1 IoT Fundamentals: Definitions, Architectures, Challenges, and Promises
47
• Value Proposition: This shows the list of products/services, explains how
they can kill the pains of the customer, and demonstrates how the offered
products/services can create customer gains.
5. Customer Relationship: What type of relationship does each of our customer
segments expect us to establish and maintain a long-term relationship with
them? The most common types of customer relationships include transactional,
personal assistance, self-service, automated services, communities, and cocreation. Note that these types of relationships can coexist in a company’s
relationship [32].
6. Channels: Through which channels (e.g., website, email) do our customer
segments want to be reached [32]?
7. Customer Segments: From whom are we creating value? Who are our most
important customers [32]?
8. Cost Structure: What are the most important costs inherent in our business
model? Which key resources/activities are the most expensive [32]?
9. Revenue Streams: For what value are our customers really willing to pay? For
what do they currently pay? How are they currently paying? How would they
prefer to pay? How much does each revenue stream contribute to overall revenues
[32]?
1.5.7 Minimum Viable Product (MVP)
The concept of a minimum viable product (MVP) was first introduced in Eric Ries’
popular book, The Lean Start-Up, in 2001. The goal of an MVP is to evaluate if
the product fits in the market with the smallest possible amount of risk. In this
approach, a new product is created with features adequate to satisfy the earliest
users. The final features are not developed until feedback from initial users can be
evaluated. In short, the main idea is to construct a very simple, testable version of
the product. The results of testing can be included in the next stage of development
during the scaling phase or for revising the business model. A “build, evaluate, and
learn” approach enables the solution provider to build the more important and viable
basics into the product as quickly as possible. At the start of the process, there is
usually a large-scale, almost unreachable vision of what the finished product will
be, and shaping the vision at such a high level can consume large amounts of time
and considerable resources. It is important to avoid the pitfall of trying to create
a perfect IoT product. Instead, one should focus on creating a possibly viable IoT
product with the potential to focus team creativity and original ideas throughout
the process, while addressing the question of whether the product should even be
created at all or not. In order to choose the most significant value proposition for
creating the MVP, the company must concentrate on the specific intersection of the
customer’s wants and the value of the product as illustrated in Fig. 1.12. As shown
in this figure, to be able to define the list of important features which should be
47
• Value Proposition: This shows the list of products/services, explains how
they can kill the pains of the customer, and demonstrates how the offered
products/services can create customer gains.
5. Customer Relationship: What type of relationship does each of our customer
segments expect us to establish and maintain a long-term relationship with
them? The most common types of customer relationships include transactional,
personal assistance, self-service, automated services, communities, and cocreation. Note that these types of relationships can coexist in a company’s
relationship [32].
6. Channels: Through which channels (e.g., website, email) do our customer
segments want to be reached [32]?
7. Customer Segments: From whom are we creating value? Who are our most
important customers [32]?
8. Cost Structure: What are the most important costs inherent in our business
model? Which key resources/activities are the most expensive [32]?
9. Revenue Streams: For what value are our customers really willing to pay? For
what do they currently pay? How are they currently paying? How would they
prefer to pay? How much does each revenue stream contribute to overall revenues
[32]?
1.5.7 Minimum Viable Product (MVP)
The concept of a minimum viable product (MVP) was first introduced in Eric Ries’
popular book, The Lean Start-Up, in 2001. The goal of an MVP is to evaluate if
the product fits in the market with the smallest possible amount of risk. In this
approach, a new product is created with features adequate to satisfy the earliest
users. The final features are not developed until feedback from initial users can be
evaluated. In short, the main idea is to construct a very simple, testable version of
the product. The results of testing can be included in the next stage of development
during the scaling phase or for revising the business model. A “build, evaluate, and
learn” approach enables the solution provider to build the more important and viable
basics into the product as quickly as possible. At the start of the process, there is
usually a large-scale, almost unreachable vision of what the finished product will
be, and shaping the vision at such a high level can consume large amounts of time
and considerable resources. It is important to avoid the pitfall of trying to create
a perfect IoT product. Instead, one should focus on creating a possibly viable IoT
product with the potential to focus team creativity and original ideas throughout
the process, while addressing the question of whether the product should even be
created at all or not. In order to choose the most significant value proposition for
creating the MVP, the company must concentrate on the specific intersection of the
customer’s wants and the value of the product as illustrated in Fig. 1.12. As shown
in this figure, to be able to define the list of important features which should be