Introduction

Even if you take every precaution before starting to develop your MVP, be ready for a disappointing release. An MVP can fail for a variety of reasons. The better you understand each of them, the more project control you retain.

This article discusses what you can do to avoid a crash, identify the reasons why it may still occur, and offer a course of action for worst-case scenario.

Inadequate project development strategy

Start by grasping why and how to begin the development process. For starters, you need a clear concept. Answer the question “What problem are you intending to solve, and what solution do you propose?” firmly.

Respond to these three questions:

  • How important is the issue you want to solve?
  • How is the market currently addressing this issue?
  • What distinguishes your solution in this market?

You can do so by hiring experienced business analysts and consultants to test your offer. Such services are not free, but they help you save a lot of money in the long run. Proven that your idea has the potential to succeed, you should begin a more specific approach.

You face really unpleasant consequences without a good project development strategy. For starters, your development staff will not understand your company interests and ambitions. The team motivation will suffer substantially as well. Furthermore, you are to waste both your time and your money.

Too many implemented features

A minimum viable product is defined as software with enough capabilities to impress its first users. It should also inspire them to provide an honest review. The reverse of “enough features” is “too many features,” which is the second reason your MVP may fail.

More features result in more development time. More hours lterally mean higher costs.

  • You may exhaust your money before reaching your goals.
  • You may submit your MVP too late.
  • Competitors might overtake the market by then.
  • The problem may become irrelevant.
  • Your test users anticipation runs out.

Many business owners make the mistake of adding as many features as possible to an MVP in order to wow users. They believe that if customers see the whole picture, they get the idea better and, as a result, embrace their proposal. However, this method undermines the MVP basic purpose.

How do I know I’m implementing too many functions? There are three “ifs”. Should you answer positively to any of them, it indicates a feature creep.

  1. If your MVP backlog original volume has climbed by more than 30%.
  2. If you diverge from your primary user base or concentrate on the needs of your secondary target market.
  3. If you find it tough to come up with a user story for a new feature.

Not enough implemented features

Upon reading the argument above, you might think, “OK, so I’ll limit my project to a bare minimum.” That would be a mistake. Instead consider this: “I will minimise my project features to a viable minimum.”

A successful MVP is a minimum and viable product, and both of these characteristics are critical. Assume you focus on minimalism and create an application with a single login and registration screen. You have, indeed, implemented a bare minimum of functions. However, they are not viable.

How do you determine which minimally feasible functionalities to implement? Answer the following questions:

  • What makes your product unique?
  • What characteristics distinguish it as innovative?
  • Why should your customers pay for your product?
  • What functions help them tackle their problems?

That’s basically it.. The functions listed are the ones you must implement.

Unconducted market research

People are naturally self-assured. We have a tendency to believe that we know what others want, what they think, and how they will act in a given scenario. Many marketers take the risky route of assuming that their target audience loves or hates something without questioning them. This is rule number one on the marketing do-not-do list.

Most business owners perform marketing research since it is recommended by default. At the same time, some of them opt to reject the results. Even if they don’t agree with them. They believe they know better and excuse their actions by claiming that the market research conclusions are incorrect. Theuy blame it all to defects in the study methodology. This is not an option. If you disagree with the findings of a market research study, modify the design and perform it again. Do not disregard it entirely.

Wrong development approach

There are several approaches for project management. The most prominent of which being Waterfall and Agile (Scrum, Kanban, Lean, or XP). Your projec outcome is constantly influenced by the methods you choose for development. There are also two ways to handle rates and fees: Set Price and Time & Materials. Each approach has its Pros and Cons. When it comes to MVP development, though, you should consider Agile and Time & Material. MVP techniques are usually coupled with changing requirements. Should you opt for Fixed Price and Waterfall, you are unable to make any modifications. You will suffocate your MVP by putting yourself in a very tight cage.

User needs or expectations not met

There are several factors that contribute to the attractiveness of your MVP to the user base, and disregarding even one of them might cost you lots of money. When people express interest in your product but rapidly quit, you have discovered an existing issue. Yet you are unable to provide a satisfying solution with your software.

Perhaps you focused too much on the “minimum” portion and produced an uninteresting and subpar MVP. Perhaps you chose the wrong core functionality, or your user interface design was flawed. Perhaps your solution solves an existing problem but is ineffective in practice because you misread it. To determine the precise causes, you must perform a concentrated, in-depth investigation and get answers straight from customers.

No marketing

To put it plainly, believing that a strong product concept can sell your MVP on its own is ludicrous. To show your users that you provide a viable solution to their problem, you must actively market your MVP and clearly describe its benefits. Else, your MVP prospects of receiving the deserved recognition are minimal.

Incorrect pricing and timing

A price that is too low diminishes the value of your MVP and may even provide a “suspicious” appearance. Most clients will not waste time researching a product they don’t believe in, so your audience is limited to a few intrepid fanatics. An extremely high price, on the other hand, might turn off potential clients. This is especially true if they are willing to pay the same price for an MVP as you are for a completely finished product.

Launching an MVP at an improper moment might have a significant influence on your product future. If you overlook major industry events, such as product releases, important competitor updates, or technical summits, you risk losing the attention you could have gained at other times.

Conclusion

There is no way to guarantee the success of your MVP. Yet, you can strive to reduce the chances of failure as much as possible. The most significant steps you can take are to be aware of industry and product challenges, and to work with reputable and competent developers.