MVP - Minimal Viable Product

A Minimum Viable Product is the smallest version of a product that allows a team to test a product idea with real users and learn whether it creates value with minimal effort and investment.

The goal is not to launch a perfect product, but to validate key assumptions early, reduce risk, and gather insights that help shape what comes next. Think of it as a learning tool, not a prototype or a beta version of the full product.

Key characteristics of an MVP:

• Delivers real value to early users — even if it’s small
• Minimizes effort by focusing only on what’s necessary
• Enables learning about the problem, the solution, or the user
• Leads to decisions: iterate, pivot, or stop

Example:
Imagine you're building a food delivery platform. An MVP could be:

• One restaurant
• One dish (e.g. pizza)
• Manual ordering process via a simple form
• Pay at the door (no online payment yet)

This might not scale, but it's good enough to test:
Do people want to order food this way? Will they use it again?

Common traps to avoid:

• Confusing MVP with "a cheap version of the final product"
• Adding features because “they’ll be needed later”
• Skipping user interaction and treating MVP as just delivery

If you’re not learning, it’s not an MVP!