In recent years, the concept of minimum viable product (MVP) has gained widespread adoption in the tech industry. However, as with many popular ideas, its original intent can often be lost in translation. Today, we’ll explore how the MVP concept has been misunderstood and misapplied and why returning to its roots is crucial.

The Origins of MVP

The MVP concept, introduced by Frank Robinson in 2001 and later popularized by Eric Ries in his book Lean Startup, was designed as a tool for innovation and learning. Its primary purpose was to help teams gather valuable customer feedback with minimal effort and resources.

The Misinterpretation

Unfortunately, many teams and organizations have strayed from this original purpose. As Fishman and McLarty point out in their book Unbundling the Enterprise, “While most everyone understands ‘minimum,’ not all teams are aligned on the meaning of ‘viable’ or ‘product’ in this context.”

This misalignment has led to a common misconception: that an MVP is simply the product with the fewest features necessary for a public launch. This interpretation misses the mark.

The True Purpose of MVP

Fishman and McLarty remind us that an MVP is actually “the version of a new product that allows teams to gather the maximum amount of validated customer feedback with minimal effort.” It’s not about creating a stripped-down product but rather about learning and validating hypotheses.

The authors emphasize that an MVP is “not about creating the product with the least number of features necessary for a public launch, but rather a tool for testing hypotheses and discovering what will meet customers’ needs.”

Rediscovering the Value of MVP

To truly benefit from the MVP approach, teams must shift their focus from feature minimization to learning maximization. This means:

• Prioritizing customer feedback over feature completeness.
• Designing experiments to test key assumptions.
• Being prepared to pivot based on learnings.
• Focusing on solving real customer problems, not just building products.

Conclusion

By returning to the true purpose of MVP—rapid learning and validation—teams can innovate more effectively and efficiently. It’s time to move beyond the misconception of MVP as a minimal feature set and embrace it as a powerful tool for customer-centric innovation.

Remember, the goal isn’t to launch the smallest possible product but to learn the most about your customers with the least amount of effort. That’s the true spirit of the minimum viable product.

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