Some time ago, we published a text outlining our understanding of the terms PoC and MVP. Because PoCs and MVPs are fun to work on, we also came up with five tips on how to get the most out of them. These tips were written by our service designer Ville Yli-Knuutila and architect Herkko Virolainen.

Tip #1: Don’t make developing a PoC or MVP unnecessarily expensive

As writer and poet Antoine de Saint-Exupéry once said, perfectation is achieved not when there is nothing more to add, but when there is nothing left to take away. The same applies to the design and development of PoCs and MVPs. Remove everything you can, and then remove another half of that.

Tip #2: Consider your competitors and your resources

If you want to implement the same functions a global cloud service has, your resources will need to be at a corresponding level. There’s no point in comparing your own product to Google, WhatsApp, or Instagram if you aren’t ready to build your service with the help of thousands of experts.

Tip #3: Simplicity costs (but you can pretend)

The simpler and more automated you want your service to be, the more expensive it will be. It’s worth accepting the fact that you don’t need to automate everything straight away, nor is it possible. Things can be carried out manually behind the scenes. And if it looks like it’s going well and the service finds its users, then there’s sense in automating and integrating, too.

Tip #4: Focus on the value generated by the service, not on your visions of the service

You probably already have an idea in mind of how the service should work. However, experience has taught us that everything can and will still change. Trust in creators and end users, and keep an open mind towards all options - but hold on to the value produced by the service.

Tip #5: You need to provide a user interface, but it doesn’t need to be flawless

Users are interested in the value provided by the service, not the colour of buttons or logo placement. Everything must be usable, but even the prettiest interface won’t save a product with no value.

And that’s it! We hope you found our tips useful.