What does Minimum Viable Product (MVP) refer to?

The concept of a Minimum Viable Product (MVP) focuses on creating a version of a product that includes just enough features to meet the needs of early adopters. This approach allows teams to gather valuable feedback from users about what works well and what needs improvement. The idea is to minimize development time and resources while maximizing learning from real user interactions.

By releasing a product with essential features, organizations can test hypotheses about customer needs and market demands without committing to a fully-featured version that may not resonate with users. This strategy not only helps to validate product ideas early in the development cycle but also minimizes the risk associated with launching a new product.

In contrast, a product with all possible features for launch or a final version ready for mass production does not align with the MVP philosophy, as these concepts entail significant investment without the assurance of market fit. Similarly, a prototype used solely for internal testing does not consider user feedback in the market and is not designed for early customers, which is critical to the MVP concept.