Starting up an Enterprise, a small scale Tech-startup or any Business for that matter has always been a precarious proposition. You either take home a Jackpot or end up as a pauper behind the screen! The general idea, however, is that once a brilliant idea or a sure-shot innovation is conceived, it is then pitched in front of an able investor forum and then with a close knit team of enthusiastic and like-minded individuals and zoom.. the project takes off!
How did Lean Startup methodology commence?
MVP development for tech startup is not a new idea – this formulaic code has been followed by numerous successful entrepreneurs, meanwhile, on the flip side, there have been numerous failure stories that have ended up as mere case studies.
The point to focus here, which is also supported by a statistical survey by students of Harvard Business School is that 75% of all startups fail. Thus, it created an impetus and a dire need for a countervailing idea, that could, in fact, secure the startups while also not compelling for a compromise on the part of the entrepreneur as far as strategy making is concerned. That’s where the Lean Startup methodology was conceived.
The Lean Startup principle is a more practical and risk-less, with more importance given to iterative design rather than a conventional, mainstream “all-in-all” design.
Moreover, in lean development methodology, there are some principles that can be applied to mobile app development as well. The lean startup mobile development is used for developing and launching new applications as fast as possible with lowest possible cost.
“This methodology is built around a strong emphasis on risk mitigation and performance optimization” writes Appfutura.
Low cost, however, doesn’t mean cheap apps- but of mobile application development in a cost-effective manner. The characteristics of different mobile apps however, make lean startup android development different from lean startup iOS development.
“The Lean Startup provides a scientific approach to creating and managing startups and get a desired product to customers’ hands faster”- Ivan Bjelajac, Operating Director at GoDaddy.
However, there is an important concept that needs to be pondered on, which is the Minimum Viable Product (MVP).
What is Minimum Viable Product?
In simple terms, an MVP is a product or a prototype, which contains enough features that validate the user or the consumer to know what the product is all about and in which direction does the development of this product is heading to.
“The MVP is a product used to validate a risky assumption and as such is a tool Lean Startups tend to use to validate their risky assumptions”- Ivan Bjelajac, Operating Director at GoDaddy.
Eric Ries of Entrepreneurship.org suggests that most entrepreneurs overestimate the MVP requirements. He says that your foremost rule is to take your idea for an MVP- then cut it by half and then again by half. Features that speak of what the product is to the users are the really the only ones needed. Based on these you can get feedback and know where to make changes.
Efficient feedback: MVP Tools for Startups
Any Tech-Startup for that matter runs with a meager margin. Therefore, the Minimum Viable Product’s role under the Lean Startup methodology plays a big hand. A startup which once had to shell out huge sums of money just to manufacture a single electronic device could now produce one, with only the core features that would impart the feel of the product but cut the costs by a huge extent.
Also, this could enable an excellent feedback system wherein a few of the Minimum Viable Products could be distributed to the customers. If the product is not appreciated, the startup can now avoid building those products, with very few dollars down the drains.
The Minimum Viable Product is therefore, an efficient strategy which tackles a few common obstacles that could haunt any startup in its infancy. Not only that, if executed in the right manner, the impact of the product on driving the business model can also be grasped upon. The ability to test the product along with the luxury of experimenting with the ideas without any creative inhibition, are a few features that could make the concept even more promising in coming days.
