What You Need to Know Before Building Your MVP
Every new tech startup or established business with a new software idea, needs to have a (MVP) minimal viable product. MVPs save money, reduce risks, and make it easier and faster to bring an idea to the market. It is also a great way to get feedback from users, while increasing your chances to get attention from investors.
Before you begin building your MVP, you must possess the following things:
Have what people want.
Did you do market research? Do you know if your idea or product will fill a void or fulfill a need? Is this the best time for your product to become available? If people don’t want what you have, they won’t be compelled to purchase or use it either.
The best people.
Is this the best team to help you release your product? Are the developers and managers doing this because they really believe in your vision and product? Is everyone on your team experienced, knowledgeable, and paid a decent salary? The success of your product relies heavily on the success of the team.
A product roadmap.
A product roadmap is as equally important as the business plan. This will be your guide and monitor your ability know if you are heading in the right direction or need to change your product or plan. Every product roadmap should have the following: 
- Product Vision
- Goals
- Features
- KPIs (Key Performance Indicators)
- User Personas
- User Stories
- Mock Ups with Sketches
A definition for success.
The more detailed your definition of success is for your product, the better. It isn’t enough to say you want to build a phone app and get users. You need to set goals. How many downloads and users are the magic number? Set a date to reach those numbers and stick to it.
The ability to adapt to change.
You may need to alter your product vision to meet the market’s needs or user’s expectations. Sometimes the employee you thought would do a great job decides to quit. Perhaps you learned that you need more money that you don’t have in order to bring your idea to fruition. If the market changes, it may be better to pursue your dream product in two years instead of right now. If you are able to adapt to change well, you will be more open to learning all that is needed to accomplish your business goals.