Minimum Viable Product (MVP) Canvas
A Minimum Viable Product (MVP) is a basic version of an offering with just enough features to attract early adopters and test an idea.
The MVP Canvas has twelve key sections dedicated to various aspects of defining and analysing an MVP. These sections are:
Customer Segment: The specific group of people who are most likely to benefit from and use the offering
Value Proposition: The unique value or benefit the offering provides to solve a specific problem for the target customer
Channels: The methods and platforms used to reach, communicate with, and deliver the offering to customers
Customer Engagement: How interactions are designed to build relationships with customers and collect feedback during their experience with the offering
Riskiest Assumption: The most critical belief that, if proven false, could cause the MVP to fail
Experiment Format: The structured approach for testing the MVP, including how tests are set up and conducted
Experiment Scenario: The realistic simulation or situation in which customers will use the MVP during testing
Metrics: The specific measurements tracked to evaluate the performance and impact of the MVP
Success Criteria: The benchmarks or targets that determine whether the MVP has achieved its desired outcomes
Results: The data and outcomes collected from the MVP testing phase
Learning & Insights: The key takeaways and understanding gained from analysing the results of the MVP test
Next Steps: The planned actions based on the findings from the MVP testing, such as improvements, further testing, or scaling
The results
- Direct customer feedback
- Insights into product-market fit
- Insights which can support analysis for further investment
When to use it
Testing market demand: When seeking to understand if there is a market for an offering
Product or service development: When seeking to validate ideas cost-effectively
Strengths
Cost-effective
Rapid feedback
Real market validation
Weaknesses
Higher potential for user dissatisfaction
Can still require investment
Can lead to waste
May be hard to achieve with complex or highly innovative products or services
How to use it?
What do I need to start?
Inputs can include:
- Target customer insights. Consider using Value Proposition Canvas or a Customer Empathy Map
- Market research and competitive analysis
- A feature list. Consider prioritising using RICE or WSJF
How to use it?
Who to involve?
Creating an MVP can be done solo or with a team. Consider involving:
- People who are responsible for aligning business objectives with product development efforts
- People who understand the target customer
- People with skills required to deliver the MVP
Step by step
1
Set the context
Define the scope and objectives of completing the MVP. Ask questions like:
- What is the primary goal of this exercise?
- What specific outcomes are we aiming to achieve?
- How will this MVP help us?
2
Complete sections 1-9 on the MVP canvas
Customer Segment
Undertake research to gather insights about groups of customers who are most likely to benefit from the offering. Research might be desktop-based or direct. Ask questions like:
- Who are our potential customers?
- What problems are they facing that are most important to solve?
- Are there existing solutions in the market?
- What customer segment is most likely to try new solutions?
- Who values solving this problem enough to pay for it?
- Which customer segment has a simple need I can address quickly?
- What customer segment do we understand best?
Value Proposition
Define the value the offering will provide to the target customer segment. Consider using the Value Proposition Canvas to align customer needs with your solution. Ask questions like:
- What specific problem does the offering solve for this customer?
- What makes this solution better than existing alternatives?
- What are the main benefits customers will experience?
- What frustrations or challenges does it remove for the customer?
Channels
Consider the best ways to reach and engage customers during the MVP. Ask questions like:
- Where do target customers spend their time online and offline?
- Which marketing channels might be best to reach them?
- What messaging will resonate most with the audience?
- How can we make it easy for customers to discover and try the product?
Customer Engagement
Determine how to interact with early adopters throughout their experience with the MVP to gather feedback. Ask questions like:
- How can we create feedback loops that encourage users to share their thoughts?
- What tools or methods will be used to gather feedback (e.g., surveys, interviews)?
- How will we ensure users feel heard and valued when providing input?
Riskiest Assumption
Identify the most critical assumptions that could lead to MVP failure if left untested. Ask questions like:
- What assumptions are we making about technical feasibility?
- What are our customers’ willingness to pay, and how can we test it?
- How might customer behavior affect the success of our MVP?
- What external factors, like competition, could impact our MVP’s success?
- How quickly can customers adopt the offering, and what barriers might they face?
Experiment Format
Plan the format for testing the MVP with customers, including how the experiment will be structured to best simulate ‘real-life’. Ask questions like:
- What is the simplest testable version of this offering?
- How can we ensure the prototype is user-friendly?
- Which features can be excluded initially?
Experiment Scenario
Develop the workflow customers are expected to experience when interacting with the MVP. Ask questions like:
- What steps will the customer take to use the MVP?
- At what points in the workflow are customers likely to encounter issues or barriers?
Metrics
Define what metrics will be monitored throughout the experiment to determine the success of the MVP. For example:
- Number of customer sign-ups
- Conversion rates
- User engagement levels
Success Criteria
Set success criteria based on the metrics. Ask questions like:
- What target numbers or thresholds will indicate success?
- Which metrics are most important for validating the MVP?
- How will we know if our MVP is resonating with users?
3
Develop and test the prototype
Create a simple, functional version of the offering with a few core features.
Consider using wireframes or mockups to visualise the offering before development.
Consider releasing the MVP to a small group of early adopters for initial testing.
Collect feedback to understand the offering’s strengths and weaknesses. Ask questions like:
- How likely are you to recommend this product to others?
- What features did you find most valuable? Why?
- How did this product measure up to your expectations?
- What did you find confusing or challenging when using it?
- How likely would you be to use this again?
4
Complete sections 10-12 on the MVP canvas
Results
Measure MVP performance against the success criteria. Analyse feedback to identify patterns and areas for improvement.
Learning & Insights
Reflect on findings from the experiment and summarise key learnings about the offering. Ask questions like:
- What did we learn about our users?
- What aspects of the MVP performed well or poorly?
- Were our assumptions validated or disproven?
Next Steps
Implement the necessary changes based on feedback and consider re-testing the product. Ask questions like:
- What changes need to be made first?
- How will we measure the impact of these changes?
- When will the next round of testing occur?
- Is it time to refine the MVP further or move on to a different version?