There’s an old saying: when you’re holding a hammer, everything looks like a nail.

Every full-stack developer is capable of creating a brilliant solution for just about any web app need. Each is capable of understanding a need, turning it into requirements, deciding on a plan for development and deployment, and executing. But there’s a difference between a developer focused on building a software solution, and a developer focused on building a software product.

Building a solution requires a dev to answer questions like:
1) What features do we need to accommodate, and what architecture would best enable this?
2) What resources do we need to support these features?
3) What languages and frameworks will allow us to build these features?
4) What launch date should we pick to allow development of these features?

These are great considerations when building a software solution. You can launch a successful project by answering these questions for just about any organization, given enough time and budget. But the scope of these questions doesn’t encompass the full needs of a software product, because the goal of a product is not to deliver just functionality, but value as well.

In reality, most projects don’t have unlimited time and budget. They’re meant to generate revenue over time after an up-front investment, plus ongoing maintenance costs. An MVP developer understands this, so their considerations include the full scope of a product’s value proposition, ensuring their work aligns with the interests of the founder. So an MVP developer is perfectly capable of answering the questions above to build a solution. But the scope of their understanding is even more inclusive of the needs of the product.

Building a product requires an MVP dev to answer questions like:
1) What features might we need to accommodate after a pivot, and what architecture would best enable this?
2) What resources could we repurpose or acquire to deliver more value, sooner?
3) What languages and frameworks are supported by a deep labor pool, to enable continued development and future growth?
4) When is our launch date and which features should we include to deliver the most value for the end user at that time?

In short, a full-stack developer is focused on functionality. And an MVP developer is focused on value.

When you’re holding a hammer, everything looks like a nail. It makes sense, then, to ensure the developer or development team you hire is holding the right tool for the job. Make sure to choose an MVP dev to build your MVP- not only will they ensure your software product functions well, but they’ll ensure it delivers value too.