MVP is too risky, use EVA instead
Solve the most painful problems first
Focusing on solving your audience’s most painful pain points is the best way to minimize risks when imagining a new product. Despite seeming very simple, this is a very difficult task.
We don’t use products because they have a set of features. We use them because those features help us solve problems. Think about the reasons you use products. You probably wouldn’t say you value Google’s search for its speed and amount of results it gives you. Instead, you’d say that it helps you find the information you are looking for very quickly.
You should focus on addressing the most important problems instead of building the best features. A customer will forgive you if your product doesn’t meet their full needs, but only if you successfully eliminate their top pain points effectively. If the value you’re providing is worth it, they will put up with missing features, bugs and glitches.
MVP is too risky
A Minimum Viable Product is a product with just enough features to be able to be used by customers and get feedback.
It’s a way of reducing the scope of a product to get it into the hands of customers faster than a finished product. This allows the company to get feedback from customers much earlier in the development process. But the MVP also must be a set of features that provides customer value and customer delight. You need enough customer value/delight so that the product stands out from alternative solutions. Customers must also find the product valuable enough to choose it over competitors’ products.
It is common for MVP to be misinterpreted. Numerous products targeting the same audience have failed in one company and succeeded in another. By assuming “minimum” means releasing a minimal set of features, you run the risk of releasing products that are below the minimum-essential solution, creating a false perception that the product failed. In general, this results from a lack of understanding of the problem and due to the difficulty in gauging precisely which set of features should be included in a “minimum”.
