16/08/2026
MVP Development: What should be included in the first version and what should wait
Creating a digital product often starts with a big idea and a long list of features. It may seem logical to build everything at once: user accounts, analytics, integrations, chats, recommendations, payments, and many additional features. However, this approach increases the budget and development time before you even know whether users actually need the product.
That is why many projects start with an MVP — Minimum Viable Product.
What Is an MVP?
An MVP is not a poor-quality or unfinished product. It is the first working version that includes only the essential features needed to solve the user’s main problem and validate the business hypothesis.
The key question when planning an MVP should be: what does the user need to do to get the core value of the product?
For example, if you are building a booking service, users need to find an option, choose a time, and make a booking. For a marketplace, they need to find a product, place an order, and receive confirmation. Everything else can come later.
What should be included
The MVP should focus on the core user journey. Registration, authentication, profiles, search, payments, or other features should only be included if they are necessary for that journey.
At the same time, the core functionality should work reliably. Users should understand what to do, the interface should be intuitive, and the product should deliver the value it promises.
Basic analytics should also be implemented from the beginning. It helps the team understand how users interact with the product, which actions they take, and where they stop using it.
Read more: https://itcerebrum.com/mvp_development_what_should_be_included_in_the_first_version/
