If you really want to understand what the minimum viable product (PMV) is, forget simplistic definitions like “a simpler product”, “a product without many attributes and features”, or “a basic product”.
No, this is not the point. On the contrary, perhaps, to be viable, this product needs some complexity (or do you think the first Apple personal computer – even installed on a wooden console – was something simple?).
To fully understand what is the minimum viable product in agile, remember one of the fundamental points of this methodology: incremental advances.
So, you can start with a simple, basic product with few features; test it, see what needs to be improved and continue, until you reach the minimum viable product, a concept that we will explain in more detail in the next topics.
Learn more: One of the authors of the manifesto criticizes the Agile and Scrum methodologies
What is the minimum viable product in agile
The concept of agile in the development of products and services presupposes the modeling of a process in which it seeks to deliver value to the end user, meeting, at the same time, the strategic objectives of the business.
It is widely used by those who want to start a startup .
For this, the user’s needs and desires are researched and defined and, before presenting them with a finished and finished product, models are created that we could call “prototypes” that should be tested and evaluated by those who would use them, if were already ready.
So, if there is an error in these initial phases of product or service development during the design of your creation, it is easy to change what is wrong, improve and move on.
You have to go slowly and just continue to the next step with the certainty that the previous steps have been properly validated.
Thus, in the next step, a new attribute or functionality is added, tested and validated. In this way, the process only follows when it is certain that what has been added, the incremental gain in value to the product being developed, really meets the needs of customers and the objectives of the company.
At any given time, this sum of incremental value will be sufficiently attractive to create a minimum viable product, which, in this case, will be tested on the market.
So, what is a minimum viable product with agile?
It is that determined moment in the development of a product in which it is believed that the sum of all the improvements made and tested is already sufficient to put this product on the market.
But what is the minimum viable product in the agile context ? What is the purpose of creating it?
That’s what we’ll see next.
See also: Secrets of the Agile Scrum Methodology by those who use it every day
What is a minimum viable product for?
Understand this, because it is very important:
The minimum viable product is one that already has enough attributes to be able to test the value proposition and the business model that is intended to be created when marketing it.
The goal here is to learn from user feedback if their needs are really being met and if the business is going to thrive. But, for that, the minimum resources and efforts must be used.
Therefore, the minimum viable product is just the beginning of your entrepreneurial journey.
To understand what is the minimum viable product with agile, keep in mind that it will not make your company rich, nor that it will stop being a startup, to consolidate itself as one of the biggest in the market.
No! It just indicates that the path to follow is the same, that your assumptions about the market and consumer behavior, that your strategic planning and business model are correct.
Now, your mission is to reach the Product Market Fit , that is: to find a product or service that is not only minimally viable, but that is accepted and sought in the market in a consistent and sustainable way, which will start bringing the results to your business grow.
To reach it, the process is the same: one takes the minimum viable product, places it on the market, studies the reactions of customers and improves the product, incrementally. Only this time, they are not prototypes or surveys with consumers: it is your company operating in the real market and promoting the continuous improvement of its process and products
