In the previous blog, we learned about the concept of MVP development and how you can choose among different types of MVP development methods to launch your product’s prototype before developing the final product version. Now, we will understand how MVP development can go wrong and what all things you must do to prevent it. By the end of this guide, you will be ready to launch your minimum viable product successfully that will help you measure the grounds successfully. 

Can an MVP fail too? 

Yes and that is the reason we are not putting up too much effort or money on it.

Launching an MVP without sufficient planning and preparation can also lead to failure. Your idea could be revolutionary but without adequate planning, it could crash in the first stage without letting you understand what happened wrong and where. So, to prevent this situation and decrease the risk of a pre-orbit MVP explosion, you must opt for a proper pilot to run. 

So Here’s How MVP Pilot Will Help You 

While building an MVP, you must conduct the following experiments that will help you minimize the losses and help you keep your business pace even if the MVP fails. 

• Validating the assumptions that costs to scale are justified with the product’s core value offerings to the customers. 
• Verifying the hypothesis that the functionality or service will be delivered efficiently through the system designed by you. 
• Making informed guesses about the ROIs when you implement automation in the final development of the product. 

No idea about how to do that? Did we tell you this is a complete MVP guide….!

I am assuming that you are totally aware of how daunting and stressful product launches can be. Every business must be prepared for the worst and always (always) be ready for unexpected situations. Can we offer a solution for that? Umm..No! Because we, like you, do not know of any permanent fixes to all problems. Probably, just like your finest hour, your worst fear is yet to happen (enough philosophical advice). So, you and your team need to be prepared for the criticism more than the delightful acceptance by the customers.

Once you get your MVP out to the real customers, they are going to give you awful remarks about some features that you might have thought would stand out. Having said that, you need to understand that you are building a product for the customers and not yourself. So, their feedback matters and you need to work on your product as per the feedback received. However, everything is not going to be all dark and there will be customers who will love your product. 

When all these things penetrate your mind, it is time to discuss the same with your team. Just like you, the product is going to be your team’s baby too and they will also experience the same feelings if they hear bad about it. So, you must put this out loud and clear, “It is going to suck but the good news is that it will be temporary’. By doing this, you are not setting any false hopes and at the same time, you are preparing them for the worst. 

But, who knows, that your product becomes the next most loved product in the business market. Yeah, that can happen too but that does not require much preparation so we, you, and your team will always be prepared to handle positive feedback. 

Let’s Be Clear About Everybody’s Roles & Responsibilities? 

MVP pilot moves at a really fast pace. So, before going live, you should ensure that everybody including the team members, business partners, suppliers, and other stakeholders must be aware of their respective jobs. All of you must be prepared to take charge when your MVP goes live and also know what to do when their jobs are switched. 

Begin by creating a central repository wherein you can add all the useful information that enables the smooth execution of processes. Since this repository will be used by all team members and stakeholders, you must keep it simple and include a table of contents to make it easier for others to look for specific information as well as update it. 

Moreover, you should also have centralized communication that will have everybody in the loop and prevent unexpected delays because of miscommunication. You can also create a common plan of action where you record all important changes and learning that other people can refer to learn about important stuff. Everybody can plan their day better if they go through this document, first thing in the morning and stay on top of everything. 

Welcome Suggestions & Give Ownership

You do not need sheep but a team that contributes to your product and organization. Once your team has been equipped with the required tools, it is time to get the best out of it. Asking for their suggestions helps you see the overall picture which eventually adds value to your product.

Taking their input can help you improve the product’s functionality and the development process. You can also understand what is working and what is not when you know different perspectives. Now, it is time to give the ownership to your team members that allows them to take charge of their roles and perform better. 

If you try to take charge of everything yourself, there are more chances of mismanagement. The more decisions you need to make, the more confusion it will lead to. So, with your team taking ownership of their responsibilities, you will only have to intervene in critical matters. In the beginning, they might make mistakes also but tell them that it is alright and that it should all be notified to you to prevent any kind of miscommunication. 

Become A Data Freak

To measure everything accurately, you need to be obsessed with data. First, you must ensure that you are recording all kinds of information. Then, you must have experts who can analyze data and identify different patterns to draw important insights. Finally, you along with your team should be able to make informed decisions based upon those insightful analytics. 

Throughout the MVP development, you must collect all information even if it is listing some random things in an excel sheet or word document. It is essential to record data in order to find out what it is trying to show. At the time of measuring performance and testing, you will need these data pointers that can reflect changes and help you determine what affects what and how it can be optimized for better.

Flexible Pricing, Always!

When you were putting a number to your product, you might have done your research and surveys. There must have been a lot of people that you would have consulted to finally come up with a number or probably a price range. I appreciate your effort but you can never know if your product’s price is right until the real customers start paying you in actuality. So, with an MVP, you can get the answer to this without really committing to the assumptions that may or may not be wrong. 

So, you must be playing between the minimum and maximum figures for the product pricing. The minimum value should be the least amount that you can sell for but that includes your profit margin and the maximum value can be the stretched amount that you think your customers will be willing to pay for the value that your product adds in their lives. 

When getting your MVP out to the test customers, you can set a pre-launch price. The test customers would not pay the full price because they are putting in a lot of effort to get your product through that phase and they would be aware of that. 

Having said that, you should not disclose the real price to them. They should only be aware of the fact that the price they are paying is close to the real price. Otherwise, they would not care to act like real customers. So, when the time comes, if you aim to acquire customers, you can stick to the minimum value but if you plan to test your product’s value for customers, you can opt for the upper range. 

Be Customer-Oriented

Convey to your team in clear terms that whenever they have to take any chance or a decision, they must do what is best for the customers. At the time of halts, failures, or errors, you should first resolve the customers’ issues and then move towards fixing your system or software. When your experiments go wrong, do not put your customer on the suffering end. While finding out what caused the problem and trying to fix it, you should also ensure that it does not happen again. Here, the data records can help you identify the cause of the problems and eventually make the required changes. 

If anybody from your team is failing time and again, take the tough call and ask them to leave. If the software or system is causing problems, get a better one to perform its functions. In MVP, everything is manual so you need to ensure that the core is not affected and when it is, you have to immediately consider resolutions. 

That Is How You Can Launch A Solid MVP With Minimum Risks Of Failing. 

If you need any assistance in building an MVP, illuminz will be at your service as it has been before. We create foolproof business models with the help of industry experts that minimize costs and maximize revenues. On top of that, we add value to the lives of the people.