Minimum viable product (MVP)
A minimum viable product is the smallest version of a product that can test whether people want it. The word that matters is viable: it has to do the core job well enough for the test to mean something.
What it means
MVPs go wrong in two directions. Too minimal, and a failed test says nothing, because nobody could tell whether the idea or the build was the problem. Too full, and the team has spent the budget it needed to learn from the result.
The useful question isn't how little you can build, but what the first release needs to include to answer the question you're testing, and what it can leave out.
How we use it
Our method We talk about the first release rather than the MVP, and define it as much by what it leaves out as by what it includes. Every idea gets one of four verdicts: build first, later, cut or don't build. Try it on an illustrative brief in Cut It.
Related terms
Published 28 September 2026. All terms