When resources are limited, building a product with every feature complete before launch often means missing the window before it even ships. MVP (minimum viable product) offers a different approach: first use the smallest set of features to validate whether the product is truly needed, and then decide on subsequent investment.
Core idea
MVP is not "only building half of it"; rather, it uses the fewest features to validate one key assumption. So before starting, you must first be clear about what exactly you want to validate this time. If even the assumption is unclear, the minimum version you build is just an incomplete version and cannot validate anything.
Three elements
The first is clarifying the core value to be validated, that is, the user's most fundamental need; the second is subtracting from features, keeping only the parts that can run the core process through; the third is establishing quantifiable observation metrics, so the results can be judged, rather than relying on a feeling that "it works okay."
Common misconceptions
Treating a half-finished product with a broken experience as an MVP is a typical misuse; looking only at surface-level numbers such as clicks and downloads without understanding why users use it that way will lead to wrong conclusions; casually adding features during subsequent iterations, causing the product to deviate from its original positioning, is also a common mistake.
Applicable boundaries
MVP is suitable for scenarios with high uncertainty and a need for rapid trial and error. If the requirements themselves are already clear, excessively pursuing "minimum" will instead slow progress and cause things that could have been done well in one go to be reworked repeatedly.
MVP is a decision-making method, not an excuse to cut costs, nor a shortcut to skip system design.