MVP

      YOUR MVP IS NOT A PROTOTYPE

As a product manager, you might have encountered the term Minimum Viable Product (MVP). If you haven’t yet, you most likely will. The term MVP was coined by Frank Robinson in 2001. He defined MVP as a product big enough to cause adoption, satisfaction, and sales but not so big as to be bloated and risky. However, the introduction of the Lean Startup methodology by Eric Ries in 2011 widely popularized MVP in the context we know today. MVP is often a critical step in the product development journey. Loosely considered an early version of the final product, it has numerous benefits. It provides valuable feedback that saves time, money, and resources and speeds up the path to achieving Product-Market fit.

Another term you might have encountered is a Prototype. Again, a prototype is an early product version that helps us gather feedback. Does it sound similar to an MVP?

While the terms MVP and prototype are often intuitively understood, there is also a great deal of associated misunderstanding. Teams might use the terms interchangeably or, worse, not grasp the core intent behind building one or the other. 

This might lead to teams spending effort building a perfect prototype only to realize that no one wants their product. Or teams might release a glorified prototype instead of an MVP to their early customers. Even though this is great for causing a buzz, it can eventually disappoint your early customers if it does not effectively solve their core problems.

So, what exactly is the difference between an MVP and a prototype, and when do we use one or the other?

Let’s begin with the definitions first.   

MVP

Eric Ries defines MVP as:

“That version of the new product that allows the team to collect the maximum amount of validated learning about customers with the least effort”. 

‘Validated learning about customers’ means learning from genuine customers. It is what the customers do with the MVP rather than what they say they will do with the product. So, a product version that allows companies to maximize the learning from real customers with the least effort is an MVP. 

For customers to use the MVP, they must find some value in it. That value is usually provided when the MVP solves the core problem the customers are facing.

Take Airbnb as an example. It is a great example of validated learning from an initial version of the product that solved the customers’ problems. This multibillion-dollar company didn’t begin as the elaborate platform it is today. It started with a simple website and just three air beds placed in the living room of the company founder’s apartment. The core problem they aimed to solve was twofold: providing travellers with short-term accommodation and enabling homeowners to monetize their unused space. Attendees of a nearby design conference quickly booked the airbeds, validating the concept and paving the way for Airbnb’s success. 




                                             

Now, let’s move on to what a prototype is.     

PROTOTYPE

A prototype is an early version of a product used in the initial stages of product development to experiment with different ideas and approaches. We build prototypes to gain feedback on a product’s design, functionality, and experience. While prototypes can have varying levels of fidelity or detail, they can be as simple as a hand-drawn paper sketch. However, unlike MVPs, prototypes are not intended for market release. Instead, they are a way of exploring possibilities and ideas.

Now that we have the definitions, let’s explore the key differences between MVPs and prototypes. Although the two concepts share similarities, product managers must recognize the crucial distinctions between them when deciding which approach to adopt.        

MVP Vs PROTOTYPE

  1. Purpose 

The core purpose of building an MVP is to test our product concept through validated customer feedback. In that respect, an MVP is designed to be released into the market.
However, a prototype’s core purpose is to experiment with and refine the product’s design, concept, or functionality before release. Therefore, a prototype is designed for internal stakeholders and users rather than external customers.  

  1. Stage of Development

In product development, the prototype typically comes before the MVP. When we build the MVP, we have some reasonable clarity around the product concept and the direction we are taking. This is not always the case when we build a prototype. During the prototyping stage, we may still be considering different product concepts. Therefore, it is common to have multiple prototypes but not MVPs.

3. Time and Involvement

As stated, a prototype can be as simple as a hand-drawn sketch of the user flow or product functionality. Although there are more detailed prototypes, such as high-fidelity or live data, in general, a prototype takes less time and resources as compared to an MVP. With an MVP, however, both the time and resource involvement are higher. We have a fixed idea we are going ahead with and are trying to validate it through our customers. So, we spend a higher amount of time and money on building a version that provides core value to the customers. 

  1. Problem-solving

Another key difference is that an MVP version of the product usually solves the customer problem a company initially set out to solve. No matter how basic the website, the Airbnb MVP provided a usable solution to the core problem.

A prototype does not have such a requirement. It can be intended to communicate with the design team or show the user flow to internal stakeholders. For this, a working version that solves the customer’s problem is unnecessary. An interactive wireframe might be all that is needed. 

  1. Scalable

An MVP is also designed to be scalable. This is to accommodate the increased user base that might accrue if customers find value in the product concept. Based on the lessons learned from the MVP release, additional features and architectural changes can be built over and above the MVP version itself. 

A prototype, on the other hand, is not scalable. In fact, during very early stages, a prototype may be completely discarded after post-validation or rejection. 

To conclude, an MVP is a ‘minimal product’ that effectively solves the core customer problem. A prototype is a non-working model of a product or a product element designed for experimentation, internal communication, and refinement. 

 CONCLUSION 

The above list, though not exhaustive, covers some of the key differences between a prototype and an MVP.   

However, it is also important to note that definitions need not always be set in stone. A case in point is the Dropbox explainer video. When the Dropbox founders launched this MVP, it was only a concept explainer video showing how Dropbox worked. This video did not solve the customer’s problem but allowed the founders to learn from real customers. Here, strictly speaking, a non-functioning product version provided a great deal of validated learning. 

So, the most important thing is for your team to understand what you mean when you refer to a prototype or MVP in terms of creating the product. 

Similar Posts

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *