How to build a Minimum Viable Product Using Design Thinking
So, you have an amazing idea? And you want to build a great business around it. The first thing you can do is talk to your potential customers and see if they really need your MVP. Design thinking encourages you to define the problem precisely & seek inputs from the customers early on.
The best way to know if you are really solving an important problem is by talking to your potential customers. Once your core product idea is validated, you can then get started with your MVP development process. An effective minimum viable product software delivers customer value.
You need to figure out the best way to build your product, generate traction and multiply your customers. Design thinking can help you build a very powerful minimum viable product, here’s how:
1. Designs Provide Direction for MVP :
When design thinking is employed for building a MVP, every stage is considered important. The early designs establish the need for the MVP. Designs allow the customers to get a look and feel of the proposed solution.
These designs provide the right direction for the development of the MVP. The core value proposition of the product is defined by the designs. Design thinking helps you connect with the big picture and conceptualise your ideas better.
2. Minimise Development & Engineering Time :
With design thinking approach, the designs are shared with the end users or the customers early on. The feedback is then taken into consideration before building the final product.
More often than not, there are changes required to the early product designs. The user feedback is incorporated to build the MVP. The designs help to test the product hypothesis quickly and with minimal resources.
The development cycles for the product are saved because the approved designs are finally used for building the MVP.
3. Design SaaS Products :
Many traditional products and services are now being delivered as SaaS solutions. The ubiquity of the mobile internet is allowing companies to reimagine their business in digital context. The design thinking approach can be useful in launching ideas rapidly.
The designs for the SaaS products can be shared on the web with the users . For e.g. a rental car business or selling used cars can be run online these days. The SaaS products can help you reach more customers quickly.
4. Outcomes and Value :
Design thinking approach aligns core value proposition, the expected outcomes and the users. This is the most important aspect when building a minimum viable product. The user feedback is constantly taken to drive the product development. At every stage, the focus is on providing value to the users.
Design thinking makes the end goals or the outcomes very clear from the beginning, making it easier for the team to achieve the desired results.
5. Agile Execution :
Today the best products in the marked become obsolete very fast. The change is rapid and constant. So, what you are building wouldn’t be valuable, if you build it slow. The competition is not between the big and the small players, as much as it is between the slow and the fast ones. Even an offshore software company can build products with incredible quality and expertise.
Design thinking software involves quick iterations for building the product. It involves rapid prototyping, validating ideas, taking feedback and incorporating it to build a valuable product. Design thinking helps with effective utilisation of the teams, starts delivering value at early stage and helps teams to speed up their launch time for building the MVP.
Kreyon Systems uses design thinking approach for building valuable minimum viable products for its customers across the globe. If you want to launch your idea, please get in touch with us.
