MVP
What is an MVP?
MVP (minimum viable product) is the smallest or easiest product you can build to learn what you need to learn. The term requires balancing "minimum"—thinking small and reducing scope ruthlessly—with "viable"—creating real value for customers.
A common misconception is that an MVP is about shipping something small or easy. It's not. An MVP is about learning, specifically testing your assumptions about what creates value. You can't define an MVP without first knowing what you're trying to learn.
How do you balance minimum with viable?
This is where teams often struggle with MVPs. Minimum forces you to think small and reduce scope. Viable forces you to create value. You have to do both simultaneously.
Too often, teams throw out the value and replace it with something easy to build. The problem is, the easy idea might not offer much value. The goal is to learn what creates value—not just to learn anything. So reduce as much as you can, but always do so in the context of delivering value.
Why is learning the primary goal of an MVP?
MVPs emerged from The Lean Startup methodology as tools to help teams learn earlier in the process through the Build-Measure-Learn cycle. The purpose is to test if your solutions deliver on your desired outcomes.
This shifts the focus from "What's the smallest thing we can ship?" to "What's the smallest thing we can build to validate our riskiest assumptions?" An MVP is something you can iteratively test and refine over time based on what you learn.
Learn more:
- How You Build Matters. Finding Your MVP.
- Practice Defining Your MVP
Related terms:
- Assumption Testing
- Experiments
- Iteration
- Prototyping
Last Updated: October 25, 2025