The road to a finished product: differences between demo, prototype and MVP

Every innovative product starts with an idea, but between the initial intuition and the market launch there is a path made up of fundamental intermediate stages. Terms such as demo, prototype and MVP are often used interchangeably, but in reality they represent different moments with specific objectives. Understanding these differences is essential not only for those working in the tech or start-up world, but for anyone who wants to transform an idea into something concrete and sustainable.

A demo is a representation of key functionalities or precise user flow encountered with the interaction of a digital product. A demo can be created under different forms, such as videos, slides, prototypes, etc.

Companies create demos to introduce to other people the product's value if it is bought or created. Demos are created for an external audience consisting of potential consumers and investors. This is the reason why the way demos are presented usually counts more than the functionalities included.

When we talk about demos as finished products, they usually serve as guides or tutorials to show users how the software works. If it is an early-stage product, the demo helps people understand how beneficial the product could be for them once it becomes available. Demos often come in the form of a clickable design or a piece of code alongside a mock-up. In both cases, companies use demos to close a deal: their goal is to convince potential customers or investors that the concept is worth buying into. 

So, as a startup founder, you should design a demo once you have validated a customer and problem hypotheses and want to get enough early adopters willing to pay for your offering or need to find investment for further development.
As mentioned, the purpose of demo solutions is to help companies close the deal, which is why their success does not depend on an accurate and detailed representation of the features, but on your ability to demonstrate how beneficial the product will be for those who use it.

When designing a demo, it is important to follow a few key steps.

First, clarify why you want to create it: it could be to attract customers, investors or future users. Next, identify your target audience and understand what their expectations are for the product. At this point, choose the demo format that best conveys the value of your idea (e.g. an interactive prototype, a slide presentation or a video).
Then prepare visual aids: they must be eye-catching and able to capture attention, without getting lost in unnecessary details. Accompany everything with a script that effectively conveys your mission and “sells” the idea. Before the official presentation, carry out some quick tests to check the overall performance.

The key thing at this stage is to make sure that the audience can clearly imagine the benefits they will get from using your product.

The terms ‘prototype’ and ‘demo’ are often used interchangeably, especially when it comes to the early stages of product development, but in fact they are not the same thing. Although demos can be created in different ways, including prototypes, the latter can be used for different purposes.

A prototype is an early version of a product, created with the aim of testing its validity and gathering feedback from potential users or customers. Unlike a demo, a prototype is primarily intended for internal use and can take various forms, from simple sketches on paper to versions created in HTML. A demo, on the other hand, is more presentation-oriented: it is a polished and visually appealing resource, designed to be shown to potential customers or investors.

A UX prototype is a rough version of a product that allows those who interact with it to understand the product's idea, user flow and layout, and how it will work. It is used to test functionality and user experience so that feedback can be effectively gathered before actual development.

Those who are launching a start-up may find themselves needing to present their idea to investors, with the aim of demonstrating that it is a feasible solution worthy of funding in order to achieve full development. First, however, it is essential to test the concept to see if it really makes sense to move forward without risking burning through the entire budget. The design aspect must also be verified to assess whether it meets expectations and if it needs improvement. Finally, gathering user feedback is crucial to understanding whether what is being created is truly appreciated by the public and to identify any weaknesses.

The process of developing a prototype is very similar to that of a demo. However, while demos are not focused on accurately representing functionality, prototypes aim to showcase the features that users would encounter in a complete product.

When creating a prototype, it is important to focus on the objectives and target audience. It is important to choose an interactive design process to deliver prototypes quickly, and you can often start with low-fidelity mockups, improving them once you receive feedback. Small changes should be made as you test the prototype with users.

For a complete overview of our design process, we invite you to read the article "UX Design for outstanding user experiences" where we also discuss the design thinking process.  

A minimum viable product (MVP) is a completely functioning version with minimal functionalities of the product. Unlike a demo, an MVP is a fully functioning product containing key functionalities. This way users can experience for themselves the product's validity.

Le aziende creare MVP per verificare se i clienti sono pronti ad usare i loro prodotti e pagarli prima di investire ulteriormente nello sviluppo. Un MVP può risultare necessario anche se si ha la necessità di lanciare velocemente un prodotto, entrare in un mercato con poco budget, raccogliere feedback di alta qualità dai primi utilizzatori e per valutare la validità del prodotto sul mercato.

Companies create MVP to verify whether prospects are ready to use their products and pay for them before further investing in development. An MVP can be necessary if you have the necessity to quickly launch a product, entering a market with little budget, gather high quality feedback by early adopters and evaluate the product's validity on the market.

If you're interested, we explain how to develop an MVP in "How to create an MVP in 5 steps".

While creating a demo or prototype may take a few weeks, developing an MVP often takes several months. This is because the main goal of an MVP is to verify the validity of the basic idea and understand how users will interact with the product. For this reason, designing an MVP should follow a few basic steps:

A complete product offers customers much more than basic functionality, thereby exceeding their expectations. The complete product is the next step after an MVP. If an MVP proves to be feasible and customer feedback shows that people not only like it but are also willing to pay for this solution, then it is time to take the next step.
Going beyond an MVP means that you will have to constantly improve your offering by making interactive changes.

After launching an MVP, users begin to provide valuable feedback, often accompanied by suggestions on how to transform the product into a complete solution. From a design perspective, the steps to follow are as follows:

Despite common belief, it is not necessarily true that you have to start with an MVP. Ideally, you start by creating several versions of prototypes that represent the idea of a product. These should be shown to as many potential customers as possible to gather their feedback and identify which of these versions best solves the problems of potential customers.

After this phase, it is ideal to create a demo with the commercial proposal to show the value of the product to potential customers to see if they would be willing to pay for that product, and also to investors if additional financial resources are needed to continue product development.
Once you have built up a good base of potential customers willing to pay for the product, you can move on to creating an MVP to test the market's reaction to your product idea.

Finally, if all goes well and people start buying the product, you can continue with the development of a complete product to best meet customer expectations.

Do you need support to develop a prototype, demo or MVP? Or perhaps you want to understand which of these tools would be best for you?
Contact us for a free consultation.