✅ Why this step gets your product into the real world—fast and focused
You don’t need the final product—you need the right first version.
An MVP (Minimum Viable Product) is the simplest version of your product that delivers real value and lets you learn from users. It’s not a half-built product—it’s a purpose-built tool to test assumptions, reduce risk, and generate evidence for what to build next. Done well, it saves time, money, and headaches.
📘 What you’ll define
- The core problem you’re solving—and for whom
- The smallest feature set that proves your idea has value
- What assumptions you’re testing (about users, value, tech, or delivery)
- What success looks like for this version (qualitative or quantitative)
- How feedback will shape the next iteration
🛠️ Tools and methods
✅ MVP Planning Checklist
Define your core user and the value they expect
List key assumptions (about needs, behaviour, performance, etc.)
Identify the smallest feature(s) that deliver testable value
Choose what to leave out—for now
Design feedback loops: how will you measure if it works?
Plan how to capture insight, not just reactions
Example MVP Canvas
| Area | Definition |
| Core user | Freelance designer with physical prototyping needs |
| Core problem | Difficult to document and track changes to physical prototypes |
| MVP solution | Mobile photo logger + tag system |
| What we’re testing | Do users find this easier than current ad-hoc methods? |
| Feedback method | 5 user pilots + in-app usage logging + 1:1 calls |
- Use storyboards or low-fi mockups if you’re not ready to build yet
- MVP ≠ cheap. It should be minimal and meaningful.
⚠️ Mistakes to avoid
- Building a “tiny version” of the full product—MVP is not a shrunken roadmap
- Trying to test too many assumptions at once
- Launching without a way to learn from users
- Overbuilding because of internal pressure or fear of looking “unfinished”
💡 From real-world MVPs
“Our MVP was a Google Sheet with email alerts. It looked basic—but users loved it. That’s when we knew we were onto something.”– Product Lead, Logistics IoT Startup
💡 You’re not testing the tech. You’re testing the value.
🔗 Helpful links & resources
- MVP Definition Template
- Download: MVP vs Full Product Comparison Grid
- Article: How to Build the Right First Version, Not the Final One
- Follow-on: User Testing
✍️ Quick self-check
Have we defined what value the MVP must deliver—and to whom?
Are we clear on what we’re testing or validating?
Is the feature set as small and focused as possible?
Do we have a plan for capturing meaningful feedback?
🎨 Visual concept (optional)
Illustration: A stripped-down prototype labelled “MVP” next to a whiteboard with sticky notes: “Value = yes”, “Feature X = skip for now”, “Assumption still untested”. A user is shown interacting with it and giving a thumbs up with a thought bubble: “Simple, but it works.”
Visual shows how MVPs focus on testing value with real users—not building everything at once.