Minimum Viable Product (MVP)

According to ProductPlan, a minimum viable product (MVP) is a "product with enough features to attract early-adopter customers and validate a product idea early in the product development cycle. In industries such as software, the MVP can help the product team receive user feedback as quickly as possible to iterate and improve the product."

In introducing the concept 'Minimum Viable Product' (MVP), Frank Robinson (and later Eric Reis in the lean start-up) unquestionably created a positive movement - which encouraged learning and growing (outcomes) rather than just shipping features to a specific date (output).

But I think teams sometimes run with an MVP mindset with their products when they are already well established. For example, the search squad wants to create a new and improved search experience when there is already one live - if you've validated that search is an important way for your users to find and discover your products or content, then it doesn't make sense to create an MVP for a new search experience - if you're redesigning the experience or improving the algorithm, you can understand if there are the right changes through research or experimentation (or in some cases*, just shipping the thing). The MVP becomes mutton dressed as lamb - delivering an experience which more often than not, isn't up to scratch.

Teams also tend to rally around the below-par MVP as it's often the path of least resistance to getting something live so they can validate with real users in the wild.

However, I think when teams consider an MVP, they often focus on the 'minimum' - what is the least we can do? Whereas, I would say the focus should be on the 'viable' part. Viable by definition is "able to work as intended or able to succeed". What do you need to build for it to be a success?

If you've identified a new cohort to expand your product, maybe moving up or downstream, really focus on what's a delightful, viable experience that can improve your users lives. But if you've already got an established experience or product of which you have a high level of understanding (you know your customers/market/offering intricately), be bold in creating your new experience. A below-par MVP is not the desired outcome (be careful of group think bias here too). Product people should have a bias to get shit done, but it needs to be the right shit.

*if your decision is reversible, low risk, or low impact, just shipping the thing and getting feedback in live might be the best way to move forward.

Sources: https://www.productplan.com/glossary/minimum-viable-product/