by Thanasis Charemis, UBITECH
The term MVP was coined and introduced in the research world in 2001, by Frank Robinson, while it became broadly known by the work of Eric Ries (2009) and Steve Blank (2010). Nowadays, using an MVP to test a business model is probably the most popular and well-known strategy and process to assess the ideation, prototyping, analysis, and validation of learning, based on customers’ product-specific insights.
The development of REWIRE’s MVP (Minimum Viable Product) represents the robust and coherent basis of the platform solution, which includes the required components, functionalities, and features. The MVP is designed based on the initial conceptual architecture, following the objectives of the project, aiming to provide usability to early adopters and other potential end users, so that they could evaluate it before its market uptake. The main objective of the MVP is to provide tangible value, validate methodological ideas and concepts, and serve as a baseline for design and implementation activities. For the cybersecurity solution development process, MVP represents the means for the validation of the overall framework.
Within the REWIRE context, we follow the Build-Test-Learn (BTL) feedback loop with the minimum amount of product iterations and experiments. The BTL cycle is integrated into the development of the core technical work performed, which involve the creation of both initial and final version of the modules and components, as well as the REWIRE framework itself. The BTL approach is utilized to maximize the value added to each module/component and the entire REWIRE framework. The REWIRE MVP is of paramount importance in directing and shaping the ongoing work through the project’s lifecycle. REWIRE’s MVP methodology is depicted in Figure 3.1.REWIRE’s MVP framework is presented in the following Figure.
More specifically, the project’s common vision incorporates an agile gradual MVP approach, for the smooth implementation of the REWIRE holistic framework till its market uptake and systematic adoption from the end users. In addition, the contribution of the use case partners to the design of the REWIRE’s MVP towards a clear definition of the REWIRE’s scope and purpose is of paramount importance. In this collaborative process among all the partners of the consortium, the insights of the use case partners were defined for each of the three (3) use cases (Smart Cities for Empowering Public Safety, Automotive, and Smart Satellites). Afterwards, the technical and academic partners incorporated a holistic analysis setting the key implementation questions and describing the “as-is” and “to-be” scenarios of the MVP for each use case.