How to Determine Essential MVP Features

Imagine it’s 2007, and two friends are trying to solve their own problem: they can’t afford rent in San Francisco. So, they come up with a scrappy idea: rent out air mattresses in their living room to strangers. No fancy website, no mobile app, no advanced booking system. Just air mattresses, a homemade landing page, and a dream. That’s how Airbnb started: with a Minimum Viable Product (MVP) that solved one clear problem and proved there was demand.

Every successful product starts small. Dropbox? It began as a simple explainer video. Instagram? Just a photo-sharing app with filters. These MVPs didn’t try to be perfect. Instead, they focused on solving one specific problem and learning from real users. And that’s the magic of an MVP. Not building everything at once, but building smart.

Of course, just because it’s supposed to be simple it doesn’t mean it will be easy. Deciding which are essential MVP features can feel overwhelming. How do you pick the right ones? How do you avoid wasting time or missing the mark? Well, we will try to show you how to identify the core of your product, focus on what matters, and set yourself up for big wins here. Without overcomplicating things.

Ready to start small and think big? Let’s dive in.

What is an MVP?

Every founder starts with a big vision: a product that will change lives, disrupt industries, or make everyday tasks a little bit easier. But building that big vision takes time, resources, and a lot of learning. An MVP is a way to start small, solving one core problem, and figuring out what works before going all in.

Think of an MVP as your product’s first step into the world. The goal is to test your assumptions, get feedback from real users, and understand if you’re solving a problem that matters. It’s the difference between guessing and knowing. And when resources are tight, an MVP is your best bet for moving forward without risking everything.

Remember it’s MVP, not RVP. Don’t mistake “minimal” for “random.” An MVP is strategic. It focuses on delivering the smallest set of features that can still solve a real problem and deliver value. That’s why deciding what goes into your MVP is so important. And why getting it right can make all the difference between a product that succeeds and one that fizzles out.

Aligning Essential MVP Features with Business Objectives

It’s easy to get lost in the excitement of building something new: dreaming up features, imagining happy users, and thinking about what might make your product stand out. However, before diving into the details, take a step back. What’s the real purpose of your MVP? Is it to attract early adopters? Validate a specific idea? Generate revenue? The features you include need to align with these objectives.

Let’s say your goal is to test whether people will pay for a subscription-based service. In that case, your MVP needs to focus on functionality that showcases value and makes payment frictionless. If you’re targeting user acquisition instead, you might prioritize features that make sharing or onboarding simple.

Here’s the trap to avoid: building features because they “seem cool” or because your competition has them. Cool doesn’t pay the bills, and copying others won’t help you stand out. It’s better to build one thing that aligns perfectly with your objectives than five features that don’t really hit the mark.

Your Target Audience

Building a product without knowing your audience is like throwing darts in the dark. You might get lucky, but chances are, you’ll miss the mark. To choose the right essential MVP features, you need to know who your target audience is, what they need, and why they’d care about your product in the first place.

Who is your ideal user? What problems are they facing? What solutions are they currently using (or not using)? For example, if you’re building an app for small business owners, are you targeting freelancers, retail store owners, or both? Each group has different needs, and understanding those nuances will help you prioritize the features that matter most.

Assuming you know your audience without actually talking to them is a huge mistake. Don’t fall into that trap. Conduct surveys, schedule interviews, or even observe how potential users interact with competitors’ products. The more you know about your audience, the better your MVP will resonate with them.

Solving Core User Problems

Your target audience isn’t thinking about your product. They’re thinking about their problems. Whether it’s someone juggling overdue invoices or the busy store owner struggling with inventory, their frustrations are front and center. Your MVP’s job is to tackle one of those problems head-on and solve it so effectively that users can’t imagine going back to the way things were.

Start by identifying the biggest headaches your target audience faces. What slows them down, costs them money, or creates unnecessary stress? For example, if freelancers waste hours manually tracking invoices, then automated invoicing might be the single feature they’ll thank you for. Focus on delivering a solution to their most pressing problem, and you’ll have a clear path for building your MVP.

Don’t try to solve every problem at once. When you aim for breadth instead of depth, your MVP risks becoming a jack-of-all-trades and master of none. Pick one core issue, solve it exceptionally well, and let everything else wait. Users will reward you for making their lives easier, not for giving them a Swiss army knife they don’t know how to use.

Crafting a Clear Value Proposition

Let’s be honest, your users don’t care about your product nearly as much as you do. They care about what it can do for them. That’s why your value proposition is so important. It’s the promise you’re making to your users: the reason they’ll give your product a chance and, ideally, keep coming back for more.

Your value proposition should answer one question: “Why should anyone care?” Is it faster? Cheaper? More reliable? Take time to define this clearly, because it will act as a compass for every decision you make. If your product’s value lies in saving users time, then every feature in your MVP should reflect that goal. The features that don’t reinforce your value proposition can wait.

Avoid being vague or overly ambitious. “Making life easier” or “disrupting the industry” might sound nice, but they are not really saying anything meaningful. Be specific. Show how your MVP fits into their lives and solves a tangible problem.

Frameworks and Tools

A good framework can really help determine what features are essential and which ones aren’t. Like a map that helps you navigate the chaos of competing ideas.

One popular method is the MoSCoW framework, which breaks features into four categories: Must-have, Should-have, Could-have, and Won’t-have (for now). The idea is simple: focus only on the “Must-haves” for your MVP. Anything else can wait until later iterations.

Another approach is to use a Value vs. Effort Matrix. Plot your features based on how much value they deliver to users versus how much effort they take to build. Features that deliver high value with low effort are clear winners for your MVP. Anything high-effort and low-value can be shelved for another day.

The key is not to overcomplicate this process. Use whichever tool feels intuitive and keeps your focus sharp. What matters most is staying disciplined.

Desirability, Viability, and Feasibility

When choosing essential MVP features, it’s not enough to ask, “Do users want this?” You also need to ask, “Can we actually build it?” and “Does it align with our business goals?” The sweet spot lies at the intersection of desirability, viability, and feasibility.

Start with desirability. Does this feature solve a real user problem? If the answer is no, it’s probably not worth your time. Next, think about viability: how does this feature serve your business? Maybe it’s essential for generating revenue or proving your concept to investors. Finally, consider feasibility. Even if an idea is desirable and viable, it might not make sense if it’s too complex or time-consuming to build for an MVP.

Features that are technically impressive but don’t add much value are not worth your time. Just because you can build something doesn’t mean you should.

Prototyping and Testing Early

Before diving headfirst into development, take a step back and ask yourself: “What’s the simplest way to see if this works?” Well, a prototype can give users a feel for your idea and help you validate your assumptions. It doesn’t need to be polished or perfect.

It’s a conversation starter really. It can be a simple sketch, a clickable wireframe, or even a mockup that looks functional but has no real backend. For example, if you’re testing a new booking system, a prototype might simulate the booking flow without actually processing payments. The goal isn’t to impress, it’s to learn.

The beauty of prototyping is that it makes failure cheap. If users find the prototype confusing or unhelpful, you can adjust before you invest in full-scale development. Testing early ensures that by the time you’re building, you already know you’re on the right track.

Avoiding Feature Creep

It starts innocently enough: “What if we just added this one feature?” Then another idea sneaks in, followed by a “must-have” suggestion. Before you know it, your lean, focused MVP is drowning in extras. This is feature creep, and it’s the enemy of progress. The more features you include, the more time and resources you’ll need, and the harder it becomes to deliver something users can actually understand and use.

The best way to avoid feature creep is to stick to your original plan. Use your frameworks as guardrails to keep the focus on essentials. If a new idea pops up, ask yourself: “Does this directly support our MVP’s core goal?” If the answer is no, save it for later. Discipline is key. Your future self (and your users) will thank you.

Gathering Early Feedback

The development team finished the MVP. Done, right? Nope, the work doesn’t stop there. Time to get it in front of users and find out what they actually think. Early feedback is your MVP’s lifeline. It tells you if you’re on the right track or if you need to pivot before committing more time and resources.

Start small. Share your MVP with a select group of users, people who represent your target audience. Ask open-ended questions: What did they like? What confused them? What would they change? The goal is to uncover blind spots and areas for improvement, not gather compliments.

You’ll hear conflicting opinions and ideas that might pull you in different directions. Try to look for patterns. If multiple users are struggling with the same feature or asking for the same improvement, that’s your signal.

Leveraging External Expertise

Building an MVP is no small task, I think we all have that clear by now. While frameworks, prioritization tools, and discipline can guide your decisions, the actual execution often requires a level of expertise that can be hard to manage on your own.

An experienced Software Team as a Service (StaaS) provider can bring technical skills AND processes to your business. They can help you translate your vision into a clear roadmap, ensure your MVP is developed efficiently, and avoid common pitfalls. Most importantly, they allow you to stay focused on what you do best: understanding your users, refining your vision, and steering your business.
Outsourcing is not supposed to mean handing over control. It should be the opportunity to collaborate with a team that understands your goals and delivers results. The right partner will help you build not just a product, but a foundation for growth. At CodingIT we want your MVP to be more than features. We want it to be about learning, iterating, and setting the stage for what’s next. We believe that with the right expertise on your side, you’ll be better equipped to do just that. Contact us and let’s make it happen.