Minimum Viable Product: From MVP to MMP

Minimum Viable Product: What should be the next step after creating MVP?

Minimum Viable Product, abbreviated as MVP, is commonly used in the start-up terminology, unfortunately, not always wisely. When we want to create a new successful service (whether technological or not), we want and need to be innovative! Indeed, to innovate is to imagine and to create something brand new. So, you embark on a risky adventure, with very little information regarding the actual demand for your product or service.

What about MVP?

Innovation is often very expensive. What is more, most of the time, it is impossible to predict any possible return on the investment due to the lack of information which makes any investment somewhat irrational. MVP answers the question: “How can I gather the most information about market expectations in reference to what I want to propose? How can I reduce the initial investment costs as much as possible and lower the risk as much as possible?” In the past, the old way was to release first version of the product several months after the investment and to offer an almost finished and final product. This can be avoided by applying and following the concept of Minimum Viable Product so that a product that answers customer’s main problem of accessory functions can be proposed. MVP is a method that helps to create a final product with a biggest number of  functions expected by a target audience and also to offer the fastest product to the market. We described the MVP development idea in details in this article.

We already have MVP – what’s next?

Now that the meaning of MVP has been explained, you will understand why companies work on MMP. MMP stands from Minimum Marketable Product and it is the minimum number of products that can be produced and delivered so that they can be presentable and usable. So, once we have our Minimum Viable Product, we could take the next step and try to introduce our product to the market. But to do that we need to know something about MMP.

MMP – what is it?

Minimum Marketable Product is a term which refers to a product that has the lowest number of relevant features but is already suitable for sale and marketing. Such an approach allows for a faster implementation of products into the production environment which also means profits are generated quicker and earlier. MMP allows you to focus on a limited number of functions instead of creating a hidden product for a longer period of time. In addition not only do we minimise the risk but also gain on time and costs. Building the perfect application that we are simply going to release into the world is never the best solution!

Going from MPV to MMP – when and why should you shift from MPV to MMP?

One of the best and well-known examples of MMP is the launch of the original iPhone in 2007. On the one hand, Apple’s teams put a lot of effort and work to build a hand, the phone lacked a significant number of basic functions, e.g. copy and paste or sending messages to multiple users at the same time! After the initial success, Apple began to work on expanding and improving the system.

So, we could ask – how can we build MMP? First, limit the product to a specific market segment (do not try to please everyone at the same time!). Next, select only those functionalities that are necessary and essential for a given target group (it is necessary to identify those features that will lead to success in the market.). Remember, use MVP to determine the right functionalities of your product.

How to bridge the gap between MVP and MMP?

Every decision you make depends on result MVP validation. If it goes well, you could start thinking about MMP and launching the product to the market. If not, you may have a problem, because you will not know what and where it went wrong – was it the product or the idea itself. Theoretically, losing is easier, because of the certainty that your idea and/or the product (or at least something) is not good and does not work well. If the validation of MVP is successful, you win, but it doesn’t mean that you will profit again. So, in order to have greater range of possibilities, you could validate (or invalidate) your MVP in one way – by shifting to an MMP. This method will also reveal to you all the features your product must have. If you want to win, you will find the MVP market helpful in defining your target audience. First, you must collect constructive feedback, so try to find someone who will benefit most from your idea. Second, the greatest problem of start-up owners is their inactivity. Once they confirm their idea as useful and beneficial, they give it up. You have to start looking for more data and for more feedback. The next step after MVP and role of MMP in this process depends on the experience of the customer with your product. It could show you what to do next.

Can you skip MVP?

To put it simply, we can conclude that one MMP is made up of one MVP. So, normally, you couldn’t skip the MVP. The difference is that we treat MVP in terms of experiments. We collect user feedback and improve the products based on it. Sometimes your MVP is made up of a simple prototype, thanks to which you can test the reasonableness of the idea. This approach increases the success of the final application or system. Remember to always have a clear vision of the product you manufacture. When thinking about MVP, keep in mind also MMP, otherwise, it may turn out that your product contains several dozen functions that are valuable separately, but put together do not make much sense.

See also: 5 mistakes Startups make when developing first App

Launching MMP

If you are sure that your MVP is valid, you could begin working on the full and final product. So, if MMP is just a set of features based on which the decision of the product launch will be made, you have to question yourself constantly about them, their functionality and necessity. If you collect all the feedback about MVP, you can start. Firstly, you must prioritize your backlogs. Try to obtain the true data and facts about your product and consider why it could either work well or fail. When creating MMP you have to follow the customers’ advice and do what they want. Your backlog, which you must create, should enlist all the features which are important to launch your product on market. The clients’ responses could help you to improve your product and find all the features necessary to launch MMP. If you do it well, you will win and achieve success. While launching MMP, the feedback and the analysis of MVP proved to be very important.

If you want to win and launch your product to the market, like Dropbox or any other start-up, you must create the best Minimum Viable Product and analyse all the feedback to constantly improve your product. It is important to bridge the gap and to observe the market. If you can predict the expectations, you can react and introduce changes to give the people what they want. In the end, this is your goal.