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Glossary
Product concepts

What is Minimum Viable Product (MVP)?

A Minimum Viable Product (MVP) is the most basic version of a new product that includes only the essential features required to satisfy early customers and provide feedback for future development. It is designed to test a core hypothesis about a market need without committing the time and budget required for a complete feature set. By launching an MVP, product teams can validate their assumptions through real-world usage rather than speculation.

When to use it

Teams should use an MVP approach when launching a new product or a major new feature to reduce the risk of building something users do not want. It solves the problem of feature bloat and wasted development cycles by focusing resources on the core value proposition. This concept applies during the early stages of the product lifecycle when speed to market and learning are more important than polished perfection.

Example

A SaaS team building a new project management tool prioritizes 4 core features—a task list, file sharing, a comment thread, and a basic kanban board—for their Q3 MVP launch instead of building all 20 features in their backlog. They release this version to 100 beta testers to see if the core collaboration workflow is intuitive. After 30 days, they find that while 80% of users love the task list, only 5% use file sharing, allowing them to pivot their roadmap toward better task automation rather than advanced document management. This prevents the team from spending 6 months on a document system that users did not find valuable.

How Planet Roadmap helps with Minimum Viable Product (MVP)

Planet Roadmap features a public feedback portal with feature voting that lets you validate which core features your early adopters actually need before you commit them to your roadmap.

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FAQ

How is an MVP different from a prototype?
A prototype is typically a non-functional or internal-only model used to test design or technical feasibility, whereas an MVP is a functional version of the product released to real users to test market demand and usability.
What is the most common mistake when defining an MVP?
The most common mistake is focusing too much on 'Minimum' and not enough on 'Viable.' If the product is so stripped down that it fails to solve the user's primary problem, the feedback gathered will be about the lack of utility rather than the potential of the concept.

Related terms

RoadmapProduct StrategyNow-Next-Later RoadmapICE ScoreRICE ScoreFeedback PortalBeta ProgramProduct-Market FitUser Story

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