Building an MVP – Minimum Viable Product

Music Streaming MVP Success Story

NCN was called on to build an MVP (minimum viable product).  When you have a great idea, it’s best to build a minimum viable product to confirm it is a market winner.  That is why NCN was approached to build an MVP for a music streaming application.  The MVP music streaming app let users connect with their favorite athletes—all while discovering new music.

Building an MVP: An Overview

The idea for this particular MVP was to let verified athletes create and share their favorite playlists with their fans. But fans needed to have a voice too.  This app would allow athletes to share their favorite playlists and fans to create and share their favorite playlists.  Athletes’ fans could follow playlists created by Athletes, creating a connection through music.  Fans can even like and comment on songs added to playlists and share statuses! The MVP idea was designed to help athletes and fans connect, so it’s easy to share playlists, comments, and more via Facebook, Twitter, and Snapchat.

Creating a clean, appealing user interface is a major part of building a minimum viable product, and it was designed with both efficiency and aesthetics in mind. NCN Technology worked to make the app easy to navigate with simple, intuitive icons and a minimalist, color design scheme. The MVP is easy to use, even for those with minimal tech expertise. The MVP also needed to be an ad-supported platform to generate revenue, so NCN included an ad section where users can watch video advertisements or see banner-style ads.  

Creating the User Roles

What are the user roles for your MVP and how will they be utilizing your new application?  NCN had to create multiple user roles for the music application, one of which had to be verified by the administrator.

There are lots of music streaming apps out there, but this MVP needed to give administrators the ability to verify professional athletes. Administrators could send direct e-mail invites to certain athletes, but interested athletes could also reach out directly to ask about joining.  

Once approved, the athletes on the app can create playlists to share with their fans. For instance, professional football players might want to upload game-day playlists or long-distance runners could upload training playlists. If athletes want to give their fans more insight into what the songs listed mean to them, they can add comments to songs on their playlists. They also can view the number of likes fans post on each of their songs so they can see what resonates, too.  This MVP had multiple factors that needed to be considered for each user.  Would the athletes sign up?  Would they use the comments section or try to get as many fans to follow their lists as possible? 

Validating Workflows in the MVP

The workflows in the MVP needed to be defined to ensure that fans could easily follow their athletes favorite playlists or create and share comments about playlists.  This MVP would allow users to follow athletes and fans so they can continue to discover great new music! There were also privacy permissions intsituted, so that If users want to create playlists only they can see, all they need to do is set the playlist to private.

When playlists are displayed, each has its unique image. Users can also see how many likes and comments are on a given playlist, so they can decide to start the conversation or join one already happening.

MVP Integrations

Does the MVP need to integrate with other platforms and if so, are those API’s (application programming interface) available or will they work well in your application?  The MVP was designed for iPhones, so users can purchase the songs they like from iTunes. For instance, if you see a song you like on an athlete’s playlist, you can search iTunes for the song right from the app. You can listen to a sample song on iTunes and purchase it. Once the song has been purchased, you’ll be able to stream it on your device, too.  Because of this functionality, the application needed to be integrated with the iTunes APIs.  The NCN team was able to ensure that this happened seamlessly.

MVP Streaming App and Social Network

Is your MVP social network application going to be widely used by your community and how will users connect within the app?  Making sure the MVP Social Network is easy to use and connect is essential for a social networking app.  This MVP was designed for connecting and sharing. 

Profile creation

Both athletes and standard users start by creating a profile. They can upload a profile picture or take one through the app. Users can also link to their Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram profiles. When creating an account or logging in, users can do so through Facebook, another API integration.

Sharing statuses

Users can keep their followers up-to-date with status updates on how they’re feeling and what they’re doing.

Playlist sharing

Playlist creation is at the heart of this MVP.. Both standard users and athletes can make public playlists for other app users to enjoy or private playlists for their listening enjoyment. They also can select a favorite playlist to display on their profile. Most playlists are a work in progress. Playlist creators can add and remove songs from a given playlist even after they share it.

Following other users

Users can follow their favorite athletes to get notifications when they update their profiles or post new playlists. They also can follow their friends and other standard users whose music they like.

Liking and commenting on songs

If you love music, you know the joy of discussing it. Users can keep the conversation going by liking and commenting on songs added to playlists.

Moderation

While this MVP was designed to be a positive place, even the best social networks sometimes run into problems. Because of this, the App administrators moderate comments to ensure civility across the platform.

Looking to Design an App?

If you have an app idea in mind, expert mobile application development is critical to success. At NCN Technology, we have experience developing an incredible range of mobile applications and websites. Our team works closely with you throughout the process, ensuring that mobile app updates and other fixes go through even after the development phase. If you’re thinking about getting us on board for your next project, reach out to us today for a free project consultation!