What does the startup abbreviation MVP stand for in product development?

In startup product development, MVP stands for “minimum viable product.”

An MVP is an early version of a product containing enough functionality to test a business or product hypothesis with real users. The aim is to gather useful evidence while spending less time and money than a full-scale launch would require.

The concept is closely associated with lean startup practice and iterative development. Teams use an MVP to learn whether customers understand, want or will use a proposed solution. Feedback can lead to improvements, a change in strategy or abandonment of the idea.

MVP does not simply mean a badly made product. “Viable” means the version must be usable for its intended test. A prototype may demonstrate an idea without serving customers, whereas an MVP is designed to produce meaningful market learning.