Prototype and MVP - What's the Difference?

Prototypes and minimum viable products (MVPs) are two indispensable concepts in the product development process. However, we see the terms often interchanged, leading to confusion about their distinct roles. In this article, we'll break down the differences between the two and share how we use them at Voa Labs to successfully develop and validate new ideas, products, and systems.

We'll start with a brief overview of prototypes and MVPs, before diving deeper into the nuances that set them apart and their respective roles in the product development journey.

What is a prototype?

A prototype is a preliminary version of a product, created to explore and test the design or functionality of a new product idea. Prototypes can be either physical or digital, and intentionally lack many of the features and details of a final product. Their purpose lies in experimenting with diverse design and technological solutions, while gathering invaluable feedback and support from potential users or stakeholders.

Learn more about prototypes here:[insert links]
From Idea to Reality: The Power of Prototyping in Digital Product Design
User experience prototypes and feasibility prototypes

What is an MVP?

An MVP (minimum viable product) is a version of a product that has the minimum set of features required to attract and provide value to early-adopter customers and validate the product idea.

An MVP is usually released to the market as quickly as possible, in order to get real-world feedback on the product and make any necessary improvements before committing a large budget to build full-fledged versions of a product (v2, v3, etc.). The primary goal of an MVP is to evaluate the viability of a business idea, gauge customer demand, and discern the features that resonate most deeply with customers. An MVP can further help save time and resources you might otherwise have invested in building a product that won’t succeed.

Learn moreabout MVPs here:
[Link to MVP blog post]

Learn more about an MVP we built for twigr here:
twigr - A platform that unlocks exclusive connections and opportunities

What’s the difference between a prototype and an MVP?

Prototypes and MVPs can both be used in product development to validate and test ideas. However, they have some key differences:

Key purpose

Prototypes let you explore an idea and experiment with different solutions. You can then get feedback and support from different stakeholders, including potential customers, before constructing the product version that is sold on the market.

An MVP, unlike a prototype, is created not just to validate a product’s design or technologies, but to validate fundamental business hypotheses and ultimately determine the product-market fit.

Completeness

Prototypes and MVPs differ a lot in terms of their completeness. Prototypes are often kept rough and not fully functional on purpose, while MVPs are fully functional and include all the essential features necessary to deliver value to the customer.

Time to completion

Prototypes can be created quickly and cheaply, while MVPs may take longer to develop and require more resources.

Creating a user experience prototype may take mere minutes if it is a rough sketch using pen and paper, or up to several weeks if you plan to develop a high-fidelity clickable demo. A technical feasibility prototype can be constructed within a few hours to a few days, depending on the complexity of the technology being tested.

Although the goal is to launch an MVP as quickly as possible, building one typically takes several months. However, there are instances where a simple MVP can be developed to validate the business model, such as in the case of Dropbox.

Cost

The cost of creating a prototype and an MVP can vary greatly depending on several factors, including the complexity of the product, the resources required, and the desired level of detail and functionality.

In general, MVPs are more expensive to build than prototypes. As discussed, an MVP is a fully functional, minimally viable version of the product that is designed to test customer demand and validate a business idea. This means that an MVP must have sufficient functionality and features to satisfy the needs of early adopters and to demonstrate the product’s potential. As a result, MVPs require more resources, including development, design, and marketing, which can result in a higher cost compared to prototypes.

Evolution

A prototype can evolve into an MVP. But often, you just take the learnings from your prototypes, discard it, and build an MVP from scratch. 

An MVP is expected to evolve into a fully featured product over time based on customer feedback and market demand.

When to create a prototype vs. an MVP?

The choice between building a prototype or an MVP hinges on the position within the product development lifecycle, as well as the immediate goals you aim to achieve.

If you have a new idea for a product or service and you want to explore, test, and validate its design and technical feasibility, create a prototype. Once you have a solid understanding of how the solution will look and work, have mitigated all major feasibility risks, and collected some initial user feedback through prototyping, build an MVP. An MVP is an ideal tool to test the viability of the business model and find the product-market fit by releasing the first version of your product to the market.

Conclusion: It depends on what you intend to validate

In a nutshell, prototypes are created to explore and test product design ideas and their feasibility, while MVPs are created to test and validate business models and customer demand. Both prototypes and MVPs have the potential to save time, money, and resources in the long run.

When working on a product idea, think about what you need to validate and where you're at in the product development process before deciding whether you want to build an MVP or prototype.

Do you need help building an MVP or prototype? No problem! Just reach out to us. We'll be more than happy to assist you.