Product Development

MVP/Prototypes

Building a new software product is a journey that includes interactions, workflows and processes. It is important to keep in mind that the product meets all expectations, along its journey.

There are different approaches to building a software product. The two most common methods used in the tech industry are the MVP (minimal viable product) and Prototype. These are two different approaches and it is important to understand how they can be incorporated into the product development journey.

What is a Prototype?

Prototyping allows us to see how a product will look. It is a visual representation of the product that focuses on showing the flow of the product and how it will interact with its users. It is an important step in product development as it helps us understand the project workflows and their usability.

A prototype usually includes screens, wireframes (paper or interactive), mock-ups and user flows. A prototype can be shared with the client to get valuable feedback from them and then the product can be optimized.

What is an MVP (minimum viable product)?

It is a standalone-functioning product. A fully operating product or a website that contains only the basic functions. An MVP helps to gain valuable feedback from the client while educating them about the product’s key functionalities. An MVP needs to be perfect and fully functioning.

Once an MVP is shared with the client, based on their feedback the changes and the optimization of the product can be done. An MVP helps understand which function is to be removed and which is to be added without investing much time of the client and the developer.

Both Prototype and MVP are product development approaches but there is a difference between them. Prototypes are developed before an MVP. A prototype is just a visual representation of the product, whereas an MVP is a basic version of your full product.

Product Management

When a product is developed, the result does not just have to be good looking but also easy to use and to reach the “Easy To Use” goal, product managers come into the picture of the product development lifecycle.

Product Management is one function that offers organizations significant benefits as they meet business objectives and target markets need to deliver measurable, lasting benefits for organizations.

Here are some ways in which Product management helps:

It reduces the risk of product failure by gathering data about the market conditions including customer requirements, size of the market, market trends, the competitive landscape and other external influencing factors.
Product management helps in ensuring that any new incremental features, products, or business ideas that are investigated and eventually launched should solve market problems and be aligned with business requirements.
A product manager is responsible for creating a structure that the team will work on. The product manager creates clear roles and boundaries for each party to minimize any ambiguity associated with the project.

Product management helps update processes, strengthen teams and encourage collaboration across the company. It helps ensure long-term success and tackle opportunities as markets evolve.

Maintenance

Once a product is up and running successfully, it still requires continuous maintenance for it to operate at peak performance levels. Here comes the maintenance and support phase of the product. During this phase, we ensure the product is working properly and smoothly on all platforms. Not only currently but also make sure the product runs smoothly on all versions and upgrades as well. Maintenance and support also call for bug fixes and minor changes requested by the client. Throughout the maintenance phase, designers address issues that are discovered to prevent any hindrance to the expected performance of the software.

The maintenance phase lasts the longest in the project lifecycle. The maintenance phase depends on the life of the software. Many designers release newly designed replacement software programs while previous versions of their software continue to undergo maintenance. As computer systems and the needs of end-users of computer programs continue to change, software developers follow a never-ending cycle of development and maintenance.