Do you want to use a minimum viable product?

A minimum viable product (MVP) stands for the concept that a start-up should test its ideas for a product in the market before committing to building a final product. A MVP is an initial version of a new product or website that has core features to satisfy early adopters, usually associated with the tech industry. The premise behind developing a MVP is to enable developers of the product to test the demand in the market and incorporate consumer feedback in the process of creating the final version to be launched. By developing a MVP, a start-up will operate with more certainty and minimal risk over a relatively short time period.

Despite this, many start-ups have succeeded without an MVP. Critics of MVPs have argued that early adopters who test the product may not provide relevant feedback if they are not able to see the final product. Furthermore, the relevance of a MVP for products such as business-to-business products is questioned.

For more information and opinions on MVPs:

• Eric Ries, The Lean Startup Methodology, The Learn StartUp <http://theleanstartup.com/principles>

• ChangSheng Sze Tho, The Importance of Minimum Viable Product (MVP) for Start-ups (2015) TechinAsia <https://www.techinasia.com/talk/importance-minimum-viable-product-mvp-startups>

• Ashwin Ramasamy, When is an MVP not a good idea? (2015) TechinAsia <https://www.techinasia.com/talk/whens-mvp-good-idea>

• Vladmir Blagojevic, The Ultimate Guide to Minimum Viable Products, Scale My Business <http://scalemybusiness.com/the-ultimate-guide-to-minimum-viable-products/>

• Suren Samarachyan, What is a minimum viable product (2014) Quora <https://www.quora.com/What-is-a-minimum-viable-product>