Minimum Viable Product is not Minimum Variable Product

The context of bringing fast-track innovation to market with high quality is critical to the success of product-oriented businesses.

There are numerous popular methods for introducing new products and services to the market. Stage-gate and lean start-up are two approaches that are widely used in the industry. Lean start-up is a newer concept developed for start-ups/entrepreneurs to adopt a more flexible approach to bringing innovation to market much faster.

Entrepreneurs frequently expect their products to generate a large return on investment. This expectation is based on two assumptions: the first is that the company will provide the best value (value hypothesis), and the second is that the market will grow at a faster rate (i.e., the growth hypothesis).

The lean start-up concept employs a business canvas to generate a theory of value creation, resulting in a slew of hypotheses to test. The next step is to develop an MVP (minimum viable product) based on the perspectives and feedback of all stakeholders, including customers. An MVP is "that version of the product that enables a full turn of the Build-Measure-Learn Loop with a minimum amount of effort and the least amount of development time". A Build-Measure-Learn loop is essential to iterative product development using a lean start-up approach, as it helps to validate hypotheses based on business needs or allows the enterprise to pivot.

However, MVP is central to the success of a lean start-up. Sometimes, the minimum viable product is understood as a minimum variable product as it is tagged with minimum effort and the least amount of time require to release. It certainly creates lots of confusion.

Then, what is MVP? Is this minimum viable or minimum variable?

During the development phase, the assumptions are sometimes to take the bare minimum features to accelerate time to market; however, MVP also requires measuring market traction and customer satisfaction. For example, in the case of healthcare products (software/hardware), product regulation and safety necessitate the inclusion of certain features for market validation and learning. As a result, despite the need for bare minimum features, those features cannot be ignored in MVP.

When we work on complex aerospace, healthcare, and automotive products, the confusion increases. Nobody should release a passenger car without wheels as a minimum viable product because it lacks basic usability criteria. However, it is possible to release without a 3D parking camera. When creating an MVP, it is critical to understand system engineering, physics, and product architecture.

As far as I can tell, this is a concept used to get the most validated learning about a product with the least amount of effort, time, and money. This would be a suitable product for testing the value hypotheses.

The MVP is not about sacrificing quality or safety; rather, it is about bringing new innovation to market while keeping a good understanding of customer needs in mind. It's more about determining the product/market fit. It all comes down to incorporating learning metrics to evaluate and adapt to changes in customer expectations and market dynamics.

While the definition of MVP is intended for new products and their ability to validate value creation hypotheses, product start-ups use MVP in a variety of ways.

For example, MVP is used to

1. Communicate with stakeholders (investors or customers)

2. As a bootstrapping tool

3. Facilitating the creativity/innovation brainstorming

Ultimately, the MVP is not a minimum variable product. It is taking adequate variables to develop a product but to make sure

1. A good product market fit

2. Includes must-to-have features to take care of the statutory needs

3. Minimise the waste

4. Help to pivot fast while minimising cost