Minimum Viable Product

What’s the least amount of (and most important) features we need to make for the design so that we can start testing?

As I read and learn more about software development and the various management techniques, the notion of a minimum viable product (MVP) comes up. I’ve come across this term before during undergrad courses, but now, we need to think seriously about it. One of the takeaways I’ve come from reading about Agile is about testing early and ofter.

Testing is important for so many reasons

Saving time - Imagine you came up with a cool app idea. It’s beautiful, does all you want it to do and functions smoothly. But the users say, “This is fine, but I wish you made it like this” and they present you with good ideas that will set you back. Changing the code functionality is a lot worse than fixing a bug. Let’s try to get this right the first time.

Do they even want it? - This is the biggest concern I have for the project: figuring out what the user’s needs are, and developing a product to meet those needs. Not the other way around. You can’t just make a product and hope they will like it.

It’s not just about the app! - Testing can and should begin as early as possible. I do need to get an IRB approval before testing with people, even for something as simple as an app. But you can ask your users about their opinions of wireframes drawn on paper. See how they “interact” and interpret the app’s functionality. I’d much rather change the wireframe than the code.

I’m excited to get this testing going and get some real user feedback!

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