WHAT IS AN MVP VS A PROTOTYPE? AND WHY IT’S IMPORTANT?
MVP and Prototype Definition
You can build an application which completely wrong then fix it and make it better or you spend months developing an expensive application with all the fancy features, but at launch, you find nobody wants it. Not testing your ideas is a great way to fall fast. There is a reason why we need MVPs and prototypes.
A minimum viable product (MVP) is a version of a product with just enough features to be usable by early customers who can then provide feedback for future product development [1][2]. Meanwhile, a prototype is a hypothesis behind a product made into form. These tools help you find the right market fit, get user and stakeholder feedback, and start producing thrill in your future launch. Both MVP and prototype is a lightweight early version of a product. Both are part of agile product development.
So, What Differences Between These Two?
A prototype is like the packaging of an empty box. It shows you what’s inside, what’s size, what it looks like but nothing going on inside. There are different types of prototypes.
· Paper sketches: You can use paper and pencil to generate ideation. You can draw your idea of what the interface will look like. This is cheaper and faster to communicate and validate design changes in paper than on digital prototypes.
· Digital prototypes: digital prototypes are usually done after paper sketches. So, you can build a wireframe based on your paper sketches then start making a high fidelity prototype with interaction using Figma, Adobe XD, inVision, or Balsamiq.
While MVP is the bare minimum version of a product that can solve the problem for users. It product is that version of a new product a team uses to collect the maximum amount of validated learning about customers with the least effort [2].
Let’s think of this if someone needed a tool to make self-portrait documentation and they’re not sure what best to do. The first thing you give them wouldn’t be a Sony Alpha 7C. You might give them a sculpture but they need something lightweight then you give them painting with watercolors style or pastel. Now they want something that can be saved in the cloud so they can download it anytime, so you give them a digital camera built-in with wifi.
Without understanding and testing what will work and what doesn’t, you might have given them a painting sculpture.
The prototype has a different scope, commitment and audience compare to MVP. You can put little time and effort into the prototype and change ideas very quickly. In MVP, you chose ideas, put in more effort and you roll with it. Due to it have different scopes, the level of commitment is also different. MVP is based on the ability to be cost-effective, it will be painful to discard it and start from scratch. While prototype, it can be as easy as ripping up the paper and start again. A prototype usually uses to communicate between the internal team. An MVP is what the user will judge your product because it is expected to be launched to your target market.
MVPs That Became Products
Gojek: from 4 services to more than 20 services.
Gojek is an Indonesian on-demand multi-service platform and digital payment technology group based in Jakarta. At first, launched in is was a call center to connect consumers to courier delivery and two-wheeled ride-hailing services. It only has four services at the beginning, now it has transformed into a super app, providing more than 20 services.
Amazon: from book eCommerce to a technology company
Amazon is an American multinational technology company, which focuses on e-commerce, cloud computing, digital streaming, and artificial intelligence. It started on July 5, 1994, as an online marketplace for books only but expanded to sell electronics, software, furniture, and so on.
Spotify: Do one thing but doing it well
MVP which launched by Spotify is aimed to do one thing, stream music without any of fancy features (playlist, podcasts, video, mobile app, etc). Everyone loved it, knowing their business model was proven, they rolled out a full launch. Now it had more than 130 million subscribers.
Tips for Building A Good Prototype or MVP
Step 1: Figure out what problem you want to solve and for whom
Step 2: Analyze your competitors
Step 3: define persona, user journey map, and user flow
Step 4: List all necessary features and prioritize them
Step 5: Build, test, and learn
References
[1] “What is a Minimum Viable Product (MVP)? — Definition from Techopedia”.
[2] Ries, Eric (August 3, 2009). “Minimum Viable Product: a guide”.
