A minimum viable product is like the skeletal framework of a product. It sets the ground of a product in the market before it is fully formed and it is crucial for product development, market analysis and user feedback.

Now, what is minimum viable product in agile and how does it contribute to the success of product development?

You will also get to know more about the importance of an expert RocketDevs team that understands the agile framework and why they are known for being in the top 5% of developers.

Content

What does Agile Methodology mean?
What is Minimum Viable Product in Agile?
The Reasons Why MVP is Critical in Agile
How can Rocketdevs help?

What does Agile Methodology mean?

what is minimum viable product in agile
In order to understand what minimum viable product in agile is and why it is critical to product development, you have to first understand agile methodology.

Agile refers to a set of principles used for software development. Through agile, solutions evolve and it focuses on customer-based iteration, team collaborations and flexibility.

This then brings us to the agile methodology, which is a project management framework that breaks down each development cycle into phases but also commonly known as sprints.

It is an iterative methodology that requires teams to reflect and review at the end of every sprint to constantly improve before the next phase/sprint begins.

What is Minimum Viable Product in Agile?

How many times have you asked yourself this ever since you started thinking of building a startup "What is minimum viable product in agile"?

A Minimum Viable Product in Agile is a basic version of your product that has the essential features needed to solve a particular problem of a user and satisfy their needs.

The main goal of an MVP is to get a product quickly into the market to generate feedback, validate market need and scale the product at the end of the feedback gotten.

Since an Agile framework has an iterative cycle, developing a minimum viable product using this framework fits perfectly as it gives the agile team an opportunity to carefully assess the market fit of the product and its feedback, allowing them to make data-driven decisions every phase instead of relying on just assumptions.

To achieve this, you need a team that is scalable, pre-vetted, has the potential to be leaders and make data-driven decisions instead of assumptions and has the needed experience in order to make this a success.

Being a non-profit with a 6-8 rigorous assessment process, you get to try out the developers for 2 weeks along with a full refund if the developer wasn’t found satisfactory.

The Aim of MVP in Agile

Speed: It allows the MVP to focus on just the essential features so it can be launched quickly.
Risk Reduction: It reduces the risk of wasting a lot of resources on a product that has no market validation.
Customer-Based Development: The Agile approach allows the team to develop based on user needs and avoids the risk of creating a product that is out of touch with its intended audience.

What are the Agile Frameworks?

Before we get to why MVP in Agile is critical, there are several frameworks that have been created to implement agile. They are:

Scrum: This focuses on the roles, artifacts and events necessary to manage the development process through sprints/phases.
Kanban: The aim of this framework is to improve efficiency and to reduce or completely eradicate bottlenecks. It also visualizes the workflow of the project.
XP (Extreme Programming): This focuses its attention on technical practices like test-driven development, pair programming and continuous integration.

Read Also: 11 Common Mistakes To Avoid When Building An MVP

The Reasons Why MVP is Critical in Agile

Now that we’ve touched on what minimum viable product in agile is, let’s focus on why it is essential and critical.

1. Swift Delivery of Value

In Agile, the target is to develop the minimum viable product as quickly as possible. An MVP shows the skeletal of the product that is still useful to the user.

This allows teams to start fast rather than spending a few more months filling the product with excess features. The team can instead release a product that handles a single problem.

You can’t talk about what a minimum viable product in agile is without emphasizing how the MVP released through agile gives users the ability to get the most out of the product while still providing the required feedback.

2. Promotes Iterative Development

As mentioned earlier, agile methodology promotes iterative development. Minimum Viable Product is perfectly aligned with the agile model.

Fortunately, the minimum viable product idea has prompted teams to narrow on one particular product goal and test the product functionality one step at a time.

Building an MVP in Agile allows the team to concentrate on the user’s needs and how each feature can be improved upon at every phase. This is an approach that isn’t based on assumptions but on the data gotten from the product’s feedback.

3 It Encourages Feedback Loops

What is minimum viable product in Agile without the incorporation of feedback gotten from the users?

An MVP gives the team an opportunity to validate assumptions early by putting the most basic version of the product out there for the intended target audience to use and gather feedback.

It’s an opportunity to specifically get what the users want early on. You could find out that a feature you thought was going to be the star of the show during the release may prove to be unimportant.

A good example of a startup that accomplished a brilliant MVP release was Dropbox. They initially launched with a simple video explaining the prospects of the product and the problems they hoped to achieve.

This gave them the needed validation which gave them the green light to push forward.

Related To MVP: 13 Successful Minimum Viable Product Examples

4. Supports Market Validation

One of the most crucial reasons for releasing an MVP in Agile Framework is the ability to provide early market validation.

The goal of releasing just the simple version of an MVP is to establish market fit in order not to waste resources, human and monetary alike on an idea that might not have a place in the market.

Agile teams can use the MVP to test whether the product idea resonates with the market or your intended audience.

Some of the key aspects of market validation when it comes to Agile are;

Analyzing customer interest
Identifying pain points
Testing revenue models and strategies

5. Encourages Flexibility and Adaptability

This is not the least important reason for what minimum viable product in agile is and why it is critical because it emphasizes flexibility.

The agile framework is based on sprints which allows the production team to adapt features according to the feedback gotten from the users in time for the next sprint.

The team responsible for the development of the product is not obliged to develop a fully featured product all at once. This makes it much easier for them to pivot or make changes based on new information or feedback.

Agility in Agile environments means being able to change with the evolving needs of the customers and maintain responsiveness of teams to keep the product aligned with customer needs.

How Important is an Expert Team When it Comes to MVP in Agile?

Now that you understand what minimum viable product in agile is and why it is critical, you’re probably thinking that building an MVP alone might not be your best bet, maybe, maybe not, but isn’t it better to put your best foot forward with your most prized possession - your superstar product.

“Developers are too expensive, it’s too early to spend that much, how do I save resources when I’m spending on developers, where do I even start when it comes to the hiring process?”

These are not problems for Rocketdevs as we provide startups with expert developers that are pre-vetted in an 8-hour interview session, while utilizing Resumatic, which allows us to seek out the top 5% of developers easily.

Rocketdevs was designed for startups with affordability in mind and an opportunity to monitor productivity using our real-time monitoring tool.

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