A focused MVP for a web product or SaaS takes about 12 weeks with us: two weeks of discovery, two of design and architecture, three two-week build sprints and two weeks of testing and launch. It typically costs €30,000–60,000, at the lower end of our custom software development range, with a fixed price agreed after discovery. Most MVPs that fail are either too ambitious or too thin. This is the plan we use to avoid both.
An MVP (minimum viable product) is the smallest version of your product that real users can use and that tests your core assumption. It isn’t a clickable demo, and it isn’t version one of everything.
What does a 12-week MVP plan look like?
| Weeks | Phase | What you get | What you decide |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1–2 | Discovery and scoping | Core user problem, critical user journey, prioritized feature list, stack choice and a fixed price | What’s in and what waits |
| 3–4 | Design and architecture | Wireframes and designs for the key screens, data model, CI/CD and a production-like environment | Sign-off on the core flow |
| 5–6 | Sprint 1 | Core data model and the primary user flow, end to end | Does the core flow work as intended? |
| 7–8 | Sprint 2 | Authentication, secondary flows and integrations | Which integrations are must-haves |
| 9–10 | Sprint 3 | Polish, edge cases and what makes the product feel finished | What moves to the post-launch backlog |
| 11–12 | Testing and launch | Automated tests, QA, load and security checks, monitoring, launch | Go or no-go |
Weeks 1–2: discovery and scoping
These are the most important two weeks of the project, and the ones most teams skip. We define the core user problem, map the critical user journey (not every journey, just the one that proves your hypothesis), choose the stack based on your constraints and prioritize features with the MoSCoW method: must have, should have, could have, won’t have this time. The output is a scope document everyone agrees on. If your MVP tries to do 20 things, it will do none of them well, so we cut until only the features that test your core assumption are left.
Weeks 3–4: design and architecture
Design and architecture run in parallel. Design covers the critical flow: wireframes first, then high-fidelity designs for the screens that matter most. We design the main path and handle edge cases pragmatically during development. On the architecture side we make the decisions that are expensive to reverse later: the data model, CI/CD from day one, coding standards and a production-like environment from the first week. An MVP’s architecture should be simple, but not a throwaway. We explain which decisions matter early in SaaS architecture from MVP to scale.
Weeks 5–10: three build sprints
Six weeks of development in three two-week sprints, each ending with a demo of working software and a feedback session that shapes the next sprint. Sprint 1 covers the core data model and the primary user flow end to end; even if it’s rough, you can walk through the main scenario by the end of week 6. Sprint 2 adds authentication, secondary flows and integrations. Sprint 3 handles polish, edge cases and the details that make the product feel complete rather than half-built.
The key discipline is to resist adding features. Every founder gets new ideas during development, and that’s natural. We put them in a backlog for after launch, but the sprint scope stays fixed. Scope creep is the most common reason MVPs miss their launch date.
Weeks 11–12: testing and launch
The last two weeks are about confidence: automated tests, manual QA, performance testing under load and a security review. We set up monitoring and alerts so you know immediately if something breaks, and handle launch logistics such as domains, SSL, email configuration, analytics and app store submissions where relevant. Launch day should be boring, because everything has been tested.
How much does an MVP cost?
A 12-week MVP like this typically costs €30,000–60,000, at the lower end of the €30,000–150,000 range our custom projects usually fall in. The fixed price is set after discovery, when the scope is clear. The biggest cost drivers are the number of user roles, integrations such as payments, ERP or identity providers, and how much custom design you need.
If the scope fits about three core flows, our MVP Launch Program delivers a production-ready MVP in 6 weeks, with a senior and a mid-level engineer plus shared design and project management. It’s priced on request after scoping; see our pricing page.
Both are covered by our first-sprint guarantee: before we start, we agree in writing what the first two-week sprint must deliver. If the sprint-1 demo doesn’t meet those acceptance criteria, you can stop and you don’t pay for that sprint.
What makes an MVP succeed?
The MVPs that succeed share three traits. They solve exactly one problem well instead of five problems poorly. They have a success metric defined before development starts, such as “X users sign up in the first month” or “Y% of users complete the core flow”. And they’re built by a team that has shipped products before and can make fast calls on the many small trade-offs that come up along the way.
Which MVP mistakes should you avoid?
- Building a custom design system when a component library would do.
- Over-engineering the architecture for scale you don’t have yet.
- Spending weeks on admin panels only your own team uses.
- Building features because a competitor has them, not because your users need them.
- Waiting to deploy until everything is ready. Deploy early and let real usage set the priorities.
What happens after launch?
Launch is the starting line, not the finish. Plan at least 4–6 weeks of iteration: fixing issues, improving flows based on how people actually use the product, and choosing which backlog items to build next. The same team can then continue as a Delivery Pod, a fixed-price monthly team led by a senior engineer, with no re-onboarding: Care Lite at €4,200/month for maintenance and security updates, or a Start Pod at €8,200/month to keep building.
What to do next
If you’re planning an MVP, start with a scoping conversation through our custom software development page. We’ll tell you whether your scope fits 6 weeks or 12, what it is likely to cost and what we would cut.
