Do you know that a high-quality MVP design is a key to the success of a future application? You can understand the process of creating a design, and then decide whether to generate it yourself or find a good UX design and development company. In this article, we will tell you in detail what an MVP is and how its design differs from the design of the final product. We will also draw your attention to the most common features of UI and UX design, explain what role they play in the development of an MVP, and how much a decent design costs. Are you interested?
What is MVP?
MVP is a minimum viable product. Minimal means limited functions, that is, only the most important ones remain. Viable implies that the MVP is up and running and performing the essential functions. That is, this is not the final product, but not a test version either. MVP should cover the main needs of customers.
In the global sense of a startup, the creation of an MVP is an intermediate stage between an idea and its implementation. Why is it needed? The goal of an MVP is to test the idea, test the demand, and not spend a lot of money on it.
Let’s take a smartly designed product with 10 features as an example. Taking a step back, what would his MVP look like? Firstly, it would have only 3 functions, but the most significant ones. Secondly, the design would be less chic: certainly decent quality, but minimalist. Users will benefit from such a version and may not even realize that they have used MVP. And what’s the difference if the needs are closed? MVP is more of a founder’s tool.
So, the main goal of an MVP is to test a startup idea on a limited budget. At an early stage, when it is not yet clear whether the idea is perfect. Yet, it is always good to save money, whether they are borrowed or your own. It is too risky to spend all the money on a well-developed application with a full range of functions. In any case, if the idea succeeds, funds will still be required to improve the product. And failure is costly. So creating an MVP is a good way to test an idea. And for those who want ideal results without risks, we recommend relying on Dworkz. They know for sure how to develop a UX design for any project.
What does an MVP look like?
Most often, the MVP exists in the same form as the final product:
- an app;
- a website;
- an item, and so on.
However, sometimes a situation can be different. If the goal of a startup is to invent the car, then obviously the MVP must also be the car because otherwise, its main function will not work. In the IT field, there is more choice of forms. Let’s look at an MVP example.
The idea of the startup is to create an application that helps people to select and buy clothes based on their color type and figure. The final application should have an automatic selection algorithm. Yet, with MVP, you can do it easier and cheaper: let it also be an application, but without a backend. Two designers can choose clothes and attach links manually. In fact, it doesn’t matter to users who chose, if everything went well and they are satisfied. Such an MVP will be inexpensive and will help to check if there is a demand for online stylists before spending time and money on artificial intelligence.
What does an MVP design include?
MVP is a working product that goes through all stages of development. The design phase begins after the main features of the application are approved and ends when they begin to be coded. Design is a two-step important process that consists of UX and UI.
- UX design
One side is UX, that is, user experience. Application design starts with action logic. UX is responsible for the order of steps that the user must take to reach the goal.
Users should be able to easily navigate and quickly find what they are looking for. After all, even if the application satisfies the needs of the user, the latter may simply not figure out how to do it because of poor UX.
- UI design
Equally important is the UI or how it is also called the user interface. This includes corporate identity, colors, fonts, icons, animations, and everything that makes up the visible shell of the application.
How does an MVP team look?
As we have already seen, the design of an MVP is a thorough process. One specialist cannot cope here, a team is needed. The relevant experience suggests that the minimum design team consists of a project manager, a business analyst, and two UI/UX designers. Luckily, Dworkz can help you with this question.
- Project manager. We strive for the most transparent and effective interaction with the client. Therefore, the founder of a startup communicates only with our manager in order to avoid miscommunication. The project manager is always in touch and ready to discuss intermediate results.
- Business analyst. The next level of communication does not require the participation of the startup founder. The project manager turns to the business analyst to adapt the technical requirements and help in setting the terms of reference.
- Two UI/UX designers. The first designer starts drawing the agreed screens, the second one checks the final.
Conclusion
To summarize: the goal of an MVP is to test a startup idea while saving money. What is more, it consists of UX and UI designs and plays a significant role in the whole development. As for UX, it is responsible for how the application works. This is a structure of user actions that should quickly and clearly lead to the goal. And the UI is responsible for the application’s visual features, like its style, colors, fonts, etc. They all form the first user impression.
To create an MVP design, you need a qualified team of a project manager, a business analyst, and at least two UI/UX designers. The price of an MVP design depends on the complexity and number of added features and animations.
