Guide to Developing an MVP App in 2024

MVP (Minimum Viable Product) helps you enter the market quickly, minimize risks, and gather valuable feedback.
Turnkey application development allows you to test ideas and adjust your course as needed.
MVP gives you the opportunity for gradual investment through revenue, convenient when on a limited budget.

If you're a perfectionist, please DO NOT read this text.

We're going to talk about how NOT to strive for perfection, how to lower standards, and set deliberately easy goals. Moreover, we'll ardently convince you why this is good and right.

Perhaps, after reading this text, you'll change your perspective on app development and decide to move towards the MVP path. We'll discuss key steps, principles, and strategies that help minimize risks and costs when developing an application for your business.

If you have friends who are startup founders or business owners wanting to understand how to create a successful MVP, be sure to share this link with them. But jokes aside.

What is a Minimum Viable Product

Many people perceive MVP as a "raw product," i.e., in a negative light. As if you were served an undercooked burger at McDonald's. Ew...

However, this isn't quite true. Minimum Viable does NOT mean a bad product. It's more like a trimmed-down version with minimal functionality. That is, you get a juicy, delicious burger to see if it's worth adding to the main menu and making a full combo out of it.

By the way, the history of McDonald's perfectly illustrates the concept of MVP in business. Starting with a small restaurant with a limited menu, the McDonald brothers tested their idea and gradually developed it into a global network.

An MVP in mobile app development is a simplified version of your application that contains only the essential features needed to solve the key problem for users.

For example, an MVP for websites may include broader functionality since updates and improvements are easier and faster to implement. Ecosystems often require integration with key components such as APIs, databases, and external services right from the test launch stage.

What MVP Means for Business Owners

For business owners, an MVP is a strategic tool that helps them enter the market faster, minimize risks, gather important feedback, and test demand. It allows for efficient resource use and increases the chances of the product's success.

It's important to focus on two aspects:
Minimum
Viable

Our experience shows that many owners and stakeholders struggle to "stop the process," leading to feature overload, extended development time, and a more complex testing process. Therefore, we postpone adding extra features until they are truly necessary.

What MVP Means for App Developers

The primary "sin" of many development teams is the desire to expand functionality or release a more perfect product at the initial stage to showcase all possibilities.

On the other hand, simplifying too much can lead to a negative user experience. For example, ignoring the importance of UX and interface or insufficient testing based on hypotheses rather than real usage scenarios and stress tests.

Our team uses the concept of MDP (Minimum Desirable Product). It goes beyond "viability" and minimal functionality. According to MDP, it's important to focus on the minimally desirable level of quality while laying the foundation for future scalability.

Benefits of Developing an MVP Application

So, you have an idea for turnkey application development, and two options to implement it:

1. Create an MVP

+ Pros: Quick market entry, low costs, ability to adjust course based on feedback.
- Cons: Limited functionality, need for further development.

2. Develop a fully ready product

+ Pros: Full functionality, competitiveness, ability to start monetizing immediately.
- Cons: High costs (though one-time), longer development time, risk of not meeting the target audience's needs.

Risk Minimization
Launching an MVP allows you to quickly test your idea with real users and gather valuable feedback, which helps avoid significant financial losses.

Time and Resource Savings
MVP allows gradual investment through revenue. This is convenient if you're not ready to invest a large sum of money upfront.

Attracting Investors
Having an MVP with active users can help attract investors for further product development.

Conclusion

Creating an MVP in 2024 remains a relevant and valuable approach to mobile app development. However, critics argue that modern users are accustomed to more complex applications and may be disappointed with the limited features of an MVP.

But statistics show that 70% of startups fail due to premature or unsuccessful scaling. In this context, developing an MVP minimizes risks and resources while increasing the chances of success.

In our view, it's better to accept the risk of a slow launch and potential stagnation than to go all out and risk losing everything.