Minimum Viable Product (MVP)
DE: Minimal funktionsfaehiges Produkt (MVP)
The simplest product version that delivers value to early users for feedback.
Detailed Explanation
An MVP is a version of a product with just enough features to be usable by early customers who can then provide feedback for future development. The concept was popularized by Eric Ries in The Lean Startup and is fundamental to agile and lean product development.
The key insight of MVP is that building the full product before getting user feedback is wasteful and risky. By delivering the smallest viable version first, teams validate their core assumptions, learn what users actually need, and avoid investing in features nobody wants.
MVP does not mean low quality or incomplete — it means strategically minimal. The 'viable' part is crucial: the product must deliver genuine value and be usable enough to generate meaningful feedback. A landing page testing interest is an experiment, not an MVP.
Key Points
- Minimum features to deliver value and gather feedback
- Validates core assumptions before full investment
- Popularized by Eric Ries in The Lean Startup
- Not low quality — strategically minimal but viable
- Enables fast learning and course correction
- Reduces waste by avoiding unwanted features
Practical Example
A startup wants to build a meal-planning app. Instead of building the full app (recipe database, grocery lists, meal prep videos, social features), the MVP is a simple weekly meal plan generator with 50 recipes. They release it to 100 beta users. Feedback reveals users want grocery list integration most. The team pivots to prioritize that feature for the next iteration.
Tips for Learning and Applying
Define 'viable' clearly — the MVP must genuinely solve a user problem
Focus on learning, not just launching — what hypothesis does the MVP test?
Resist the urge to add 'one more feature' — it defeats the purpose
Set clear success metrics before launching the MVP
Related Terms
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