Dr. Pinkulal Karan

Minimum Viable Product (MVP):
MVP is a concept that originated in the lean startup methodology introduced by Eric Ries in 2011. A minimum viable product is the version of a new product which allows a team the maximum amount of validated learning about customers with the least effort.
 
Minimum Viable Product is a strategy used for fast and quantitative market testing of a product or product features. MVP is a version of a product that allows the team to collect as much feedback from customers for the product with the least effort. Visionary customers can fill in the gaps on missing features, if product solves a real problem. MVP allows you to validate your product idea without having to invest time and money in building the complete product.
 
MVP is a prototype to test the core of your idea or the biggest assumption in your business model. Usually it does not cost much money and it is easy to apply. The MVP approach stipulates step by step product evolution keeping in mind user feedback. It also corresponds to the philosophy of ‘ship early, repair later’. We can define MVP as a release of some features to be validated within the market. It bring the core value for early adopters.
 
The goal of the MVP is to build the smallest feature set. Some of the benefits of MVP are –
·         Early customer acquisition
·         Resource optimization
·         Value proposition focus
·         Saving time and money
·         Verifying market trends
·         Building a user base
.         Attracting investment
 
The purposes of the MVP are as follows –
·         Brand building quickly
·         It helps manufacturers decide what methods would be best used to make it
·         It gives an idea of costs and pricing
·         To test a new idea/feature
·         To understand product market fit
·         Demo to investors
·         Get a promotion at work
 
The core principles which decides features in a MVP are minimize friction, think scarcity, focus on closing the loop for the user, refine with user feedback and usage data, less is more in MVP, be prepared to pivot if it’s not working.
 

 
Some of the examples of popular products that were launched using MVP but enhanced later are –
 
 
Twitter
Spotify
Uber
Facebook
Dropbox
Amazon
Airbnb
Instagram
Whatsapp
Groupon
Pebble
Product Hunt
iPhone
Adwords Express
Buffer
Etsy
Foursquare
BDRThermea
Second Market
Zalando
Zappos
Cruise Automation
Microsoft Excel
Zynga
Product Hunt
Angel list
Kickstarter
Pinterest
KPIs
Special Events