{"id":20331,"date":"2022-11-22T16:48:32","date_gmt":"2022-11-22T15:48:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/careerfoundry.inbearbeitung.de\/en\/?p=20331"},"modified":"2022-11-28T09:32:22","modified_gmt":"2022-11-28T08:32:22","slug":"minimum-viable-product","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/careerfoundry.inbearbeitung.de\/en\/blog\/product-management\/minimum-viable-product\/","title":{"rendered":"What does MVP Mean? A Guide for Product Managers"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><b><\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Whether it be during a job interview, when chatting with someone in a tech-adjacent function, or even just by browsing some more tech-oriented media, the acronym &#8220;MVP&#8221; seems to be everywhere these days. But what is a minimum viable product?<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">For <a href=\"https:\/\/careerfoundry.inbearbeitung.de\/en\/blog\/product-management\/how-to-become-a-product-manager\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">aspiring product managers<\/a>, it&#8217;s important to understand what it means and what it stands for. Better yet, it&#8217;s crucial to know how it can be a useful instrument for your future work, regardless of whether you might be asked to <a href=\"https:\/\/careerfoundry.inbearbeitung.de\/en\/blog\/product-management\/how-to-launch-a-product\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">launch a product from scratch<\/a>, or to investigate whether some new functionality is worth building in the first place.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>That&#8217;s why we&#8217;ve created a beginner&#8217;s guide for you! <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">To skip ahead to a certain section, simply use the clickable menu:<\/span><\/p>\n<ol>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><strong><a href=\"#what-does-mvp-mean\">What does MVP mean?<\/a><\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><a href=\"#mvp-definition\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">MVP definition<\/span><\/a><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><a href=\"#the-other-meaning-of-mvp\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The other meaning of MVP<\/span><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><strong><a href=\"#what-is-an-mvp-for\">What is an MVP for?<\/a><\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><a href=\"#advantages-of-an-mvp\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Advantages of an MVP<\/span><\/a><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><a href=\"#poc-vs-prototype-vs-mvp\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">POC vs prototype vs MVP<\/span><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><strong><a href=\"#how-a-product-manager-uses-a-minimum-viable-product\">How a product manager uses a minimum viable product<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><strong><a href=\"#what-is-an-mvp-in-agile\">What is an MVP in agile?<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><strong><a href=\"#seven-famous-mvp-examples\">Seven famous MVP examples<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><strong><a href=\"#how-to-define-an-mvp\">How to define an MVP<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<h2 id=\"what-does-mvp-mean\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">1. What does MVP mean?\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If you were to ask this question of a product manager, more than 50% of them would be likely to say: it stands for \u201cminimum viable product\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">There is currently a certain amount of debate in the product community as to whether it would be best to keep the same acronym, but replace the definition behind it. Either way, in the super fast world of software, MVPs will not be going away anytime soon.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h3 id=\"mvp-definition\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">MVP definition<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The minimum viable product can be described as the core functionality of a product, its must-have features. Basically, i<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">t&#8217;s what remains once all the add-ons and the nice-to-haves are removed.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If you&#8217;ve been on the planet for long enough and have remained loyal to roughly the same brands throughout the years, perhaps you are able to recall the various iterations, or stages, that any given brand goes through. But at its core, in its first iteration, it was a simple thing. That simple thing was an MVP.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The concept of an MVP is quite easy to grasp, really: think about your favorite product. It can be an app, a streaming platform, or even a physical product, like a soda drink or a cookie. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Now, if you now had to describe it to a hermit or an alien, what would you say?<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> \u201cBefore, if we were hungry and really wanted to eat a pizza, the choices were: making one, going out for one or giving up and eating a bowl of cereal. Now, all we need to do is pick up the phone, open this app [insert the name of any food delivery service here], choose, pay and wait for it to arrive!\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p>There you have your MVP. But, those three letters can also mean something instead\u2014and we&#8217;re not talking about Most Valuable Player!<\/p>\n<h3 id=\"the-other-meaning-of-mvp\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The other meaning of MVP<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Josh Kaufman, in <a href=\"https:\/\/personalmba.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">his book <em>The Personal MBA<\/em><\/a>, put forward an alternative version of the meaning of an MVP: according to his theory, it should stand for <\/span><b>Minimum Valuable Offer<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> instead.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In this view of what the first version of a product should be, there&#8217;s an additional element: it must be something that someone is willing to purchase.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Whereas the first MVP we looked at focused on releasing to the world just enough functionality to produce a coherent product, this one is different. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Minimum Valuable Offer presents the idea that an MVP is required to go further, and also prove that the proposed product can gauge enough commercial interest to justify being built (aka, to justify the expense of hiring developers to build the required code, sales managers to sell it, etc, etc.)\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h2 id=\"what-is-an-mvp-for\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">2. What is an MVP for?<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Taken to the ultimate level, a minimum viable product could be regarded as the perfect test for a company\u2019s existence.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It would also seem like a ruthless instrument that either justifies or disproves a product\u2019s life. It needn\u2019t and shouldn\u2019t be like that.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Rather, a minimum viable product presents certain advantages when compared to the alternative, which is\u2026building a product before testing whether there is enough demand to justify building it.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h3 id=\"advantages-of-an-mvp\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Advantages of using an MVP<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Minimum Viable Products were not always the preferred approach, or even the recommended approach in product management.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">For quite a few decades, it had been common to follow a process of market research + requirement gathering + months or even years developing a product before it would finally be released to the market.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Perhaps unsurprisingly, this meant that companies were taking huge risks unto themselves. Large sums of money would be spent, first in research ad development (R&amp;D) and later, in engineering, oftentimes to produce a product that would then fail to sell.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The MVP presented a different way of doing things: if a product was going to fail, it was best to fail fast and to consume as few resources as possible in the process. It\u2019s not uncommon for companies to go through multiple rounds of MVPs, or even having to pivot before finding the right place for thriving.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3 id=\"poc-vs-prototype-vs-mvp\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">POC vs Prototype vs MVP<\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Often at this point you might be getting slightly confused between what an MVP is and other versions of your product. Chief among these are the Proof of Concept (POC), and the prototype.<\/p>\n<p>While we&#8217;ve expanded upon how product managers work with POCs in our <a href=\"https:\/\/careerfoundry.inbearbeitung.de\/en\/blog\/product-management\/proof-of-concept\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Proof of Concept guide<\/span><\/a>, you&#8217;ll often find prototypes in the domain of the UX designer. Prototyping is a <a href=\"https:\/\/careerfoundry.inbearbeitung.de\/en\/blog\/ux-design\/design-thinking-stage-four-prototyping\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">key fourth stage of the Design Thinking process<\/span><\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Despite having many similarities, each has a different function, which this chart will help you distinguish:<\/p>\n<table>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td><strong>Proof of Concept<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>Prototype<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>MVP<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Assess feasibility<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Assess usability + desirability<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Assess product market fit<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Essential for hybrid products (hardware + software\/0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Gather user and customer feedback without having to build anything.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A lifeline for companies with limited resources (basically, almost any company)<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Takes days or weeks to develop<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Takes weeks to develop<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Takes months to develop<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<h2 id=\"how-a-product-manager-uses-a-minimum-viable-product\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">3. How a product manager uses a minimum viable product<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">PMs tend to carry one percentage around in their heads: <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">40%<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. That&#8217;s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pimcy.nl\/en\/new-product-failure-rate-urban-legend\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">about the average rate of failure<\/a> for new technology and software products. No product manager wants to find themselves part of that statistic.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">So, whenever possible, PMs will use both prototypes and MVPs to test whether business assumptions are correct.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">That process is called <strong>hypothesis validation<\/strong> and as far as product managers are concerned, it might spell the difference between being focused on outcomes instead of just output.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2 id=\"what-is-an-mvp-in-agile\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">4. What is an MVP in Agile?<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This is an important question, because it mixes two very widely used concepts in the tech industry that belong in two adjacent worlds.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Agile is a way of organizing software development work. Currently, it is the preferred way of organizing the work of many development teams around the world.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If you do some reading about Agile (can start here, with the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/agilemanifesto.org\/\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Agile Manifesto<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">), you won\u2019t find a single reference to MVPs there. Agile mentions principles, roles, ceremonies. Not a word about products, or about producing a minimum viable product. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It\u2019s entirely possible to continue to produce software that will not serve a purpose and that no one will use. From a company\u2019s perspective, though, that\u2019s not a very desirable situation to be in.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h2 id=\"seven-famous-mvp-examples\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">5. Seven famous MVP examples<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You might quickly notice by exploring these links that each company behind each MVP chose a different implementation of the concept of MVP. They chose what they believed made the most sense for them considering that particular moment in time. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Let\u2019s take a look at them briefly:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><a href=\"https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/2008\/08\/11\/airbed-and-breakfast-takes-pad-crashing-to-a-whole-new-level\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">AirBnb<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: \u201cLooking for an Airbed to crash?\u201d<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><a href=\"https:\/\/buffer.com\/resources\/idea-to-paying-customers-in-7-weeks-how-we-did-it\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Buffer<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: \u201cif I build this, will you join?\u201d<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><a href=\"https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/2011\/10\/19\/dropbox-minimal-viable-product\/?guccounter=1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Dropbox<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: \u201cwatch the video now, buy our product later.\u201d<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><a href=\"https:\/\/guides.co\/g\/5-habits-to-building-better-products-faster\/60468\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Spotify<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: \u201cOne feature to rule them all.\u201d<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/Twitter\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: \u201cjust setting up my twttr\u201d<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><a href=\"https:\/\/blog.appsumo.com\/5-greatest-minimum-viable-products\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Uber<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: \u201cHolding all the strings behind the scenes.\u201d<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><a href=\"https:\/\/spin.atomicobject.com\/2017\/02\/14\/mvp-minimal-enough\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Zappos<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: \u201cFake it until you make it.\u201d<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><b>Pro tip: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If you would like the chance to take a look at tomorrow\u2019s big product hits, spend some time browsing <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.producthunt.com\/posts\/yoodli\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Product Hunt<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> or <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.kickstarter.com\/\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Kickstarter<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h2 id=\"how-to-define-an-mvp\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">6. How to define an MVP<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">As it might have become apparent from the list of famous MVPs shared above, there can be very different applications of the concept of MVP.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The two things they all have in common are: they present a hypothesis; and then they need to validate or disprove within a reasonable timeframe and considering the resources at their disposal.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This is a valid approach regardless of whether you are looking to MVP a feature or a brand new product. So if you are being asked to define an MVP, <\/span><b>make sure to focus on the core functionality and value proposition to be offered<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, and ensure that you have metrics that allow you to determine whether the MVP has been successful or not.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h2 id=\"wrap-up\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">7. Wrap-up<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Not all Minimum Viable Products will end in an IPO or be the starting point of the next tech unicorn: that\u2019s alright.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">As a product manager, if you decide you need to do an MVP, keep it simple and measurable. And remember: it\u2019s usually possible to either pivot or iterate. Either way, your MVP is a stepping stone for the rest of the great work you will do.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Looking for more product management topics? Here are a couple of complementary reads to get you started:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/careerfoundry.inbearbeitung.de\/en\/blog\/product-management\/what-does-a-product-manager-do\/\">What Does a Product Manager Do? Your Complete Career Guide<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n<li aria-level=\"1\"><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/careerfoundry.inbearbeitung.de\/en\/blog\/product-management\/product-management-training\/\">How to Choose the Best Product Management Training for You<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n<li aria-level=\"1\"><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/careerfoundry.inbearbeitung.de\/en\/blog\/product-management\/what-is-a-scrum-master\/\">What is a Scrum Master? The Complete Beginner\u2019s Guide<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>There&#8217;s a second MVP in town: Minimum viable product. But what does this term really mean and how do product managers use it? Find out in this beginner&#8217;s guide.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":144,"featured_media":20431,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_lmt_disableupdate":"yes","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[55],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-20331","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-product-management"],"acf":{"homepage_category_featured":false},"modified_by":"Matthew Deery","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/careerfoundry.inbearbeitung.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20331","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/careerfoundry.inbearbeitung.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/careerfoundry.inbearbeitung.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/careerfoundry.inbearbeitung.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/144"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/careerfoundry.inbearbeitung.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20331"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/careerfoundry.inbearbeitung.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20331\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":25899,"href":"https:\/\/careerfoundry.inbearbeitung.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20331\/revisions\/25899"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/careerfoundry.inbearbeitung.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/20431"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/careerfoundry.inbearbeitung.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20331"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/careerfoundry.inbearbeitung.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20331"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/careerfoundry.inbearbeitung.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20331"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}