What is an MVP?

In practice

The discipline is agreeing beforehand what question the MVP answers and what result would mean stop. Without that, an MVP becomes version one by default and its deliberate shortcuts become permanent. Write the success criterion down and name who decides.

Where it fits in a build

Right when there is genuine uncertainty about behaviour, feasibility or demand. Wrong when the process already works manually and you are simply digitising it — there the requirement is known and the risk is execution.

Common mistakes

• Shipping something unreliable and concluding from poor adoption that users did not want it.
• Including a favourite feature from every stakeholder, which makes it neither minimum nor an experiment.
• No plan for what happens to the code if the answer is yes.

Related terms

• Proof of concept (PoC)
• Technical debt
• SaaS

Working on something that involves this?

ASTACKRA designs and builds AI systems, automation and custom software for businesses that need technology shaped around their own workflow. If this term turned up in a proposal and you want a straight answer about whether it applies to your situation, ask us — no obligation, and we will tell you if the answer is no.