# Minimum Viable Products for Internet of Things Applications: Common Pitfalls and Practices
## 4 Results
### RQ1: How Do Internet of Things Start-Ups Build Their MVPs in the Early Stage?
#### 4.1.1 Key MVPs from Internet of Things Start-Ups
\begin{table}
\begin{tabular}{c c c c c c} \hline \hline
**Id** & **Key MVPs** & **Hardware Approach** & **Software Approach** & **Prototyping Duration** & **Type** \\ \hline \multirow{4}{*}{**Case A**} & The MVP include prototype, & & & & \\  & which includes aqua & & incremental & & \\  & environmental tracking sensors & \"Lego composing\" & in-house & 9 months & Type 1 \\  & (e.g., pH and temperature), & & development & & \\  & a mobile app for an aquaculture & & & & \\  & farming control system & & & & \\ \hline \multirow{4}{*}{**Case B**} & The MVP assembled with & Fully in-house & & & \\  & circuits and covers that can be & design, 3 rd party & Simplified & & \\  & tested by users & & components, ad & software & \\  & & hoc and discrete & development & & \\ \hline \multirow{4}{*}{**Case C**} & The MVP includes the fully & & & & \\  & integrated, operational camera & In-house design & & & \\  & & & & & \\  & integrated, operational camera & In-house design & & & \\  & & & & & \\ \hline \multirow{4}{*}{**Case D**} & The MVP includes sensors and & & Incremental & & \\  & IoT gateways, cloud storage and & In-house design, & software & & \\  & user interface that is fully & sub-contracting & development & & \\  & functional & & 2 week & & \\ \hline \multirow{4}{*}{**Case E**} & The MVP includes tested sensors & Outsourced sensor & In-house & & \\  & and integrated circuits and a & development, & & & \\  & mobile app interface & & & & \\ \hline \multirow{4}{*}{**Case F**} & The MVP includes a single feature & 3 rd party & In-house & & \\  & to switch energy save with a & in-house & development & 3 months & Type 2 \\  & simple data storage in the cloud & assembling & & & \\ \hline \multirow{4}{*}{**Case G**} & The MVP includes a simple eye & & & & \\  & tracker and motor controllers & & & & \\ \hline \multirow{4}{*}{**Case H**} & The MVP consists of a single & 3 rd party & In-house & & \\  & hardware unit & in-house & development & 3 months & Type 1 \\ \cline{1-1} \cline{2-6}  & & assembling & & & \\ \hline \hline \end{tabular}
\end{table} 
Table 3: Characteristics of major validated MVPs in Internet of Things start-ups. MVP type 1 has user experience (UX) similar to the final product but the actual functionalities are manually carried on. This type is found in Case E, G and H. Type 1 could be seen as a simulation of desired products. As internal development effort is usually limited due to the lack of available competencies or funding, MVPs type 1 typically utilize rapid prototyping, local contractors and ready-made components. For instance, CTO in Case E mentions:  
_\"we outsourced the sensor development so, we did not have that kind of skills and, I do not think we would have had the equipment either, to go for that\"_ (Case E)  
MVP type 1 is the first step after the ideation phase and due to the coarse-grained illustration, it would be easy to iterate. For such MVPs, UX is an important part, for instance:  
_\"And according to the feedback what they have been providing, we have been developing the solution during the whole springtime. We have been developing, quite a lot of functionalities, based on the user feedback. And we have also made quite a lot of usability-related changes and modifications in the software.\"_ (Case E)  
Evolving from MVP type 1, Internet of Things start-ups progress to create MVP type 2. The transition can be illustrated as in Case F, when the team moving from an MVP with an only single feature to a functional MVP:  
_\"It was nothing more than switching on/off of an energy saver using SMS from our mobile phone. But the current product has a ton of features including controlling, grouping, timers, electricity consumption monitors, motion sensors, cameras.\"_ (Case F)  
MVP type 2 involves hardware unit design, including sensor integration, chips, circuit design and system engineering. The product would be complete from functional aspects. Quality attributes of the final products are considered.