Life Is Too Short Not To Have a Well-designed Product

In today’s world, customers’ preferences and their needs change rapidly, and consequently, the demands in the market are altered. As the demands are altered, the competition between the suppliers of the market increases drastically.

During this competition, businesses generally make the mistake of believing a quick launch of the product is the way to go to test out their new idea in the market. Hence, they rush into the market with a minimum viable product (MVP). However, what wins the customers’ hearts is not a bare minimum but a product they could love. Therefore, we will introduce you to a recent concept, Minimum Lovable Product (MLP), that has overthrown MVP.

What is MVP (Minimum Viable Product)?

Minimum Viable Product (MVP) is the cheapest and fastest “prototype” of a product that is being launched. “What is the difference between prototype and MVP?” is an important question to ask at this point. Unlike a prototype, a company launches MVP in the functional form so that the users can fulfill their basic tasks with the product. In other words, as the name suggests, MVP is a viable form of the product.

MVP can be preferable by many businesses because they aim to enter the market and attract some early-adopter customers while launching MVP. When companies launch MVP, they plan to improve the product over time as they receive feedback from their customers. Therefore, the requirement for launching an MVP is having enough features that are built with minimum resources and effort so that a company can launch it quickly.

What is the Problem with MVP?

At one time, MVP was a smart move to develop a product, especially for small businesses considering lack of resources. However, MVP is not sufficient in today’s competitive market.

First, customers have a higher expectation than they used to have before. Second, there are many other options in the market, and potential customers do not even continue to spend time on the MVP to give feedback for its developmental cycle. Therefore, MVP is no more a tool to contribute to the improvement of the product and it results in unsatisfied users.

What is MLP (Minimum Lovable Product)?

Minimum Lovable Product (MLP) contains the features that MVP does, but also it aims to offer aesthetics and an enjoyable user experience.

Brian de Haaff coined the concept of MLP in 2013. According to him, MLP is an essential tool to maintain customer satisfaction, resulting in long-term business growth.

The emergence of the MLP indicates that users are no longer happy with minimum viable products when they first meet the product, but they expect something more. Users of today demand a product they can love at first sight. This does not mean that the rules of MVP, especially a fast delivery to the market, do not apply. The truth is that the competitive market still demands a quick launching of the product. However, MLP reminds us not to compromise the quality of the product for the sake of a fast launch. As a result, product teams should now find the balance between quality and quick launching.

How to Build a Minimum Lovable Product?

Making a transition from MVP to MLP might seem challenging at first, but it is not.

Here are some tips to consider while building a product that users love:

1)Start with a clear purpose

Before starting a project, you should have a clear purpose for the project and the product. That is how you can efficiently manage the process of building a product and tackle the problems you face throughout the process.

Understanding “why” you should develop this particular product helps you emphasize the customers’ feelings and needs. Asking “why” will help you understand what you would expect from a product that you use to make your life easier.

2)Do one thing well

One of the best things about outlining a clear purpose is that it prevents you from getting lost among the many things you should do or believe you should do. That is how you can focus on the requirements of the product and improve what the product is for.

Suppose your product aims to present cloud-based storage. When you know and internalize your purposes, you will be able to focus on its particular purpose, which is cloud-based storage, without being distracted by the many other possibilities you might have added to the product. If you are distracted, you will start to divide your time and resources between many features and not do anything well. Therefore, it is essential to do one thing very well that the product becomes remarkable for the user. That is how you impress your users and make them come back again for your product. And this is the goal of a lovable product.

3)Set a time and budget

Planning a schedule and knowing your limits are everything for building a successful product. Neither time nor money is limitless. Therefore, you should be able to decide your priorities in a given time in a realistic framework.

Prioritization is specifically important while building a lovable product. You will not have a great time achieving every feature at once. Therefore, before launching the product, you should plan what features to add first in a time-specific manner.

We have highlighted that it is time to leave MVP and go for MLP. However, aiming to launch a lovable product does not diminish the importance of launching in a short time. The market is very competitive, so you need to achieve a minimum lovable product in a limited time frame. Therefore, scheduling and prioritization help you to complete an MLP in a given time.

While indicating realistic time frames, you should also be able to set realistic budgets. It is important to achieve a possible MLP within the available budget you have set aside for the project. Determining the budget beforehand will also help you not to surpass your budget.

4)Solve only high-value problems

Time is limited. Therefore, when it comes to solving the problems of the product, you should prioritize which problems are more critical. To launch an MLP, you have to make sure the product offers a smooth user experience while allowing the users to solve their problems and reach their targets via the product. Hence, you should focus on the issues that create obstacles between the users and the lovable product.

🔥 Key Takeaways 🔥

👉Minimum Viable Product (MVP) is the cheapest functional prototype of a product that is delivered to the market mainly for quick launching.

👉MVP approach is not very useful anymore because: 1)customers have higher expectations; 2)the customers prefer to use another product when they do not feel satisfied with a product for the first time.

👉Minimum Lovable Product (MLP) is about launching a lovable and functional “prototype” of the product, and this approach has substituted for MVP.

👉There are some actions you might take in order to create an MLP:

• Start with a clear purpose
• Do one thing well
• Set a time and budget
• Solve only high-value problems