MVP (minimum viable product)

The term became widely known through the Lean Startup method. An MVP is not a sketch or a clickable prototype but a product that is actually used, with as little functionality as possible around the one problem it sets out to solve. The purpose is to learn quickly: do people use it, do they come back, and is anyone willing to pay? The answer decides what gets built next, and what does not. A common mistake is making the MVP too big, so months pass before anyone uses it. Another is making it so thin that it does not solve the problem well enough to give an honest answer. What gets cut in an MVP is features, not foundations: security, privacy and a data model that can take further development should be in place from the start.