The MVP
One of the most misused terms over the last years is the MVP. Everything that used to be a proof of concept (PoC) or a spike is now called an MVP. But an MVP is a version of a product that enables a full turn of the build-measure-learn loop with the minimum amount of effort (Ries, Eric 2011 position 996).
A diagram I often see that resonates very well with the audience is this:
Figure 18.2 – Bad example of how to build an MVP
It shows that you should deliver with every iteration value by solving the problem domain – in this example, transportation. The problem is that this is not an MVP. This is agile delivery. But a bicycle does not allow you to test the value proposition of a sports car! Tesla could not have created an electrical bicycle to conduct an experiment on the success of an electric sports car.
If you test an MVP with your real customers, always keep in mind that it can destroy your reputation and that you might lose customers...
