).

How To Build an MVP?

The process of developing an MVP begins with delineating the primary issue that your product is designed to solve. The most important aspect of creating an efficient MVP is to define the issue as clearly and precisely as possible.

After you’ve identified the issue The next step is to find the most effective solution. Make an MVP easy enough to determine the viability of your idea, and meet the needs of your customers.

Remember that the execution of an idea is usually more crucial and challenging than the concept itself. Therefore, it is important to keep an eye out for your competition and research their strategies. The aim is to showcase your service with higher quality than alternatives.

Before beginning the process of development before you begin the actual development process, you must sketch out the specifics of the undertaking. It is possible to choose either a timeline-driven or project-based roadmap, based on the requirements of the project.

How to do MVP Testing: Best Practices

Interviews with customers

 

Customer interviews can be a treasure trove of useful information. They are a great way to gather information from your customers on your MVP which otherwise would be difficult to gather. So, there’s no better method to test the viability of an MVP than to ask those who plan to utilize it.

Through interviews with customers, you’ll identify the problems your customer is experiencing as well as whether the product solves these issues or not. Additionally, they permit the customers to see what benefits your product could offer.

Another reason that customer interviews are a great method for confirmation of your MVP is that you can count on authentic feedback from customers. Customers are prone to lie, sugarcoat or even give false reviews online when they are expressing their opinions. There is a greater chance that they will be honest in their reviews.

To get the most value out of customer surveys, create an inventory of potential customers on the internet and let them MVP Testing. Next, write down every issue you believe that your clients might have to confront.

After you have completed the survey Ask each customer what they think about each problem and whether your MVP can solve them. Keep track of all responses. You’ll be amazed at what you’ll discover.

Video Explainers

 

An image can be more than a word however, a video can be worth one million. This is why explainer videos are an excellent opportunity to demonstrate and evaluate your MVP with your customers.

With explainer videos, your will be able to explain to potential customers the value of your product and how it functions and why they require it. At the end of the day, they’ll be able to choose to join or not. The number of sign-ups will reveal the number of people who would be interested in your service.

This is exactly the kind of thing Dropbox has done with its MVP. They made a three-minute video that showcases the purpose of Dropbox to a broad crowd.

The video was straightforward and included all the essential elements of Dropbox. It was a perfect fit as the number of sign-ups increased between 5000 and 75000 in a matter of hours. The product itself was not created yet. Therefore, it is easy to imagine how efficient explainer video tutorials can be in the context of an MVP validation method.

When creating explanation videos, ensure they provide the basic information. Dropbox would not have the same effect if they just stated it’s a seamless synchronization of files application. Instead, you need to guide users through a process before they can decide to join or not.

 Experimental MVP Development Testing

 

Sometimes, the best MVP testing method is to do a one-time trial. This not only entices the right group of people and provides the opportunity to test the reaction to the idea before making decisions about whether to go ahead with it. The great thing about the MVP test methods is that you can go away if the results aren’t satisfactory.

Airbnb is one of the brands which tested its concept through an experiment. One time, at the conference held in San Francisco, all hotels were full. This is when Brian Chesky and Joe Gebbia (founders of AirBnB) let us use our air mattresses at their homes for conference attendees. The test was a huge success because the concept was in high demand. Therefore, Brian and Joe decided to expand the idea on a much larger scale. We know the current state of AirBnB is now.

Manual-first MVPs

Manual-first MVP (also known as Wizard of Oz) is another effective MVP test method in which we give the impression of a fully-fledged product or service. When a customer places an order for a product or service, we will deliver it by hand. The customer receives what they want and think they’re getting the complete product, but the actual work happens behind the scenes. The great thing about manual-first MVPs is that they let you test your MVP on a variety of levels, with only a small expense. Additionally, you can verify the various assumptions you may have regarding your MVP however, you must also determine whether the product will solve the problems of customers or not. One instance of MVP testing with manual-first MVP includes ZeroCater. The company’s founder Arram Sabeti was the first to create the largest spreadsheet to record caterers and companies who he could get in touch with. Zappos began in the same manner. The founder, Nick Swinmurn, posted photos of local stores on a site to see if there was a demand for online retailers. Nick returned to the shop whenever someone purchased shoes online, and he would return to the store when someone ordered shoes, and then delivered the shoes. This helped him determine the need for shoe shopping online before spending money on infrastructure or inventory. It’s no surprise that Zappos was so popular that Amazon bought the company in 2009 for $1.2 Billion in 2009.

 Concierge MVPs

This concierge MVP testing process is very similar to a manual-first MVP. The only difference is our product or service is authentic, and we provide a personal experience to our customers. We employ this method to test assumptions and determine whether or not the customers are willing to purchase your services or products.

Rent the Runway the online business that rents dresses represent an instance of a company trying out its MVP by using the concierge MVP strategy. They also offered a personal service for college students to test the dress before purchasing it. This helped increase awareness of their brand, and also test the idea that women would take advantage of renting dresses.

The concierge MVP method allows you to answer the most crucial question with minimal effort Am I creating an item that my clients purchase?

Piecemeal MVPs

Piecemeal MVPs, a mix of Wizard of Oz and Concierge techniques, is about creating an example of your product using the aid of existing tools. Instead of putting time and money into building something yourself, build an MVP by using existing systems and tools.

Groupon can be described as the most perfect example of fragmented MVP. Groupon was first developed using WordPress, Apple Mail, and an AppleScript which created PDFs manually when orders were placed on the site. This is how the time and expense of creating an MVP could be much less than originally planned.

Digital Prototyping

Digital prototypes are a fantastic method for testing your MVP. Through the creation of mock-ups, wireframes and prototyping of your products You can show the way your product performs in real-world situations. They can be shown prospective customers the mock-ups and verify your customer experience.

Digital prototypes could vary from simple screenshots and low-fidelity sketches to fake applications that mimic what users experience. Tools like Figma, IN vision App, and Marvel App to accomplish this.

Paper Prototyping

Prototyping on paper is a simpler choice than prototyping digitally because it is easy to prepare and then execute. It doesn’t require fancy equipment or top-of-the-line technology. All you have to do is sketch on paper for your MVP. Sometimes, sketching a rough outline can be sufficient.

Single-feature MVPs

Sometimes, it’s recommended to concentrate on one feature in MVP testing, instead of having multiple features in mind simultaneously. It will not only assist in reducing the time for development, but it can also assist in narrowing your customer base.

Single-feature MVPs allow customers to concentrate on the primary goal of the product. This is why they are one of the most effective strategies to use for MVP testing.

Foursquare also did the same in their MVPs. Instead of overwhelming users with a myriad of functions, they began with the simple concept of letting users log into the social network by pointing to their geographical location. Similar to the previous version, the first version of Buffer was only compatible with Twitter as well as just one user account.

 Hallway Testing

Hallway testing is an additional intriguing method to test your MVP. The concept is to approach people who are walking through the hall and ask them to test the app’s usability. To do this, you need to ask them to perform a couple of tasks and see what they can do and the issues they encounter. Take note of all the information.

It can help you determine the ease of your product to use if you’re looking to modify aspects of UI elements within it.

Keep in mind when conducting hallway tests, you should select people who have no knowledge about your product or service and have heard of it only for the very first time. Then you can receive honest feedback from your customers.

Landing pages

Buffer was a well-known social media tool. It started as a landing page. There were two landing pages. The first page displayed its features, while the second page was a signup page. Joel Gascoigne, its co-founder, said that he only did this to validate his MVP. A landing page is the best way to test an MVP. Landing pages can help you determine whether your MVP is appealing to your target audience. It can also help you determine the type of buyers who are most interested in your product. A landing page MVP MVP could be the key to unlocking a new market. Although landing pages are quite common, many budding entrepreneurs fail to make the most of them. Landing pages can be seen as a way to build an email list with potential buyers. It’s much more than that. Landing pages can provide valuable insights and data. You can test out several versions of a landing site. These variations could be used to show your MVP in a variety of ways, including design, features, and pricing models. Based on the sign-ups for each version, you can now better understand the viability of your MVP and which users it appeals to. Google Analytics is a great tool for collecting all relevant traffic and sign-up data.

Crowdsourcing campaigns

Crowdsourcing campaigns can be used to raise funds to bring a product idea to fruition. If done correctly, it can also be used as one of the best MVP testing strategies. Entrepreneurs are asked to explain their startup plans and give details about how they will use the crowdsourcing money. The idea is worth exploring if users are interested in the idea and willing to invest. Investors today will find buyers tomorrow if there are buyers tomorrow. The challenge is to make your MVP stand apart from the rest. These platforms, such as Kickstarter or Indiegogo, have been extremely popular. These platforms are home to hundreds of campaigns. You need to make sure your idea appeals to users and convinces them to invest.

Advertising campaigns

If you can use an ad campaign effectively, it can serve as a comprehensive market research tool. Ad campaigns on social media channels can also provide highly useful analytics, just like landing pages. Ad campaigns can provide you with a lot of sophisticated analysis. Ad campaigns allow you to maximize the buyer persona that you have developed for your MVP during the initial stages. Ad campaigns can be used to position your MVP in the right places for the people you are trying to reach. Your ads can be shown to people based on gender, location, age, or even interests. An ad campaign can also be used to A/B test your MVP. Different audiences can be served by different ads. You can also create ads that highlight different aspects of your MVP, to determine what appeals most to your audience.

Wizard of the Oz

This MVP testing strategy works just like magic. It’s all about creating illusions in your audience’s minds. If you don’t have the funds to build a complete MVP, the Wizard of Oz could be your salvation. This approach allows your audience to see much more than you create. Zappos is an example of how successful MVP testing can be. Although Nick Swinburn was a genius at the idea of selling shoes online, he wasn’t sure if people would want to try them on before buying. He was reluctant to invest in an idea that he didn’t know much about. He set up a website to verify that his business was worth the effort. After visiting local shoe shops, he took photos of the shoes and posted them on his website. He made his customers believe Zappos had a large inventory and a well-organized supply chain. He would buy the shoes and have them delivered to his customers within a few orders. You can use any of the MVP testing techniques I have described here or combine them. Your approach to testing MVPs should give you verifiable insight into whether your product will be successful in the market 

The MVP testing methods I’ve presented here, you may decide to use any of them or combination of strategies. What is important is how you approach testing your MVP. MVP must provide evidence-based information about whether the final product will enjoy an appropriate percentage of market share following the launch.

Are you looking to develop a simple and powerful MVP for your software concept? Contact Brisk Logic to arrange an initial consultation with our expert team!